How to Pick the Right Gluten Free Flour Substitute for Your Conventional Recipe

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Maintain a good gluten free pantry.

   There are no two ways about it, a gluten free pantry has more random stuff than a pantry with gluten one does.
   
   Until magical gluten-free wheat flour is invented, you'll be replacing one flour with two or more.
   
   Here's a short list of the things I keep on hand all the time.
   
   White Rice Flour Brown Rice Flour Tapioca Starch Potato Starch Low Fat Soy Flour Whey Protein Powder Quinoa Flour Albumen (dried egg white) Guar Gum Teff flour , Different flours have different milled sizes and density, but baking is generally chemistry
   - which means it's the mass, not the volume that counts.
   
   A kitchen scale is a necessary tool.
   
   To determine the weight called for in your recipe, use this basic guide: 1 cup all purpose wheat flour =
   4.5 ounces , White rice flour is low in protein and high in starch, soy flour is high in protein and lower in starch.
   
   Albumen has no starch and is all protein.
   
   When you think about your resulting product, think about whether it should be strong and have lots of structure (high in protein) or tender and crumbling (higher starch, lower protein).
   
   Is it the base of a sauce? High starch.
   
   Is it coating on a fried good? A moderate mix of both.
   
   This will also make it easier to swap out one flour for another if you have or develop other food sensitivities. , Gravy thickening
   - potato starch.
   
   Has a neutral flavor and leaves minimal lumps Cookies
   - equal parts by weight white rice, tapioca, and low fat soy flour (substitute teff for soy if you do not tolerate soy well).
   
   Pie crust
   - 3 parts white rice flour, 2 parts tapioca and potato starch.
   
   Cake
   - 1 part guar gum, 3 parts albumen, 5 parts white rice flour, and 12 parts potato starch.
   
   Bread
   - 1 part whey powder, 2 parts soy flour and tapioca starch, 3 parts white rice flour , Some cupcakes want a stronger flour.
   
   Some breads are better with weaker ones.
   
   Gluten free flour mixes are less robust and versatile than their wheat counterparts so even if you find something that's "pretty good" be prepared to try it over again with a different mix.
2. 2

   Step 2: Substitute by weight.

3. 3

   Step 3: Think about flours in terms of their protein and starch content.

4. 4

   Step 4: Some suggested mixes for basic uses.

5. 5

   Step 5: Be prepared to try different things.

Detailed Guide

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