This is the first post that I wrote for this blog and it was time for an update. I’ve added the weights of the flours and changed a few of the alternative ingredients to reflect the flours I use now. Even six years later, this flour mix is still my first choice when I’m converting a recipe to gluten-free status.
My homemade gluten free all-purpose flour mix is the gluten free item for which I most often reach. After almost ten years of cooking gluten free, I am amazed at how well this mix works in so many different recipes.
When I make gluten free biscuits with this mix, they taste like biscuits. When I make gluten free pancakes, they taste like pancakes. I’ve even made onion rings with this! I know I’m a geek, but this really is exciting!
When I first started cooking gluten free foods, I bought a basic gluten free cookbook and rushed home to bake some goodies for my husband. I eagerly flipped to the section on flour blends and was incredibly disappointed to find that I did not have any of the ingredients on hand, and had no idea where to buy them.
You’ve probably had the same experience!
Eventually I developed my own Gluten Free Flour Mix that uses gluten free flours that are relatively inexpensive and widely available in grocery stores. That’s the recipe that you’ll find below. Many of the baking recipes on the blog (and in my cooking classes) utilize this gluten free flour mix.
Instructions
- 210 g (approx. 1.5 cups) brown rice flour
- 195 g (approx. 1.5 cups) corn starch
or tapioca flour
- 110 g (approx. 1 cup) sorghum flour
or garfava flour
- 55 g (approx. 1/2 cup) masa harina
The brands that I use are Bob’s Red Mill brown rice flour, sorghum flour, garfava flour; Argo cornstarch; Maseca masa harina, and Bob’s Red Mill or EnerG tapioca starch.
Tips for Measuring Gluten Free Flour
This recipe has been on the blog for years, and it was originally given as a volumetric ratio of 3:3:2:1. That is, I would use 3 cups brown rice flour, 3 cups corn starch, 2 cups sorghum flour and 1 cup masa harina. Or if I wanted a small batch of flour, then I would grab a 1/4 cup measure and use 3/4 cup each of brown rice flour and corn starch, 1/2 cup sorghum flour, and 1/4 c. masa harina.
While you’re still welcome to follow that ratio, I have since begun measuring by weight instead of volume. Weight measurments are much more accurate for flours, and if I measure by weight and you measure by weight, then we’re much more likely to get the same results with my recipes. That’s a good thing!
The only disadvantage to weighing this flour mix is that the weights are not easy to remember. Make life easy on yourself and jot down the weights on a piece of paper and tape it to the inside of a drawer or cabinet in the part of the kitchen where you do your baking.
Instructions for Mixing and Storing Gluten Free Flour Mixes
Combine all the flours in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. If you’re new to mixing flours, the goal here is to not see any clumps or streaks of indiviual flours. By the time you’re done it should be one homogeneous bowl of flour. Transfer the flour to a canister or other air-tight storage container and you’re done!
Since I use this mix so often, I usually make up a very large batch and store it in a large canister so that it’s ready whenever I decide to bake. I do keep my flour canister on the counter, but I go through it pretty quickly. If you don’t bake often, then you may have better luck storing the flour in a freezer bag in the freezer, so that the flours do not become rancid.
I’ve gotten several questions about flour mixes lately, so I threw together this post that summarizes a lot of information that’s currently spread around my blog in various places. If you have any additional questions, just ask them in the comments and I’ll answer them and somehow incorporate the answers into this post. If you’d like to learn more about why you have to use so many different flours together, what the flours do, and which gluten free flour mix is best for you, make sure to read my ebook, The Gluten Free Survival Guide. Chapter 7 is devoted to gluten free cooking, and you’ll get all of your questions answered there.First, here are the recipes for my flour mixes.
My all-purpose gluten free flour Mix
- 3 parts brown rice flour
- 3 parts corn starch
- 2 parts soy flour
- 1 part masa harina
Gluten Free, Soy Free, All-Purpose Flour Mix
- 3 parts brown rice flour
- 3 parts corn starch
- 2 parts sorghum flour
- 1 part masa harina
Gluten Free Cake Flour Mix
- 1 part brown rice flour
- 1 part sorghum flour
- 1 part tapioca starch
Instructions:
- Depending on how much flour mix you want to make, choose a measuring cup. If you want 9 cups of mix, use a 1 c. measure. If you just need a tad, you can use a 1/8 tsp. measure =)
- Whichever measure you choose is now a “part”. Scoop out the appropriate amounts of each flour and pour into a large mixing bowl.
