Flour Mixes

Gluten-free Flour Mix

This is my go-to, all-purpose flour mix that I use in most of my baking.  I grind my own brown rice, millet and sorghum, because I think it tastes better and is better for you.  A grinder is an investment, but totally worth it.  I buy grains online from companies that certify that they are GF.  Makes 10 cups.

4 cups brown rice flour

2 cups millet flour

2 cups sorghum flour

1 cups potato starch

1 cups tapioca starch

I mix this all together in a large bowl with a whisk.  Sometimes I substitute another starch (like sweet rice or arrowroot).  When Sarah is visiting, I leave out the brown rice.  Sometimes I leave out the starches and just have the whole grains.  This does make a denser product, and it doesn't work for everything.  I add xanthan gum or another binder (chia, flax, psyllium, or guar gum) as I am cooking.  I store it in a large glass jar with a lid.

Gluten Free Flour 
2 ½ cups of brown rice flour 
½ cup of a starch (tapioca, potato, glutinous rice four). 

Gluten Free Flour Ideas

So putting together a gluten free flour can be daunting.  I think Emily and Christy have great mixes It consists of some combination of sorghum, millet, rice, starch. (Christy and Emily- You two should post them as stand alone recipes. . .  hint, hint). I am not such an avid baker and slightly less ambitious.  So I use a fair amount of store bought flours.  But please note some mixes are ridiculously expensive  The ones listed here are more  moderately priced. It is always more economical and healthy to make your own mix from whole grain.  So go buy a grinder, you will need it. But when you are out of grain or lazy like me here are some flour suggestions:

For Bread - Pamela's gluten free bread mix. I buy it in a 25 lbs. bag from amazon. I have it set up so it comes on a regular basis. Very convenient.  Price isn't too bad.  The price varies, but it is under $3.00 a loaf.

For Pancakes, muffins, biscuits, quick breads, etc  - Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix. This is really a nice mix. It is a bit more then the bread mix and it has almonds and milk so avoid if those are problematic. Also it is a baking mix, so does not work in just any recipe.  It can be a fortune at the grocery store. Once again I suggest Amazon.  Samantha tried  a mix called Better Batter and thought it was too starchy.  She suggested diluting it with a whole grain flour.

For Cake -  King Arthur's Gluten Free Chocolate Cake is fantastic.  The vanilla is good too, just not as good.    I have also used Hudson Mills vanilla and had nice results.

Flour (not a  mix) - Samantha has bought flour from Great River Milling, they are very careful about contamination.  (She asked them.) She tried Better Batter as a GF flour and thought it was too starchy.

Whole Grains - Emily and Christy buy there grains from Pleasant Hill Grains.   I did too, I just bought some sorghum!  This company is nice because the grain comes in a bucket that is airtight and gasket-sealed. This is great for food storage.

Gluten-free Flour Mix

I try to go as whole grain as possible when I bake with gf flours. Usually I use 100% whole grain, but sometimes I will add a starch depending on what I am baking and for whom I am baking. I usually use glutinous rice flour when I am baking for Ben, potato starch if I am baking for Sarah, or tapioca if they are both going to eat the end product. I like to use a mixture of brown rice, sorghum, millet, buckwheat, and sometimes amaranth. The buckwheat I like to use is hulled so my flour isn't flecked with black bits from the hull. I have a trusty grinder and grind at least twice a week (I make probably 6 loaves of bread a week, some from Pamela's bread mix and some from my own recipe). Brown rice is hard on the grinder and I fear mine is about the die, but I will definitely buy another when it does. As it is, I try to grind brown rice in smaller batches.

Here is my basic proportion:

1 part brown rice

1 part sorghum

1/2 part millet and buckwheat each

If I have amaranth I throw it in the hopper with the other grain.

I store the grain in my favorite glass container - it fits a cup measure easily through the mouth - in my pantry.

I like to add some flax as I am mixing a recipe together because I think flax should be refrigerated.

Easy Gluten-Free Flour Mix

1 part Better Batter 

2 parts sorghum flour 

I use this mix for everything.  It is versatile and an easy mix to make.  You can use any flour that you would like with the Better Batter.  I like to add a whole grain because I find Better Batter to be to starchy on its own.  Just remember that it already has xanthan gum in the mix so you do not need to add any.  

Update:I like the Perfect Flour Blend from Namaste gluten-free flour much better than better batter.  I now do 1 part sorghum flour to 4 parts namaste. It makes great food and is a cup for cup replacement for everything I have tried so far.  

Gluten-free Flour Mix

This is my go-to, all-purpose flour mix that I use in most of my baking.  I grind my own brown rice, millet and sorghum, because I think it tastes better and is better for you.  A grinder is an investment, but totally worth it.  I buy grains online from companies that certify that they are GF.  Makes 10 cups.

4 cups brown rice flour

2 cups millet flour

2 cups sorghum flour

1 cups potato starch

1 cups tapioca starch

I mix this all together in a large bowl with a whisk.  Sometimes I substitute another starch (like sweet rice or arrowroot).  When Sarah is visiting, I leave out the brown rice.  Sometimes I leave out the starches and just have the whole grains.  This does make a denser product, and it doesn't work for everything.  I add xanthan gum or another binder (chia, flax, psyllium, or guar gum) as I am cooking.  I store it in a large glass jar with a lid.