THE BAKER’S BOUQUET: It’s all about the flours!

Navigating my way through the gluten free world has opened my eyes to a bountiful bouquet of flours. Flours I never even knew existed. Some flours are wonderful for cakes and pastries, others are better for muffins and breads.  Some will need more liquid added to the recipe, and others I just plain avoid.

ALL PURPOSE: 

2 1/2 cups of white rice flour, 2 cups of sorghum flour*, 1 1/2 cups of sweet rice flour, 1 cup of tapioca flour, 1/2 cup of cornstarch, **3 3/4 teaspoon of Xanthan Gum.

Mix together in a large bowl with a whisk until it all is one color. I like to sift the flour together several times to insure all the Xanthan Gum is distributed throughout the mixture. I like to store the flour in large mason jars. If you are not using brown rice flour you can store on the shelf for a month or two. If you don’t bake often I would store your flours in the refrigerator or a cool storage.

* Brown rice does not have a good shelf life and can be hard on digestion for those with a sensitive tummy. I have found that sorghum is an excellent substitute.

A NOTE ABOUT XANTHAN GUM:

**The amount of Xanthan Gum depends on what you are baking. For general purposes about 1/2 teaspoon per cup of flour. For cake you only need 1/8 teaspoon per cup of flour. Breads need 1/2 teaspoon per cup of flour. Too much Xanthan gum will result in a gummy center that doesn’t seem to ever get done no matter how long you bake it. Yes this has happened to me. 

FLOUR FOR BREADING:

Now and then I just want some crispy fried chicken! Here is what I use for breading flour:

Equal Parts: Tapioca Flour/Starch, Nut Flour/Meal, Sorghum Flour

NO Xanthan Gum 

Mix well, (no sifting here because of the nut flour). Store in a mason jar in your refrigerator.

CAKE FLOUR

Cake flour means lighter flours and starches with very little Xanthan Gum:

4 cups Tapioca flour, 4 cups Sweet Rice Flour, 2 cups White Rice Flour, 2 cups Sorghum Flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons Xanthan Gum, 1/8 teaspoon citric acid & kosher salt (for shelf life).

Mix in a large bowl and sift at least once. Store in glass container. If you want to omit the citric acid and salt, simply store in your refrigerator of freezer.