- Sift/whisk/stir the flours until they are extremely well combined. No streaks of corn starch allowed.
- Store in an air-tight container in your pantry, refrigerator, or freezer depending on how long you think it will take you to use all of the mix. The colder the storage area, the longer the shelf life of the flours.
Common Substitutions:
- For the corn starch: tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour), potato starch, arrowroot flour
- For the masa harina: almond flour
My Recipes That Use the Flour Mixes:
- Gluten Free Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Blueberry Scones Recipe
- Pancakes
- Spiced Apple Pancakes
- Drop Biscuits
- Pizza Crust
- Flour Tortillas
- Garlic Cheese Biscuits
- Yummy Sandwich Bread
- Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
- Sugar Cookies
- Red Velvet Cake
- Double chocolate gluten free brownies
How to Use Gluten Free Flour Mix in Your Own Recipes:
- If you have a gluten free recipe that lists several types of flour, sum the amounts of each flours and substitute an equal amount of flour mix.
- Check the recipe that you’re altering and make sure the ratio of flour:starch is about the same as in your flour mix. For instance the flour to starch ratio in my mixes is somewhere between 5:4 and 6:3. (The masa harina acts somewhat similarly to a starch – it absorbs a lot of water). If the recipe that you’re converting has a 3:4 flour to starch ratio, then the recipe author has added additional starch to “lighten” the recipe. If you are confident in your math abilities, then you can probably figure out how much additional starch to add. Otherwise, find another recipe for this type of experiment.
- If you’re converting a recipe that uses regular wheat flour, start with a 1:1 substitution of one of the gluten free all purpose flours and add 1/2 – 1 tsp. xanthan gum. If the recipe is not as tender as you would want, then replace some of the flour with additional corn starch next time. If the baked good is too tender, then replace some of the flour with brown rice flour, soy flour, garfava flour or sorghum flour. It may take some experimentation, but most gluten free baking does.
Pingback: Spiced Apple Pancakes | No Gluten Bakery
Pingback: Your Gluten Free Bread Baking Questions Answered | Gluten Free [Cooking School]
Up near the top of this post, there was a question about substituting Stevia or Agave nectar for sugar. I have been put on a gf diet as well as many other restrictions (dairy, included), and cannot have any “regular” sugar and I have been wondering the same thing, especially with yeast breads. Sugar is what yeast eats when you proof it, so would agave or stevia have the same effect? Any of your infinite wisdom will be greatly appreciated by this newbie. 🙂
Me again… 🙂 I am having a VERY difficult finding extra fine brown rice flour anywhere near where I live. Is it regular brown rice flour that is used in your mixture or do I need the extra fine? I was assured that the flour I bought this morning at a grain processing mill in Toronto, is “fairly fine”, but I haven’t used it yet.
Again, any advice is appreciated. *smile…*
Diana
@Diana: I have only used the Bob’s Red Mill brand. I just poured some of mine into my hand and you can see very small individual pieces of flour, but when I rub it between my fingers the word “grainy” does not come to mind. It doesn’t even feel like very fine sandpaper. Maybe that will help? Or you may have to try cooking with it and if you note a grainy mouth feel you’ll know to try another brand next time.
@Diana: I think agave nectar would be fine.
This has been a good read. I want to eliminate wheat and corn starch from my diet as recommended by Dr William Davis. I have no idea if other products cause the detrimental effects on cardiovascular health as highlighted in Dr Davis’ site, but until the science is done, I will assume brown rice, soy, potato and Teft (Ethiopian grain) are ok subs. With the information from this site (eggs/xanthate gum/cider vinegar), I hope to have better success with my bread rather than continuing to make a series of adobe bricks
thanks for the info.
@trevor: I’m glad the article was helpful. All of the flours that you mentioned are gluten free and should be okay for your diet.
