Gluten Free Flour

Since becoming gluten free, I have been reading up, and at times trying to re-learn new ways to make some of my favorite recipes. At this time, due to limitations on diet, I have not been able to do much. My dad though has become more interested in cooking gluten free, and so was inquiring as to how to make gluten free flours. The ones at the stores don't seem to taste right, nor are they in the price range we would like to spend for flour. 

One thing that has been hard to grasp is how to create the right gluten free flour for baking. There seems to be an art to this. This new way of cooking feels like a foreign language at times. It's definitely not the way my grandma or mom cooked. No more "...add flour..." and wallah it's done! You need the right combination of flours to make the recipe work. In addition, buying gluten free flours are bit more than what I would like to spend at this time... and at times don't taste as good.    

I enjoy reading "Gluten Free Girl's" cooking adventures. Here is some excerpts from her on how to make gluten free flour.   

"You see, I have been realizing this lately: if you bake by weight in grams and you have a recipe based on the solid ratios that work for the different baked goods, you have a great gluten-free recipe waiting to be made. Simply substitute 140 grams of gluten-free flours for 140 grams of gluten flours, and you have it.

... other than a difference in color, baked goods made with whole-grain flours are fairly identical in texture to the starchy AP mix we used for the cookies. That means the protein of quinoa, the iron of teff, the goodness provided by these different flours? They can show up in everything you bake.

Want to make a whole grain all purpose (AP) mix in your kitchen? Here's how.

We're working with 70% whole grains/30% starches. We might someday go to all whole grains for some baked goods, but this blend works well for us now.

If you want to make a big batch for all the baking in your kitchen?

Choose 700 grams of any combination of the following flours:

Almond
Amaranth
Brown Rice
Buckwheat
Corn
Millet
Oat
Quinoa
Sorghum
Sweet Brown Rice
Teff

Almond is not a grain, but it is a whole flour, so I've thrown it in there. You might notice that I have not put in garbanzo (I don't like it) or coconut (I don't like the way it tastes or the way it sucks all the moisture out of a baked good) or soy (I'm having a hard time finding a good gluten-free one). You might like those. Substitute if you want.

This means that you can make your own blend. If you are allergic to corn, and you know you can't eat the certified gluten-free oats, blend up 100 grams each of almond, brown rice, buckwheat, corn, millet, sorghum, and teff. (the flavor you find by blending all these different taste is fascinating. It's amazing how boring regular AP flour seems after you use this.) Find your own favorite combination.

And then throw in 300 grams of any combination of the following:

Arrowroot
Cornstarch
Potato Starch
Tapioca Flour
White Rice Flour

We like using 150 grams each of arrowroot and potato starch, at the moment.

Combine the 700 grams of whole-grain flours with the 300 grams of starches in a big container. Shake it all up. You have whole-grain flour mix.