GF Flours & Grains
GF flours Gluten holds moisture and binds food, so when you remove this, things start to unravel. This is why it is so important to include a binder so the end result will be successful. It seems to be best to use 2 or more gluten free flours together when substituting them from wheat flour. A mixture of GF flours gives a better texture and flavor than just one on its own. When baking it is good to have 2 grainy or crumbly flours and a binding one. But there are some recipes that will work well successfully with only one flour. Choose at least 2 of the crumbly or grainy flours: 1 Amaranth 2 Coconut 3 Corn 4 Rice 5 Millet 6 Quinoa 7 Sorghum 1 - Good flavour for cakes, biscuits and pancakes. Always needs a binding flour with it. Needs to be soaked overnight in something acidic, like yoghurt, or lemon juice and water. 2 - This is a fairly new flour. You can make your own, by getting fine dessicated coconut and processing in a food processor 3 - Cornmeal needs to be soaked in lime water, rather than acids. Corn starch or flour can be blended with cornmeal to make corn breads or muffins. Corn is a common allergen. 4 - Some people find brown rice hard to digest. White rice is often used as it's easier to digest and fairly low allergy. It is pure starch and not high in nutrients. Either brown or white is good for thickening gravies, sauces, and cream pies. 5 - Tends to make breads dry and coarse so don't use more than 1/5 of the flour mixture. Add a binding flour (or two): 1 Buckwheat 2 Arrowroot 3 Tapioca flour 4 Potato starch 5 Potato flour 6 Pea or Bean flours 7 Soy 1 - Buckwheat groats can be sprouted, dried and then ground into flour that doesn’t need further soaking. But if you use ready bought flour, it will need to be soaked in something acid. Use in small amounts as it has a strong flavor and is sometimes difficult to digest. 2 - Easy to digest, and the most nutritious of the white flours as it is not refined. A superior thickener. 3 - Imparts the "chew factor", excellent used in small quantities. Also good for coating anything that's going to be fried. Again a refined starch and not high in nutrients. 4 - Excellent for baking when used with other flours. It is a good thickening agent for cream soups. A refined starch and not high in nutrients. 5 - Potato flour is different from potato starch. 6. Use in small quantities only, as they are better soaked. And/or use 1-2 of these binders: 1 Egg 2 Pectin 3 Guar gum 4 Xantham gum 5 Flaxseed "gel" 6 Sago 4 - Some people react to guar gum, so xantham is better. If you also react to that, try pectin. If still no go, try without it, it will just be a little heavier. 5 - Good egg replacer in baking: Simmer 1/4 cup flax seeds in 3/4 cup water for 5-7 mins, till thick. Strain the seeds out in a cheesecloth lined strainer - you'll need to squeeze it. Use 4 Tbs for 1 egg. For extra lightness, whip the "gel" and fold through at the end of mixing. Add 1-2 of these for flavor & texture & lower carbs (opt): 1 Ground sesame seeds 2 Ground flaxseed 3 Ground "crispy" nuts 4 Ground almonds Some other possibilities: 5 Teff 6 Montina (Indian rice) 7 Mesquite (low carb) 1 - Makes a nice pizza base, with some flaxseed and beaten eggs. 2 - Small amounts are nice in GF bread 3 - Many gluten free recipes use ground almonds, but they are not soaked so the anti-nutrients aren’t neutralised. "Crispy" nuts (soak in lightly salted water for 6 hours then dry in a 150 deg. oven until crisp), ground yourself are better. Macadamias and almonds are good for a neutral flavor. Some possible substitutes for 1 cup of wheat flour, that other people have used successfully: 7/8 cup rice flour 1/2 cup arrowroot starch 5/8 cup potato starch flour 5/8 cup tapioca flour 1 cup corn flour 1 cup teff flour 1/2 cup rice + 1/2 cup maize 1 cup maize + 1 tbsp millet flour 1/2 cup rice + 1/4 cup buckwheat + 1/4 cup chickpea (good for cakes and muffins) 1/2 cup buckwheat + 1/2 cup potato 1/2 cup quinoa + 1/2 cup potato 3/4 cup amaranth flour + 1/4 cup potato flour 3/4 cup Amaranth flour + 1/4 cup tapioca starch 3/4 cup Quinoa + 1/4 cup tapioca starch 3/4 cup Quinoa + 1/4 cup arrowroot General tips: Not all baking powders are gluten free. A suitable replacement for 1 tsp baking powder is ½ tsp cream of tartar, plus ¼ tsp baking soda. Non-gluten flours are heavier than those with gluten and take longer to cook. To help them rise, add 1 tsp guar gum, xantham gum or pectin for each cup of flour. When using a combination of GF flours it is essential to mix them thoroughly before adding other ingredients Certain combinations of flours work differently from recipe to recipe. A certain combination may work well in a pancake recipe, but may not be as successful in a spongy cake. GF mixtures need to be wetter for cakes and muffins and drier for biscuits GF baking sticks to the baking surface so use baking paper or grease tin well GF products are better when baked at a slightly lower temperature for a longer period of time. When making biscuits chill the mixture for 1/2 hour before cooking and they will be easier to handle When making pastry press the dough into the dish instead of trying to roll it out, this saves time and frustration! Grain preparation These grains need to be cooked before incorporated into most salads, and soups. They are also delicious just hot out of the pot as a side dish. Grain Amount of Liquid Amount of Grain Cooking time Amaranth 1 c 1 c Simmer 7 minutes, let stand covered 5-10 minutes. Buckwheat 2 c 1 c 15 minutes Millet 1.5 c 1 c Simmer 15 minutes, let stand covered 10 minutes. Quinoa 2 c 1 c Simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Teff 2 c .5 c Simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Wild Rice 1 c 1 c Simmer 30 minutes.