@Mary Frances:
Thank you so much. I love this site; I have so much to learn. Obviously, being new to all of this, I need both assistance and support, because it’s tough to have so many restrictions, but I can deal with it creatively, with these suggestions. The buttermilk substitution and all-purpose flour, to name two. I found a recipe for cornbread I just have to try. I can use soy margarine and agave nectar on it and I’m sure it will be fantastic. It’s on page 17 on this e-book:
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Owner\My Documents\Gluten-Free Baking Classics – Google Book Search.mht
Does anyone here know a good sour dough recipe that can be made with this wonderful all purpose flour mix? I was at my naturopath yesterday and she said for me to not only go gf, but to go yeast free, as well. She mentioned sour d’oh bread as an alternative, along with corn wraps (tortillas) It’s frustrating to no end to have any diet restrictions, especially restrictions that are an integral part of everyday life. *sigh*
@Stephanie
I checked out the recipe for making Socca, and I can have all that’s in it, so I’m going to try it this weekend. Small things make me so happy. hehehe I’ve never heard of that “bread” before, and I was married to an Italian. 🙂
@Diana
sour dough is a yeast bread.
If your naturopath did not know this, maybe you have the wrong ND.
@trevor
My ND is not a cook/chef. Sour dough gets its “wild yeast” from the air, not by processed yeast that is commonly found in the grocery store. She said wild yeast is okay, since we breathe the air that yeast is gathered from.
@anyone
Is it only from wheat flour that the “wild yeast” can be gathered or would Mary Frances’ brown rice all-purpose flour mix have that ability as well?
I have numerous diet restrictions, and I am finding that there is less frustration if I stop looking for substitutes for the “old food”, and change my outlook a little, and experiment. Bread is good, and it’s a comfort food, but I don’t think it has to be a staple.
I have so many food restrictions (gluten, anything to do with cattle or pork, sugar, yeast, coffee, black tea and many more.) , there are few things I CAN eat. Finding something close to the “old food” is a comfort in itself.
@Diana
Try kerfer instead for raising your bread mix. Yeast is yeast (although there are many strains) and if you have an intolerance to yeast then any sub won’t help IMHO. My own philosophy is that mind and soul need to mesh. If you are seeking guidance then often it is self serving to speak to an “authority” such as a Naturopath Doctor. Personally I don’t eat animal flesh and that works for me despite the fact that humans have evolved as omnivores. Feeling good about what you eat is very satisfying. I say do what makes you feel good about yourself. To hec with the rest.
I am trying to make my own Brown rice tortillas. I looked at the ingredients on the ones u buy and ithas brown rice, tapicoaflour. sunflower oil, rice bran,vegetable gum(xantham,cellulose).sea salt.. Can anyone turn this into a recipe for me?? I would appreciate it. I am one of those cooks who needs strick quidelines to follow or my food flops.
I need to know where to go to get GF flours that don’t cost an arm and a leg for just a small bag. I tried making bread with white soy flour and white rice flour, corn flour and corn starch and some Xanthum gum and it did not raise much and it tasted strong, not like real bread. What can I do to get the taste of glutened bread and cookies etc.
Rita if you find some let me know. Im still experimenting with the expensive stuff trying to get a good brown rice tortillas to come out right..
@Alice & Rita,
I go to a bulk food store here as well a couple of weeks ago, I went to a grain mill and bought 10kg bags of flours. It’s a lot to store, but you might be able to save some money on the flours you use most often.
Diana,
Thanks for your response, I hope to find a place like you..
Diana, which grain mill and would they ship if i asked them for the same quantity? I live in a small city for a health food store selection. I would have to find a bigger store around here.
I do need to find someone who has made some good baked products that tastes “normal” with the flours so I can get recipes and follow the directions with those same flours.
@Rita,
Unfortunately, I can’t tell you which grain mill, unless you live near Toronto, Ontario, Candada. Do you ever get to a big city? If you do, it might do you well to investigate on-line, places to go for bulk foods and make a day-trip, if possible. I learned of Grain Process in Toronto, from a friend of mine who is caeliac. He and his wife had already done investigations of where to go to get the supplies they need. There are more caeliacs than you can shake a stick at. Do you know any whom you can ask? I’m not, however. I have an illness that my naturopath has severely restricted my diet to aide in treatment. I now investigate everything, to the point of obsession. I like food… plain and simple. 🙂 I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.
