Using gluten free flour

When I first started trying to make gluten free versions of some of my favorite recipes, I hadn't done any research into gluten free flours. Many of the commercial brands out there would lead you to believe it's simply a case of buying a packaged GF flour and substituting it for regular flour to get a great result - unfortunately, trial and error has taught me this is very much NOT the case.  Here are the most important lessons I've learned about this.

1. GF flours are generally more "thirsty" than wheat flour.

In other words, if you normally make your recipe with 1 cup of wheat flour, it will take LESS gluten free flour to get the same consistency. Maybe significantly less, and/or add more liquid. Exactly how much depends on the flour(s) you use and the consistency you want, and will unfortunately just require trial and error till you find the ideal balance. This pinterest page has a lot of recommended conversions, if you want some ballpark estimates to start with. Some commercial mixes are specifically made and intended to be used in a 1:1 substitution, but I've avoided these for reasons in point #2...

2. Be aware of the ingredients in commercial packaged brands.

For my first attempt at GF peanut butter cookies, I picked up a bag of Bob's Red Mill all purpose GF baking flour. I figured this is a well known brand in most health food stores around here, and I'd seen people saying they've used it with success. Surely this would be fine in cookies right? SO WRONG. The main ingredient in this mix is garbanzo bean flour, which gave the cookies a strong, bitter, bean taste. Does the idea of garbanzo bean and peanut butter cookies tempt you? No, me neither. They were so disgusting the entire batch went straight into the trash, as did the rest of the flour mix. I've also tried quinoa flour, which I'm sure is very healthy, but also has a strong taste that just doesn't work in desserts. So do pay attention to the ingredients in GF flour mixes! You'll want to consider both the flavour, and the texture. I haven't found an ideal pre-mixed flour that tastes acceptable, is affordable, and is easily available near me, so I've abandoned the idea of buying a commercial brand and started experimenting with blends of individual flours depending on the recipe (most research I've read suggests a mix of GF flours will work better than any single one, as each have their strengths and weaknesses as a substitute). For sweeter baked goods like cookies or cakes, I've been experimenting with blends mainly of coconut flour (may add a slight taste of coconut, obviously, but this generally works fine in a sweet dessert), tapioca flour, and/or sweet rice flour. If you want to just make up a GF flour mix you can use for everything, this blog has some great advice.

3. Texture is important too!

It's not something most of us immediately think about, but the texture of baked goods is almost as important as the taste. The light, fluffy texture of a cupcake is something we expect to bite into, and if the texture is grainy and coarse, it's just not going to be as enjoyable a treat, even if it tastes basically the same. Some GF flours that taste fine have a more grainy texture, so while they may be fine in some foods, they won't be appropriate for others. Oat flour is a good example - makes tasty oat pancakes, but in a cake it makes the texture heavy and coarse on the tongue. Almond flour is another, while this is fine to use in something heavier like a nanaimo bar or banana bread, it doesn't work well in a cupcake. Look for very fine flours like sweet white rice flour or tapioca flour when you need a very fine texture.

4. Gluten holds things together.

Gluten is a general term for a protein (a large complex molecule) that has the effect of making things "sticky". (In fact, this is why sticky rice is also called glutinous rice, even though it doesn't actually contain gluten.) Gluten helps foods maintain their shape, acting like a kind of sticky glue. As you try to make baked goods, especially things that need to be rolled out like pastries, you'll very quickly notice that the gluten free versions tend to crumble apart rather than sticking together well. Think of a chef stretching and throwing around pizza dough to make a pizza base; what's making that possible is the gluten. If you tried that with gluten free flour, you'd just end up with a disintegrated mess all over the kitchen. The most common solution for this is to add xanthan gum. This is a fine powder based on various types of sugar that can help hold baked goods together in a similar way to gluten, and also helps hold in moisture. Typically, commercial mixes of flour will already include this so you won't need to add more, but if you're making up your own mixes, you will likely need to add about 1/4 tsp per cup of GF flour. You can get away with less (or none) in some recipes, like banana bread, that don't really need to be shaped and are already very moist; recipes that contain a lot of eggs may also be fine as the eggs help hold things together and maintain moisture. You may need extra xanthan gum for recipes that need significant help holding together (such as rolled pastry) or that need to maintain a moist, springy texture (like doughnuts). It still won't behave quite the same as gluten, however, so you'll need to experiment a bit with your favourite recipe to find the ideal amount, and don't ever expect to toss gluten free dough around like a pizza base. Here's a blog illustrating what happened when the author forgot to include xanthan gum in gluten free bread!  Xanthan gum is pretty easy to buy in health food stores (or on Amazon). Guar gum is another substitute you may see.

I'm still learning the best flours to use in different recipes, but these four tips are the most important lessons you'll need to know before jumping in and experimenting yourself. Have any other tips? Please do post in the comments if so!