- Amaranth very flavorful but does best when mixed with other flours for cakes, biscuits and pancakes.
- Buckwheat many people have trouble digesting this, use in small amounts
- Carob good for cakes, cookies, and other sweets.
- Corn good for making corn breads, muffins, or even pancakes.
- Millet has a sweet flavor but dries out the baked good if too much is used. Mix with other flours.
- Nut or legume flours use in small amounts to increase protein and add flavor. Good for cookies, cakes or even pasta.
- Potato starch a good choice for baking when mixed with other flours, also a good thickening agent for cream soups.
- Quinnoa good for biscuits and pancakes but has a strong flavor. Mix with other flours.
- Rice a good thickener substitute, delicious in muffins or quick breads.
- Sorghum the best general purpose gluten-free flour
- Soy has a nutty flavor, best used with other flours
- Tapioca excellent in small amounts for adding chewiness to baked goods such as brownies
The following mixtures may be used to make adequate flour substitutes:
- Self-raising flour: two tablespoons potato flour, sufficient white rice flour to make it up to one cup, half a teaspoon of bicarbonate soda, half a teaspoon of cream of tartar, one teaspoon of xanthan gum (or guar gum).
- Plain flour combinations include:
- two cups rice flour
- two thirds cup potato flour and one third cup tapioca flour
- equal portions of soya flour and cornstarch
- equal portions of soya flour and potato flour
- equal portions of soya flour and rice flour
or experiment and make your own gluten-free flour mixes.
note: if you cannot find gluten-free baking powder you can make your own:
one quarter cup bicarbonate soda and half cup cream of tartar.
About Gluten
Many people suffer from illness such as Celiac Disease, igA deficiency, or Duhring's Disease that require them to remove gluten from their diets. Most cereals, grains, pastas, breads, and processed foods contain some type of gluten, unless of course, they are specifically made to be gluten-free. For these people even the most minute particle of gluten can set off a reaction. In order to enjoy baked goods they need to purchase gluten-free flours which can be difficult to find and expensive.
A viable alternative is to purchase a mill and grind your own. This also allows the gluten intolerant person more flexibility in their diet by combining different grains to enjoy delicious baked goods in their diet again.
Substitutes for wheat flour include:
Gluten reference:
NO gluten - Amaranth, Buckwheat, Corn, Millet, Montina (Indian rice grass), Quinoa, Rice, Sorghum, Rice, Wild Rice
Grains with Gluten - Wheat, Spelt, Kamut, Farro, Durum, Semolina, Bulgur, Rye and Triticale (a rye/wheat hybrid)
Oats are inherently gluten-free, but are frequently contaminated with wheat during growing or processing. Two companies (Cream Hill Estates and Gluten Free Oats) currently offer pure, uncontaminated oats. Although they are not certified gluten-free McCann's Irish Oats are processed in a facility that processes only oats. Ask your physician if these oats are acceptable for you. Visit Gluten.net for a discussion on oats in the gluten-free diet.
Wild Oats offers a Gluten Free Living Guide
The Celiac Sprue Association has a recipe page
Beware of These Names and Terms: Starch, it could mean corn starch or wheat starch. Also watch out for dextrin, malt, maltodextrin, modified food starch, fillers, natural flavoring, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), and hydolyzed plant protein (HPP) they may contain gluten. Always check with the manufacturer if these these terms are used on the product label to make sure gluten is not contained in their product.