Flours and Baking....just the Basics

As the Holiday's draw near and the days begin to get longer I find myself moving into a type of nesting. Getting the house clean and organized, baking breads, cookies and the sorts to freeze for the long winter. ( Because a freezer full of yummy treats is just what every house needs to stay healthy- :) )

Gluten free flour still seems like an adventure some days. Just when I think I figure it out, I learn something new. In the beginning of my Gluten Free adventure I would reach for the pre packaged "All-Purpose Flour" by Bob's Red Mill or Pamela's. These items are amazing and easy to use, however, they can get pricey if you bake frequently. Much to my excitement my area Co-op has Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour in bulk for a great price - I understand this doesn't help everyone. Below I have the most basic Gluten Free All Purpose Flour mix around.

Basic GF All Purpose Flour
2 Cups Brown Rice Flour
2/3 Cups Potato Starch

1/3 Cups Tapioca flour (Tapioca Starch is the same)

Place in a sifter and carefully sift the flours together to fully mix. If you don't have a sifter the use a whisk to fully combine. Store in an air tight container in a cool dark cupboard, refrigerator or freezer. Keep in mind that flours will not last forever and to avoid them going rancid consider the amount of baking you do before you mix too large of a quantity. Keeping flours in the freezer will keep them the longest.

Freezer - 1 year

Refrigerator - 4-5 months

Cupboard - 1-2 months, only keep in cup board if you use readily

A Few other Baking Items - Gluten Free Four v.s. Regular Flour

The above basic flour recipe as well as the alternative, pre packaged "All Purpose" flours work well in most recipes. However, unlike flours containing gluten, the gluten- free flours are missing a few characteristics that will need to be substituted.

The flour that contains gluten will have a "doughy", stretchy consistency. Regular flour also will rise easily when yeast is added. When baking gluten free it is best to use some type of Gluten Free Flour mix or GF All-Purpose flour. I find that the gluten free flours work best together than as individual flours. My first gluten free adventure (years ago) was making muffins with only white rice flour and I ended up with muffin bricks, perfect for the trash. Since regular dough has that "sticky" texture, we will need to add that texture to our GF flour by adding guar gum or xantham gum. Be sure to add these gums sparingly, too much and you may end up with a slimy baked good. It is recommended to add only 1/8 t0 1/4 teaspoon per cup of flour of either guar gum or xantham gum.

Flours to Avoid

The following flours contain Gluten
All-purpose flour	Plain flour
Bulgar flour	Sauce flour
Bread flour	Self-rising flour
Brown flour	Semolina flour
Cake flour	Spelt flour
Durham flour	Triticale flour
Granary flour	Wheaten cornflour
Graham flour	Wholemeal flour
Kamut flour

Side note on Gluten in your house

If your house uses Gluten, you will need to take special care to avoid cross contamination. Be aware of toasters, counter tops, toaster oven and cooking surfaces. You will need to clean any surface which has touched gluten before a non gluten food can touch that surface. Toaster bags can be purchased to avoid the need for separate toasters. When using butter, jams and other bread condiments take caution not to " double dip" your knife or spoon. If the knife touches the bread and then goes back into the peanut butter jar, you have likely contaminated the entire jar and a person with Celiac or Gluten Allergy will not be able to consume this item. I recommend labeling items, "gluten-free" or "not gluten free" so each family member knows which items to give special care to.

I hope this will give people some basic insight to gluten free flours and baking. It truly is not as difficult to bake gluten free as many people perceive it to be. I will be posting my favorite baked good recipes soon - stay tuned! If you have any questions, please ask me.