Saturday, December 31, 2011

Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour Blends...Which is the best?

Being new to gluten-free, I am still getting my feet wet with gluten free baking and testing the waters of which gluten-free blend is the best for baking and just anything, really.  I thought I would try to gather some of the different blends together in one place and do a comparison and possibly get opinions on what works best for others.  These are blends that I would and do use personally due to flour availability, ease of making, and best results.  Here's what I've come up with so far...

Ahern's All Purpose Blend (from www.glutenfreegirl.com)
 200 grams superfine brown rice flour
150 grams sorghum flour
50 grams potato flour
250 grams sweet rice flour
150 grams potato starch
100 grams arrowroot powder
100 grams cornstarch

This was from 2010...lately I'm seeing that she is using equal amounts of sorghum, sweet rice and potato starch.

Carol Fenster's Sorghum Blend (from www.carolfenstercooks.com)
1 ½ cups sorghum flour (or brown rice flour)
1 ½ cups potato starch (not potato flour) or cornstarch
1 cup tapioca flour/starch


Artisan Gluten-Free Flour Blend (from noglutennoproblem.blogspot.com)
1 1/4 cups (156g) brown rice flour
3/4 cup (88g) sorghum flour
2/3 cup (90g) cornstarch
1/4 cup (37g) potato starch
1 tbsp + 1 tsp (14g) potato flour
1 tsp (3g) xanthan gum

Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Mix (from www.glutenfreecookingschool.com)
3 parts brown rice flour
3 parts corn starch
2 parts soy, sorghum or garflava flour
1 part masa harina

Allergen-Free Cuisine Gluten Free Flour Mix (from www.cybelepascal.com)
4 cups superfine brown rice flour
1 1/3 cups potato starch (not potato flour)
2/3 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)

I've only tried 3 of these so far (Cybele's, Carol's and GF Cooking School).  I am going to try a single recipe with each blend and post back with my results.  I'm off to bake...  

Update: May 2014
 
Earthmama's Gluten Free Flour Mix 
Okay, since the days of mixing up these flour blends, I've gotten lazy.  I don't want to use more than 3 flours.  It's just too much work!  So, nowadays, I keep it simple.  I mix:

48oz of Bob's Organic Brown Rice Flour
24oz of Bob's Potato Starch 
24oz Tapioca Flour

Looking back now, this is the same combo as Cybele uses, just not quite the same ratio.  I just take the whole bag and dump them in my big container.  Much easier than measuring out or weighing cups.  I used to order all my flours through Amazon.  With the subscribe and save, the prices were dramatically lower than you would pay at a store.  However, they have taken most Bob's Red Mill items off subscribe and save.  Now I find a better price at Vitacost, who also has a set and save program and you don't have to order as many at a time.  This blend works well as an even exchange for AP wheat flour.  Depending on the recipe, you may need more or less.  I don't even add xanthan gum for pancakes but do for cornbread and biscuits.     
 

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