Tell me about GF flours

[racquelle]

Do you bake? What flours do you use? Does anyone use teff, millet or other exotic flours? Where do you get your flour?

[Mia1057]

I use chickpea flour, chestnut flour, rice flour, maize flour and buckwheat flours. I get a lot of them in my local Asian shop.

[Hidden]

I use dove farm...most supermarkets have it...

Janie

[Angelbelle]

I use Dove Farm too and find it excellent all bakng purposes. Sainsburys stock it but I haven't found it elsewhere,

[Hidden]

I tried everything I could think of when I first went gf and even have a flour mill. I now use a standard flour mix which works pretty much like wheat - urid flour (from asian shops, the flour used in papadums) with tapioca and rice. I cannnot use soy, buckwheat and have recently given up corn too...tried many things like amaranth and teff but this mix so good and has no pronounced flavour so ok in all types of foods. I don't use xanthum as upsets my guts. Loath Doves Farm - only suitable for batter type mixes such as pancakes and choux buns.

[katethebake]

I am a gluten free baker with a nightshade allergy. so I can't use blends with potato starch. My go-to flour blend is made of:

- 35% Dove's Farm rice flour which is a 50/50 blend of white and brown rice flour,

- 15% tapioca starch (asian supermarkets),

- 15% sweet/glutinous rice flour (asian supermarkets),

- 15% arrowroot starch (instead of buying tiny pots, you can usually order this in kg bags from a health food shop) or corn starch

- 20% sorghum flour (indian shops)

I whisk them together and store as a dry mix.

As this is a no protein blend, when I am baking I usually replace the gf flour in the recipe with 85% of my blend plus 15% of a higher protein flour such as teff, amaranth or quinoa. I sometimes use 15% pea protein instead, especially if I am looking for a lighter texture for scones or a sponge cake.

This blend doesn't have any 'glue' so you need to add xanthan gum, guar gum or chia paste depending what you can tolerate, as per volumes on the pack..

Apart from this, I use chick pea (besan) flour, to make pancake-style wraps. I used to use lots of buckwheat flour but since Doves Farm no longer supply a legally gluten free product, i am finding this harder to source.

Sorry for such a long answer - there are so many flours and so many options. Each one if suitable for some uses but not others. Which ever ones you use, you will probably end up with lots of left over bits in packs. It helps to freeze these in ziplock bags so that they do no go off.

Sorry for the way-too-long answer!

[Lexy]

Hi Raquelle, having had nothing but bad physical reactions to Dove's I completely avoid them (I got terrible itching and hives, ie my Dermatitis Herpetiformis was triggered). I tend to get Asda's own brand 'Free From' gf Plain flour which is a mix of rice flour, potato starch, tapioca, maize flour, buckwheat. But very often I'll cut it with ground almonds in a recipe. Have recently also bought Tiana Organic Fair Trade Coconut Baking Flour, which I used with success in a cake recipe. I haven't yet been brave enough to try baking gf bread so tend mostly to make cakes/scones/the odd biscuits. I once tried soya flour and found it did not agree with me. I also don't cope with Neals Yard Millet (not sure if just that brand or the millet) so haven't tried millet flour. There do seem to be A LOT of options out there! Good luck and let us know how you get on!

[MrsPepperpot]

A good source of flours in Edinburgh and online is Real Foods realfoods.co.uk/

They do a gf buckwheat flour, also other flours like teff, amaranth and many others. I find teff is very good for brownies. Chickpea/gram for things with a savoury or strong flavour like pakora.

Phil Vickery has a collection of diy gf flours, I'm sure these are online somewhere.

Trick is to sieve flour when using it to make sure it is well mixed even using something like Doves.

Asian supermarkets are another excellent source.

[Hidden]

Hya, I buy rice flour, ground rice and gari (coarse tapioca starch) in an Asian shop. I buy tapioca starch in an oriental shop. I buy quinoa flour in a whole food shop and sometimes I buy potato flour and chickpea flour.

Ground rice is very versatile as it's great for bread making as it absorbs moisture well and because you leave the dough to prove it loses it's coarse grittiness, You can also add a little to a shortbread biscuit recipe to give it a crunchier texture, it's also great for gravies as you just stir it in with your stock that's boiling and leave it to simmer and you can make a pudding with it.

[Eggardon]

So many options! I have tried some buckwheat flour as a mix with the Juvela GF flour.

Bread making using the Juvela packs and yeast seem to work well - I include some fennel seeds for added flavour. Rising the mix in the oven at 50degrees for 20 minutes then turn up to 200degrees to bake.

[virgolizzy]

I never have any trouble baking with Doves SR & Plain flours, whether it is pastry, cakes or bread. Tho I often tweak with any recipes from books, often choosing to use some ground almonds added to the flour. I've found you have to try different recipes & flours to find what suits you, your taste & your stomach. Tho reading some of the replies, have made me want to be more adventurous & try different flours!

Not been successful making choux buns yet tho!

[Apricot in reply to virgolizzy]

Can make totally good choux buns....it was a quest of mine for ages...and the results..speak for themselves...

contact me off board...

Apricot

[virgolizzy in reply to Apricot]

How do I contact you 'off board'?

Thanks

[puncturedbicycle]

I've tried mixing my own flours with variable results. Just about any flour is fine for biscuits imo but it's the trickier stuff like bread where it really makes a difference.

I've made pancakes with buckwheat, which is a traditional recipe so it definitely works, but you've got to be okay with the buckwheat flavour. If I want a more neutral pancake, I use a mixture of Doves Farm and sorghum flour. The sorghum is great for adding lightness with no strong flavours. I find the Doves good for cakes (my non-gf husband insisted I make a Doves gf genoise for his birthday because he says he can't tell the difference) but I also use quinoa flour straight for a good banana or beetroot cake.

About xantham gum - it messes with my gut, so I either omit this kind of thing entirely (and have never had a problem with cakes, biscuits, etc) or if you're making something where you require the 'stretchiness' it adds (eg bread, pasta), you can use psylium husk powder which you first soak in hot water. I learned about it here: glutenfreegirl.com/what-is-...

[dinger]

I use doves farm as well. I have seen it for sell in the co op and for anyone living in Bath they sell it in Scoops in Moorland Road. Its the best for cakes and my favourite pancakes.

[foodwarrior]

Hi, one thing not mentioned here yet is chia seeds, they are very nutritious and have a mucilinigious quality and help as a binder instead of xanthan gum. Extra liquid may be necessary as they swell and soak up some of the liquid in your baking recipes. Coconut flour actually browns nicely and is good for breadings on chicken etc. We also richen up our pancake and waffle mix with a few tablespoons of coconut flour for added flavor. Nutmeals and ground nuts, almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts make a nice addition to the regular baking flours as they add nutrition.

[Penel]

This is a really useful site, with info on different flours.

foodchallenges.ca/food-fact...

[Penel]

This is another good place to buy from

healthysupplies.co.uk/buckw...

[Sonianin in reply to Penel]

That's where I ordered from

I really liked the Sorghum, I mix it about 50/50 with standard GF plain flour from the supermarket and it's worked well with everything I've tried like that.

[racquelle]

Thanks so much everyone for your advice. Sorry I've not responded sooner, I've had a crazy few weeks as we are moving house soon. GF baking experiments will start in earnest in our new house... Thanks again x

[Apricot in reply to racquelle]

every happiness in your new home..

[racquelle in reply to Apricot]

Thank you x