Confused about ingredients for baking?
Here are some helpful descriptions. Rice flour - provides a light dough, but retains a gritty texture and a crumbly dough. Also has a definite, though not unpleasant, flavour when used alone. This is the "workhorse" of non-wheat flour mixes. White or brown give pretty much equal results. Cornstarch - provides smoothness when mixed with rice flour. Also makes a light dough, but a very fragile one. Use tapioca starch if corn is a problem for you. No pronounced flavour. Tapioca starch (cassava starch) - provides a "chewiness" and helps smooth out rice flour. Go to your nearest Asian market - it's an eastern staple, and available inexpensively there. If you don't have an Asian market near you, you might also be able to find it in the Hispanic section of your grocery store. Usually quite non-allergenic (I know, someone out there reacts to it!), it can substitute for potato starch and cornstarch. No pronounced flavour. Potato starch (not the same as potato flour) - usually available in small boxes in supermarket, in the baking section. Otherwise, ask your health food store. Provides a moister dough, prevents crumbling. No pronounced flavour. Do NOT use potato flour - very heavy texture, potato taste. If solanines are a problem, use tapioca starch instead. Sweet Rice Flour (also called sticky rice flour, or glutinous rice flour. It has NO gluten, but has a sticky quality when wet). This flour, found most easily in Asian markets, is used in small amounts in specific recipes, when you need that "gluten" quality to hold things together. Excellent in pie pastry (recipe will follow), biscotti, and some other recipes. Soy flour - used in small amounts, it adds moistness. However, in larger amounts, I find its flavour very pronounced and overpowering. I quit using it long ago. However, if you are allergic to everything else, you can mix 1/3 part soy flour with 2/3 rice flour, and it will work reasonably well. GUMS Guar gum and/or xanthan gum are used to substitute for the gluten that is missing from non-wheat flours. They are optional in cookies, but really help with other baking (cakes, etc.) Guar gum is a natural gum derived from algae (seaweed). It is salicylate free, has a high fibre content, and in larger amounts can act as a laxative. Xanthan gum is derived from a micro-organism grown under highly controlled conditions. It is salicylate free, does not cause digestive upset, is unlikely to cause allergic reactions (but might, of course) and works wonderfully. It is expensive, but a little goes a long way (1 tsp / 2+ cups flour) It is becoming available outside Nortth America (local celiac societies are a good place to start). From Mireille, GF since Dec. 97 Restaurant Owner in Quebec via the Delphi Forum _________________ "Everyone and everything around you is your teacher."
Here are some helpful descriptions. Rice flour - provides a light dough, but retains a gritty texture and a crumbly dough. Also has a definite, though not unpleasant, flavour when used alone. This is the "workhorse" of non-wheat flour mixes. White or brown give pretty much equal results. Cornstarch - provides smoothness when mixed with rice flour. Also makes a light dough, but a very fragile one. Use tapioca starch if corn is a problem for you. No pronounced flavour. Tapioca starch (cassava starch) - provides a "chewiness" and helps smooth out rice flour. Go to your nearest Asian market - it's an eastern staple, and available inexpensively there. If you don't have an Asian market near you, you might also be able to find it in the Hispanic section of your grocery store. Usually quite non-allergenic (I know, someone out there reacts to it!), it can substitute for potato starch and cornstarch. No pronounced flavour. Potato starch (not the same as potato flour) - usually available in small boxes in supermarket, in the baking section. Otherwise, ask your health food store. Provides a moister dough, prevents crumbling. No pronounced flavour. Do NOT use potato flour - very heavy texture, potato taste. If solanines are a problem, use tapioca starch instead. Sweet Rice Flour (also called sticky rice flour, or glutinous rice flour. It has NO gluten, but has a sticky quality when wet). This flour, found most easily in Asian markets, is used in small amounts in specific recipes, when you need that "gluten" quality to hold things together. Excellent in pie pastry (recipe will follow), biscotti, and some other recipes. Soy flour - used in small amounts, it adds moistness. However, in larger amounts, I find its flavour very pronounced and overpowering. I quit using it long ago. However, if you are allergic to everything else, you can mix 1/3 part soy flour with 2/3 rice flour, and it will work reasonably well. GUMS Guar gum and/or xanthan gum are used to substitute for the gluten that is missing from non-wheat flours. They are optional in cookies, but really help with other baking (cakes, etc.) Guar gum is a natural gum derived from algae (seaweed). It is salicylate free, has a high fibre content, and in larger amounts can act as a laxative. Xanthan gum is derived from a micro-organism grown under highly controlled conditions. It is salicylate free, does not cause digestive upset, is unlikely to cause allergic reactions (but might, of course) and works wonderfully. It is expensive, but a little goes a long way (1 tsp / 2+ cups flour) It is becoming available outside Nortth America (local celiac societies are a good place to start). From Mireille, GF since Dec. 97 Restaurant Owner in Quebec via the Delphi Forum _________________ "Everyone and everything around you is your teacher."