@alice: I have a brown rice tortilla recipe
here on the site if you’d like to try that.
@Diana: Elana’s Pantry has a yeast free bread recipe. It just substitutes baking powder/baking soda for the yeast.
@Mary Frances,
Thanks so much. Do you happen to have the website address for it? It would be so much appreciated.
Nevermind, I found it. 🙂 The recipes look wonderful. I am also further restricted by the Acid Alkaline Diet, among other things, and this site looks like I can substitute out the things I can’t have, to suit my diet requirements.
I really don’t like rice flour and would like a recipe for pie crust from scratch. Does anyone have a good recipe?
Thank-you
@Kathleen,
I have been told to stay away from yeast, too and my mom told me that she made me Soda Bread when I was younger. I found a good gluten free soda bread recipe, so, if you want it, I will post it.
🙂
Yes, Please, Diana, I would love the recipe for Soda Bread. My daughter stays away from yeast 2.
@Alice,
I can’t remember where on the net I got this. I used the tapioca flour instead of the sweet rice, but I used the brown rice flour. I hope it’s okay with you. It tasted really good.
You will need a baking tray, lightly dusted with brown rice flour
Ingredients
310 g/11oz brown rice flour
140 g/5 oz sweet rice flour (or tapioca flour)
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar + ½ tsp salt
1 heaped tsp xanthan gum
1 egg lightly beaten (try flax gel made from 1 TBSP flax seeds and 1 cup boiling water?)
300-350ml/10-12fl oz rice milk (or make nut milk using ½ cup nuts and 2 cups water blended in a processor. Yield is over 400 ml – use up to 350 ml of it here
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 230C/450F/Gas 8 and put your oven shelf up high.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Mix well by lifting the dry ingredients up into your hands and then letting them fall back into the bowl through your fingers. This adds more air and therefore more lightness to your finished bread. Lightly whisk the egg and rice (or nut) milk together.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in most of the egg and milk at once. Using one hand, with your fingers stiff and outstretched (like a claw!), stir in a full circular movement from the centre to the outside of the bowl in ever-increasing circles, adding a little more egg and milk mixture if necessary. The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky.
4. The trick with soda bread is not to over-mix the dough. Mix it as quickly and as gently as possible, thus keeping it light and airy. When the dough all comes together, roll lightly in the bowl for a few seconds – just enough to tidy it up. Pat the dough into a round, pressing it to about 5cm/2in in height.
5. Place the dough on a baking tray dusted lightly with brown rice flour. With a sharp knife cut a deep cross in it to mark out 4 large pieces, letting the cuts go over the sides of the bread.
6. Bake in the oven at 230C/450F/Gas 8 for five minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4 for a further 45 minutes or until cooked. If in doubt, tap the bottom of the bread. If it is cooked, it will sound hollow. If the top doesn’t brown, put the loaf under the grill to brown it (keep an eye on it). Remove from the oven and transfer the loaf from the baking tray onto a wire rack to cool.
7. Serve freshly baked, cut into the four thick pieces. Spread with coconut oil/butter, if desired.
Variations
Cranberry soda bread: Perhaps you could add some home dried cranberries and maybe some sweetener to make a fruit loaf, or shape into buns?
Soda bread with herbs: Follow the master recipe, adding 1-2 tablespoons freshly chopped herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme, chives, parsley or lemon balm) to the dry ingredients.
Soda bread with cumin: Follow the master recipe, adding 1-2 tablespoons freshly roasted cumin seeds to the flour.
Seedy bread: If you like caraway seeds, this variation is a must and is delicious served for afternoon tea. Follow the master recipe, adding one tablespoon sugar (how much sweetener?) and 2-3 teaspoons caraway seeds to the dry ingredients.
Diana
Is their something I can substitute soy flour for? Daughter won’t touch soy,
@Alice,
Sorghum flour is a good soy flour substitute. 🙂
Diana
What is kerfer?I am having problems finding it when I google.
