I get lots of questions on what kind of gluten-free flours I use for my baking so I thought I’d write a blog post for you all for easy reference.
For the most part I use all-purpose gluten-free flours but as you probably know, there are endless types of all-purpose flours. And then you have almond flour, oat flour, coconut flour, etc. I find that a lot of people directly substitute regular flour with almond flour or whatever other flour and wonder why their cake is dense and too grainy. Different flours are definitely better for different things. Sadly, it’s one thing you have to accept if you’re on a gluten-free diet.
1. Almond flour
This is a more dense flour so I find it best for cookies or even pancakes. It’s also best to combine it with another flour such as an all-purpose or coconut to avoid getting a texture that’s too nutty or gritty. Here are a couple of recipes I’ve used this flour in:
2. Coconut flour
This flour tends to be a bit dry so whether you’re using milk or water in your recipe, you’re going to have to add a little extra because coconut will absorb a lot of the moisture. I love to use this flour in cookies, pancakes, and breads, such as banana bread. But just like almond flour, you’ll want to combine it with another flour so that the end result won’t bee to grainy and will hold together better. Here are a couple recipes I’ve used this flour in:
- Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies | Grain-free
- Cinnamon Brown Sugar Pancakes | Gluten-free, Dairy-free
3. Oat flour
It can be a little tricky to find gluten-free oat flour, especially if you live in Australia. But if you can find some gluten-free oats and blend them then you’ve just made oat flour. This flour is one of my favorite to use in cookies, breads, and pancakes because it acts a lot like regular flour only a little bit more dense. So I combine this flour with a rice flour-based all-purpose flour to lighten up the texture. Here are some recipes I’ve used this flour in:
4. Corn starch/flour
This flour is good for thickening sauces or soups or just for lightly coating foods such as buffalo wings.
5. All-purpose gluten-free self-raising flour (starch-based)
First of all, ALWAYS use self-raising gluten-free flour. It acts the most like normal plain flour. Gluten-free flour with no leavening is only good for using as a thickener unless you’re planning on adding your own leavened (i.e. xanthum gum). Starched-based is best for cookies because it makes them have that crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside texture that we all want in a cookie. If you’re not sure what a starch-based flour is, look at the ingredients list on your flour, if the first ingredient is corn starch or another type of starch, then you have a starched-based flour regardless of what the rest of the ingredients are. Here are some recipes I’ve used this flour in:
6. All-purpose gluten-free self-raising flour (flour-based)
The difference between this all-purpose flour is that the first ingredient in the list is a flour like rice or tapioca. This makes it a less dense flour than the starch-based flour. This flour is perfect for making fluffy cakes, muffins, breads, etc. and it’s also great for brownies. Finding the perfect all-purpose flour may take some time but here are the two that I like best:
- Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free 1-to1 Baking Flour
- Betty Crocker Bisquick Gluten-free Baking Mix
- Well & Good Self-Raising Gluten-free Flour
Here are some recipes I’ve used this flour in:
I hope this post was helpful for y’all. Please don’t hesitate to ask me anything if you have any questions. I’m not an expert but I’ll try my best to help. xx
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bonitappétit 
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