Gluten-Free Flour
Are you confused about how and what to use in gluten free cooking, especially with flours?
With a coeliac in the family, gluten free flour takes front and centre of my pantry. But you don't have to be coeliac to be gluten free. If you suffer from any autoimmune condition, or thyroid conditions then it is often a good choice to remove gluten from your diet.
I have been gluten free for many years as I suffer with thyroid issues. I also have a member of the family who is a diagnosed coeliac, therefore I constantly cook with GF products.
GF products have come along way even in the last 5 years. But I am not a fan of the heavily processed GF products you get on the supermarket shelves. I am more partial to wholefood cooking and using some alternative flours to achieve the best results.
I often make my old normal (would have been gluten) recipes and just swap out the gluten items. This has become quite easy with all the different options now available.
When using some of these GF flours you are also improving your protein intake as some of them are high in protein compared to your standard flours. Almond Meal and Besan Flour are two that are high in proteins.
Almond Meal - 20.5 gm of protein per 100gms
Besan (Chickpea) Flour - 19.7gm of protein per 100gms
Below I have listed some of my favorite GF flours and how I would use them.
Almond Meal
Almond meal is my favorite GF flour as it gives such a lovely texture and taste to your products, especially good for baked items. It is a bit looser than your regular flour and you may need to increase your dry ingredients and add baking powder (GF). This is made from ground almonds making it unsuitable if you need nut free foods.
I will often use Almond meal in cakes with eggs then you get a buttery, batter like smoothness.
Buckwheat
Buckwheat is my second favorite GF flour as it is also great in baked goods. I don't find it as crumbly as almond meal as some may suggest, but will add some tapioca flour if I need to improve the texture.
Buckwheat flour provides a rich, earthy flavour and is good for baking with yeast bread. I also use this in muffins, pancakes and cakes.
Buckwheat is my staple option for swapping gluten-based flours. Just add some baking powder to help it rise.
Cassava Flour
Cassava flour is a more recent addition to my pantry and I must say I am very happy with it. This flour is good for bread, pizza bases, fritters and the more savoury type of dishes.
It is the most similar to white flour and can be used in recipes calling for all-purpose flour. It has a neutral flavour and is easily digestible. It has fewer calories than coconut flour or almond meal and is nut-free.
Coconut Flour
You have to like coconut to use this one as the flavour does come through your cooking. I do like coconut but other family members don't so I have to limit the use of this flour.
Coconut flour is quite solid once cooked so it is often used alongside other flours. This is because it soaks up more water than other flours. I might use this to increase the strength of a recipe in a cake or muffins. Or it is great if making bread as it helps holds its shape.
Besan (Chickpea) Flour
Chickpea flour is a good option for savoury items. I love to use this in fritters or burgers. Chickpea flour is traditionally used to make falafel, hummus and flatbread.
As a legume, chickpea flour offers plant-based protein, fibre and other nutrients that help to bring balance to a vegetarian/vegan diet.
Tiger Nut Flour
Another relatively new flour in my pantry. Despite its name, tiger nut flour is not made from nuts. Tigernuts are small root vegetables that grow in North Africa and the Mediterranean.
Tigernut flour has a nutty and slightly sweet flavour that works well in baked goods. It is slightly coarser than white flour and likely results in products with more texture.
Tapioca Flour
I don't use this as a single flour but will add it to a recipe to add thickness. I also use it in place of cornflour when needing a thickening agent.
Green Banana Flour
Green banana flour is made from unripened green bananas.
Banana flour has a delicious, natural earthy flavour, that doesn’t distinctively taste of bananas, but it does have a strong taste. It is a pale brown colour with a light texture that is great for baking recipes, mostly sweet dishes. It is recommended for all types of dishes but I found the flavour more suitable for sweet products.
Other Flours worth mentioning that are also GF are:
Quinoa flour
Rice Flour (Brown & White)
Teff Flour
Amaranth Flour
Corn Flour
Arrowroot Flour
Chia Flour
Apple Flour
Hemp Flour
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Authored by Jan Caton BHSc - Naturopathy. Naturopath and owner of Magnolia Apothecary. Owner at The Conscious Spender. Jan has clinics in Mt Evelyn and Kilsyth.
References
https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/monitoringnutrients