Sorry, spelling is “kefir”
search: kefir, bread
Hi there
I have great success proofing yeast using honey. The ratio is:
1 tablespoon of honey
4 tablespoons warm water and
1 packet of active dry yeast (which equals on/about 2 tsp).
I thought of using agave. Haven’t tried it yet – I’m sure it’s fine. I’ve never used stevia for this purpose (I don’t tolerate it). The key is to use only lukewarm water – otherwise it kills the yeast. When I make my bread – this is my first step. So, it has a chance to proof for about 5-10 minutes or so while I am measuring both wet and dry ingredients. Hope this helps.
Hi, I promised a friend that I would make (or attempt to make) him a gluten-free pizza this weekend. Can I simply substitute the “Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour” for regular flour in my recipe? Should I add xanthum gum or any other ingredient? If so, how much?
Here is my simple pizza dough recipe from my bread machine that I make all the time and everyone enjoys:
1 cup water
3 cups flour (to which I would substitute the gluten-free flour recipe from above)
3 tablespoons sugar
1.5 teaspoons salt
1.5 tablespoons evaporated milk (checked and its gluten-free)
1.5 tablespoons margarine or butter
2.25 teaspoons yeast
Thank you so much for any advice you can give me. I commend you and all the people who have posted to this site. It is so informative and a pleasure to read. There’s a real sense of community here. I will certainly recommend this site to my friend and his wife, if they haven’t already found it!
@Joanne: That should work well, but you will need to add some xanthan gum so that the crust doesn’t crumble. I posted a pizza crust recipe last week, so you can look at that to get a feel for how much xanthan gum that you should add.
Hi Mary Frances, Thank you for all your help. I found your pizza crust recipe after I made the post; sorry. In case anyone is interested on the outcome of my gluten-free pizza crust, here it is. My friend claimed it was delicious and wanted the recipe. He said the crust had nice bread-like, thick texture and he likes Silician pizzas. Since I wasn’t able to get a hold of xantham gum, I added an additional cup of your all-purpose gluten-free flour to my recipe because the dough had looked too soft. Here is the final outcome.
I used my bread machine in the dough setting to mix, knead, and rise the dough. The cycle in my machine takes 1 hour and 40 minutes. I ended up with a cycle of 1 hour and 80 minutes because after 40 minutes, the dough looked too soft and I added more flour and wanted to make sure that it was well mixed, so I started the cycle over again. Here is what the gluten-free pizza crust recipe ended up as:
1 cup water
4 cups gluten-free flour (made from 3 parts white rice flour, 3 parts corn starch, 2 parts soy flour and 1 part fine corn meal–I couldn’t find corn flour…)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1.5 teaspoons salt
1.5 Tablespoons dry milk
1.5 Tablespoons margarine (or you can use butter)
1 Tablespoon powdered yeast
For my regular pizza dough, I usually knead the dough a little after the bread machine cycle ends and let the dough rise in a bowl covered with a wet dish cloth (or put it back in the bread machine bucket) and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Last night because I was pressed for time and the dough cycle went longer than usual, I didn’t let it rise for another 30 minutes, but just kneaded and rolled it out. To keep the dough from sticking to my board, I used the left over gluten-free flour to flour the board and the dough. From the above recipe, I made two pizza crusts.
I topped the pizzas with my tomato sauce and one pizza with just cheese and the other with cheese and eggplant (I prepared the eggplant ahead of time by spreading the slices with fat-free mayo and dipping them in crushed corn flake cereal mixed with a little parsley flakes, minced onion, and garlic powder). Then I sprayed the eggplant with canola oil and baked them at 350 degree for about 35 minutes, turning over half way. Regular mayo and no oil spray works better but I was trying to cut down on the fat and cholesterol).
I put the pizzas in the cold oven and then set the temperature to 375 degrees. I found that not preheating the oven gives dough another chance to rise (regular dough anyway). When the oven reaches 375, the pizzas are usually within 5 minutes of being ready.
Thank you again for all your help. I pointed my friend to your web site for recipes and the “Finally, Really Good Sandwich Bread,” which looks delicious.
Joanne, I see that most everyone uses bread machines with the recipes, pizza dough. Can you do this same recipe without changing it if you don’t have a bread machine?
