Flours that I have in my pantry:
Brown Rice Flour
White Rice Flour
Cornstarch
Potato Starch
Tapioca Starch
Potato Flour
Millet Flour
Sorghum Flour
Ground Flaxseed
Garfava Flour
Almond Meal
Teff Flour
Buckwheat Flour
Some of these flours I seldom use, others are a staple. If you are just starting out and don’t want to stock every flour, I would recommend brown rice flour, tapioca starch and potato starch. I have also had success substituting the sorghum, millet, teff & buckwheat flours with one another.
The brown rice gives added nutrients compared to white rice flour, but the whole grain flours, like sorghum, millet, teff, buckwheat and ground flaxseed are where you will get the majority of your nutrients from. The starches (cornstarch, tapioca starch and potato starch) can cause your blood sugar level to spike, which is one of the reasons the whole grain flours are better for you. However, to give a baked item a similar texture to a gluten-filled item, a combination of flours is necessary, including the starches.*
My favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend is courtesy of Cybele Pascal, and is as follows:
Cybele Pascal’s Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix
4 cups superfine brown rice flour
1 1/3 cups potato starch (not flour)
2/3 cup tapioca starch
Combine all ingredients in a large zipper-top bag. Shake until well blended.
You can also use 2 cups of white rice flour and 2 cups of brown rice flour to “lighten” the flour up a bit. This works well for cakes and cupcakes.
*NOTE: These are my own understandings regarding these flours. There are many more gluten-free flours available, but these are the ones that have passed through my pantry in the past few years.
