For those on a gluten free or low FODMAP diets, when it comes to baking, you can choose to buy ready mixed, gluten free flours to bake with, or forgo the baking all together and purchase ready made, high in refined sugar and fructose, gluten free baked goods. Alternatively you can choose a much healthier option in this article Make Your Own Gluten Free Flour, Organic Gluten Free Flour Recipes, I will show you how easy it is to make your own gluten free flour blends using healthier, organic, more nutritionally superior grains and starches.
In this article Iwill give the information you need to make your own gluten free flour blends, plus Ihave included a few of our own favourite gluten free flour blend recipes and one that is also suitable for those on low FODMAP diets.
In myGluten FreeFlour ListI have provided you with a comprehensive list of all the different types of grains, nuts, seeds and starches used to make gluten free flours. Please note that some of these ingredients are not suitable for those who are fructose intolerant or on low FODMAP diets.
You may also want to take a look at myarticleUnhealthy Gluten-The Truth.
When you begin the journey of creating your own gluten free flour blends it is important to first understand that you will never quite recreate the texture and taste that wheat gluten gives to baked goods.
What you will create with gluten free flours will still taste great, but it will be different in both taste and texture to what you were previously used to and this is something that is easy to get accustomed to and enjoy. When you think of the miserable gut and health symptoms caused by gluten that you will no longer will have to suffer from.
Once you get on a roll and start regularly making your own gluten free flour blends, you can become as creative with your choice of grains and starches as you like. But first you need to understand how creating gluten free flour blends actually work.
The Basics Of Making A Gluten Free Flour Blend
The idea is to try to recreate a blend of gluten free flours that can mimic, as closely as possible, the properties that wheat gluten creates and this cannot be done by one gluten free flour alone. For a gluten free flour blend to work you need a synergistic blend of whole-grain flours and starches/white flours.
The general rule of thumb is a ratio of: 70% Whole-Grain Flours to 30% Starches/White Flours.
This generally works well for baking cakes, muffins, breads and biscuits, but for certain other recipes you can use 100% whole-grains; e.g. buckwheat pancakes or pizza bases.
The reason you need a mix of whole-grain and starches when baking, cakes, breads, muffins and biscuits is to give the desired lightness, texture and lift.
The above 70/30 ratio is easy if you work out a recipe that equals 1000 grams of gluten free flour, as 700g would be whole-grain flours and 300g would be made up of your starches/white flours.
*Note- When Imake up myown gluten free flour blends Ialways prefer to use certified organic whole-grains and starches, so as to avoid the heavy pesticide load that grain and ground crops are treated with.
WHOLE-GRAIN GLUTEN FREE FLOURS
Are : Amaranth, Besan, Brown Rice, Buckwheat, Chickpea, Coconut, Corn Meal, Garbanzo, Gram,Millet, Oat, Quinoa, Soy, Sorghum, Brown Rice, Teff,
You can also use as a whole-grain ratio component of your blend: Almond Meal, Chia, Coconut & Hemp flours.
For those on low FODMAP diets steer clear of Besan, Chickpea, Garbanzo, Gram, Oat and Soy flours.
GLUTEN FREE STARCHES/WHITE FLOURS
Your starches and white flours are: Arrowroot Flour, Corn Starch, Potato Starch ( important this is not potato flour), Tapioca Flour, White Rice Flour.
You can experiment with different flours, as each has a slightly different taste and texture.
It is important to remember that whole-grain flours have a much shorter shelf life than conventional wheat flour and once open they don’t last very long at all. You should date each pack of flour when you open it and regularly check for rancidness, by smelling and also tasting the flours for bitterness.
Here is a very handy chart from the Whole-Grain Council –Storing Whole Grains.
Using a binder to replace Gluten in Gluten Free Baking.
Using a binder in gluten-free baking is common practice to emulsify, bind and thicken gluten free flour blends. Basically they hold everything together and help act in a similar way as the gluten in wheat does. Two of the most common binders used are Xanthan Gum and Guar Gum.
Xanthan Gum comes from fermented corn and Guar Gum comes from the seed of a type of bean-like plant, also known as an Indian Tree.
Guar Gum is very high in fiber and can cause gut problems in some people. Likewise Xanthan Gum may not be tolerated by people with corn allergies or sensitivities.
Most recipes will tell you to use 1/2-1 tsp of gum to one cup of flour, but to avoid digestive issues we recommend to try starting out with as small amount as possible; e.g. 1/4 teaspoon to 1 cup of gluten free flour blend. It is very important that you add the gum to dry flour and not wet, as it needs to be thoroughly blended and dispersed as evenly as possible through your flour.
Some gluten-free bakers use Chia Seed or Flax-Seed as a replacement for Xanthan and Guar Gums, but we are not fans of heating any ingredient that contains Omega 3’s & 6’s as the jury is still out as to whether they can withstand the heat or they become unstable and rancid, causing more harm than good. Others use Psyllium Husks, which can cause excessive gas in some people.
If you find you can’t tolerate either of the gums or Psyllium Husks, you can alternatively try using Arrowroot Powder in the same manner as above.
How to Mix and Store your Gluten-Free Flour Blends.
Store your individual flour and starches in airtight containers, labelled and dated with opened and use-by dates, this will make life much easier.
Your will need the following:
- Kitchen scales and measuring cups.
- A large glass or stainless steel bowl and a hand whisk to mix your blend.
- A large airtight container to store your gluten-free flour blend in. We use a polypropylene (no5) plastic Tupperware container.
Select your choice of organic whole-grains and starches/white flours. Measure out your quantities adding them to your bowl and then mix them together well, using your hand whisk.
Once your have your full ratio of flours and starches and they have been well combined, pour them into your storage container, seal tightly and then shake the container well in every direction, so at to mix the flours and starches together even more.
Tip – Keep a pen and paper handy to jot down each flour and starch you use and how much of each. This will help you get your ratio’s right and also keep a log of the different blends you created and what worked well and what didn’t. You will soon find gluten-free blends that you like better than others and ones that also work better for certain types of baking than others.
You may, like me, find you can vary your ratios of whole-grains to starches and don’t have to stick to the 70/30 ratio all the time.
MyOrganic Gluten Free Flour Blend Recipes
Low FODMAP Gluten Free Flour Blend
300g Buckwheat
300g Coconut
150g Tapioca
150g White Rice
All-purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend 1.
600g Oat
250g Buckwheat
250g Sorghum or Millet
200g Arrowroot
400g Tapioca
100g Coconut
All-purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend 2.
250g Oat
100g Millet
100g Potato Starch
200g Arrowroot
150g Tapioca
100g Buckwheat
Heavier All-purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend. 3
200g Buckwheat
200g Millet
100g Soy
200g Coconut
200g Tapioca
100g Potato Starch
All-purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend. 4
250g Buckwheat
250g Sorghum
100g Millet
200g Potato Starch
200g White Rice – I ground my own in my Vitamix from Australian Grown Organic White Rice as lower Arsenic Levels – read
All-purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend.5
250g Buckwheat
200g Sorghum
250g Quinoa
100g Arrowroot
200g White Rice – I ground my own in my Vitamix from Australian Grown Organic White Rice as lower Arsenic Levels – read
Before you leave, if you enjoyed this article sign up to LivingSafe and stay informed! LivingSafe helping you live healthier & safer.
For some inspiration browse through my
Gluten Free vegan and vegetarian recipe section.
and my
low FODMAP vegan and vegetarian recipe section.