I’m new here. Been GF for about 4 years, wouldn’t go back. Re: substitute for whole wheat–make up a batch of flour in the amount you need, using 3 parts brown rice flour, 1 part potato starch, 1/2 part each (red) teff, amaranth, almond(flours), and stabilized rice bran. The almond and teff flours and rice bran give that “whole wheat” color and texture. The amaranth I use interchangeably with millet flour, in everything, to lighten the mix and add nutritional value.
Side note: flours made primarily of white rice, potato starch, tapioca or arrowroot flours are nutritionally worthless. And yes…bean flours are icky. My husband usually goes along with the diet, but he drew the line at bean flours.
Does anyone know if Amaranth flour known by any other name? I can’t find it where I live.
Can this flour mix be used like regular flour to fry chicken and make gravy? Some gluten-free mixes I have purchased and tried make very tough crust and gravy that stays thick as mud!! I need to be able incorporate my gluten-free requirements into some of the country type cooking that my husband loves.
@Tracie: Yes, use this flour just like plain wheat flour for breading chicken. For gravy, I generally just use brown rice flour by itself. We made Sawmill gravy last weekend and the brown rice flour worked just fine. (3 Tbsp brown rice flour, 3 Tbsp butter, 1 pint half & half, black pepper and salt to taste)
Hi Mary Frances: I made a traditional roast beef dinner last night with Yorkshire pudding and brown gravy. I used your all-purpose flour mix as I would have used wheat flour and it turned out beautifully. I had made your mix up once before, only I used corn flour instead of Masa Harina. Oops. Not a good decision. My daughter said everything I made with it tasted like dog biscuits! But the correct mix 🙂 worked great. The Yorkshire pudding, which I make in one large pan like a souffle, although many people make it in muffin tins like popovers, rose beautifully and had a lovely, tender texture. I did make sure my measurements were scant as I find the rice flours tend to take a little more moisture. We had a feast! thanks!
Hi again: about rice flours- White rice flour is made from white rice. White rice is brown rice with the bran removed (it is the outer bran that makes brown rice brown). White rice flour is smoother than brown rice flour because it does not have the milled rice bran in it. I do not feel it rubbed between my fingers, but my palate sure knows the difference. I use brown rice flour as my preference for the extra nutrition, but if the ‘sandy’ texture gets in my way, I use white rice flour instead.
Have also used coconut flour in my cookie flour mix. Delicious.
Hi,
Just found this web-site while looking for instructions on how to use a GF French Bread Mix I bought today. No instructions on the bag and I need to use this for Thanksgiving (Mom-in-law is newly diagnosed). The ingredients are:
White Rice Flour, tapioca flour, soybean oil, sugar, whole egg solids, egg replacer (corn flour, dextrose, salt, soy oil, egg yolk, lecithin), xanthan gum, salt,egg white solid, modified cornstrarch, lecithin.
No brand name, no nothing.
Can anyone help?
My name is Jackie: I am gluten intolance and it is hard to get myself to cook a decent meal because of this intolance that I have. I want to thank U for the different reciples that I can follow so I can make bread that is gluten-free. I have a bread machine and I bought a pre made brown rice bread machine from a box and the dough went all doughy. I didn’t like it. It feels like I want to enjoy myself and start eating properly. Thanks so much for the different reciples. Keep me posted at all times for new reciples
@Esther: Unless someone recognized the ingredients, you’re probably going to have to find a gluten free french bread recipe online and do some math to figure out how much yeast, oil, and water to add. (It looks like those are about the only missing ingredients). Gluten Free Sox Fan and Gluten a Go Go both have recipes on their blogs. I’d also recommend adding the water gradually to make sure your dough doesn’t get too loose to shape properly, and beating the dough with a mixer for several minutes to get the xanthan gum to develop properly. Good Luck!
I have been using your flour mix and it is great that I don’t feel left out eating something baked that is sweet. Now I need to know how to convert the flour mixture to resemble Bisquick Mix? I want to do a recipe that uses this Mix. Also, I just ordered a bread machine for Christmas that has a GF setting. I will soon be able to eat a sandwhich….Merry Christmas to all!