GF flours Gluten holds moisture and binds food, so when you remove this, things start to unravel. This is why it is so important to include a binder so the end result will be successful. It seems to be best to use 2 or more gluten free flours together when substituting them from wheat flour. A mixture of GF flours gives a better texture and flavor than just one on its own. When baking it is good to have 2 grainy or crumbly flours and a binding one. But there are some recipes that will work well successfully with only one flour. Choose at least 2 of the crumbly or grainy flours: 1 Amaranth 2 Coconut 3 Corn 4 Rice 5 Millet 6 Quinoa 7 Sorghum 1 - Good flavour for cakes, biscuits and pancakes. Always needs a binding flour with it. Needs to be soaked overnight in something acidic, like yoghurt, or lemon juice and water. 2 - This is a fairly new flour. You can make your own, by getting fine dessicated coconut and processing in a food processor 3 - Cornmeal needs to be soaked in lime water, rather than acids. Corn starch or flour can be blended with cornmeal to make corn breads or muffins. Corn is a common allergen. 4 - Some people find brown rice hard to digest. White rice is often used as it's easier to digest and fairly low allergy. It is pure starch and not high in nutrients. Either brown or white is good for thickening gravies, sauces, and cream pies. 5 - Tends to make breads dry and coarse so don't use more than 1/5 of the flour mixture. Add a binding flour (or two): 1 Buckwheat 2 Arrowroot 3 Tapioca flour 4 Potato starch 5 Potato flour 6 Pea or Bean flours 7 Soy 1 - Buckwheat groats can be sprouted, dried and then ground into flour that doesn’t need further soaking. But if you use ready bought flour, it will need to be soaked in something acid. Use in small amounts as it has a strong flavor and is sometimes difficult to digest. 2 - Easy to digest, and the most nutritious of the white flours as it is not refined. A superior thickener. 3 - Imparts the "chew factor", excellent used in small quantities. Also good for coating anything that's going to be fried. Again a refined starch and not high in nutrients. 4 - Excellent for baking when used with other flours. It is a good thickening agent for cream soups. A refined starch and not high in nutrients. 5 - Potato flour is different from potato starch. 6. Use in small quantities only, as they are better soaked. And/or use 1-2 of these binders: 1 Egg 2 Pectin 3 Guar gum 4 Xantham gum 5 Flaxseed "gel" 6 Sago 4 - Some people react to guar gum, so xantham is better. If you also react to that, try pectin. If still no go, try without it, it will just be a little heavier. 5 - Good egg replacer in baking: Simmer 1/4 cup flax seeds in 3/4 cup water for 5-7 mins, till thick. Strain the seeds out in a cheesecloth lined strainer - you'll need to squeeze it. Use 4 Tbs for 1 egg. For extra lightness, whip the "gel" and fold through at the end of mixing. Add 1-2 of these for flavor & texture & lower carbs (opt): 1 Ground sesame seeds 2 Ground flaxseed 3 Ground "crispy" nuts 4 Ground almonds Some other possibilities: 5 Teff 6 Montina (Indian rice) 7 Mesquite (low carb) 1 - Makes a nice pizza base, with some flaxseed and beaten eggs. 2 - Small amounts are nice in GF bread 3 - Many gluten free recipes use ground almonds, but they are not soaked so the anti-nutrients aren’t neutralised. "Crispy" nuts (soak in lightly salted water for 6 hours then dry in a 150 deg. oven until crisp), ground yourself are better. Macadamias and almonds are good for a neutral flavor. Some possible substitutes for 1 cup of wheat flour, that other people have used successfully: 7/8 cup rice flour 1/2 cup arrowroot starch 5/8 cup potato starch flour 5/8 cup tapioca flour 1 cup corn flour 1 cup teff flour 1/2 cup rice + 1/2 cup maize 1 cup maize + 1 tbsp millet flour 1/2 cup rice + 1/4 cup buckwheat + 1/4 cup chickpea (good for cakes and muffins) 1/2 cup buckwheat + 1/2 cup potato 1/2 cup quinoa + 1/2 cup potato 3/4 cup amaranth flour + 1/4 cup potato flour 3/4 cup Amaranth flour + 1/4 cup tapioca starch 3/4 cup Quinoa + 1/4 cup tapioca starch 3/4 cup Quinoa + 1/4 cup arrowroot General tips: Not all baking powders are gluten free. A suitable replacement for 1 tsp baking powder is ½ tsp cream of tartar, plus ¼ tsp baking soda. Non-gluten flours are heavier than those with gluten and take longer to cook. To help them rise, add 1 tsp guar gum, xantham gum or pectin for each cup of flour. When using a combination of GF flours it is essential to mix them thoroughly before adding other ingredients Certain combinations of flours work differently from recipe to recipe. A certain combination may work well in a pancake recipe, but may not be as successful in a spongy cake. GF mixtures need to be wetter for cakes and muffins and drier for biscuits GF baking sticks to the baking surface so use baking paper or grease tin well GF products are better when baked at a slightly lower temperature for a longer period of time. When making biscuits chill the mixture for 1/2 hour before cooking and they will be easier to handle When making pastry press the dough into the dish instead of trying to roll it out, this saves time and frustration! Grain preparation These grains need to be cooked before incorporated into most salads, and soups. They are also delicious just hot out of the pot as a side dish. Grain Amount of Liquid Amount of Grain Cooking time Amaranth 1 c 1 c Simmer 7 minutes, let stand covered 5-10 minutes. Buckwheat 2 c 1 c 15 minutes Millet 1.5 c 1 c Simmer 15 minutes, let stand covered 10 minutes. Quinoa 2 c 1 c Simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Teff 2 c .5 c Simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Wild Rice 1 c 1 c Simmer 30 minutes.