cup rice flour (brown or white)If you’ve turned out hockey pucks when baking muffins, crumbs in place of cookies, or lead instead of bread, you are well aware how “quirky” our gluten-free flours can be. Before the advent of xanthan gum, we used many eggs to stick the flours together, and we waited for the medical experts to come up with a pill to counteract our intolerance to gluten. That’s still a dream, but we do have xanthan gum.
The protein (gluten) to which we are intolerant is also the stretch factor in the flours, so we have to add a substitute, which can be additional eggs, cottage or ricotta cheese, extra leavening, and xanthan gum (or guar gum) to make the baked product taste, look, smell and feel like “real.” Cooking with gluten-free flours can seem tricky until one understands their limitations.
Rice flour is the basic flour for our diet, but I seldom bake with it alone. A better product results when rice flour is combined with other flours—potato starch, tapioca, or soy. A flour mixture and the addition of xanthan gum can make the food so tasty that no one will ever guess it’s a diet product.
For my test baking and recipe converting, I start with a combination I keep on hand, GF flour mix (see page 22 for formula). Then I increase the eggs and leavening and add xanthan gum in a ratio of a little less than 1 teaspoon to a cup of flour in breads, ½ teaspoon to a cup of flour in cakes or muffins, and none in most cookies. Sometimes that is all that’s needed. Other changes might be exchanging mayonnaise for oil or shortening for butter. But if the results aren’t as good as I wish, I then deviate from the GF flour mix to achieve the desired texture. A higher ratio of tapioca flour makes a baked product more springy; potato starch flour, drier and tastier; soy, more moist and flavorful.
To satisfy your longing for sweets and breads, start with simple recipes if you are a noncook and haven’t used these flours before. It won’t be long before you turn out baked products that your non-dieting friends will envy. They’ll never remember if you weren’t much of a cook before. I know, for I was once in your shoes.
Because the flours do not exchange in equal quantity with wheat flour, it is best to understand what each flour is. And, because so many celiacs have other intolerances and allergies and must alter the formulas even more, I have listed some of the substitutes available for our dietary needs.
A white flour milled from polished white rice, this is the basic flour in my baking for it has a bland flavor that doesn’t distort the taste of the baked product and combines well with other flours (to prevent the grainy texture of an all-rice cake or bread). White rice flour keeps well, so it can be bought in quantity. Order it through a supplier (see page 343) or buy it in unopened boxes (to avoid contamination) from bakeries, where it is used to dust baking pans. It is also available in many oriental markets.
White rice flour comes in several textures. Regular and fine can be ordered from suppliers, while the very finest is sold in oriental markets. All the recipes in this book were tested in my kitchen with fine rice flour of a medium grind from Ener-G-Foods. If using regular grind, you may have to add slightly more liquid; less liquid is needed for oriental flour.
A flour milled from unpolished rice, this contains the bran, and is higher in nutrient value than white rice flour. It is great for some breads, muffins, and cookies where the bran (or nutty) taste is desired, but, because there are oils in the bran, it has a much shorter shelf life and tends to become stronger tasting as it ages. Purchase fresh flour and store it in the freezer for a longer life.
As the name implies, this is the bran obtained from polishing brown rice. It has a high content of minerals, vitamin B, vitamin E, protein, and fiber. I often add it to cookies, muffins, and some breads. This, too, has a short shelf life because of the oils it contains, so it is best to buy it as needed. Don’t store it for long except in the freezer.
This flour, made from a glutinous rice, often called sticky rice, is an excellent thickening agent. It is especially good for sauces that are to be refrigerated or frozen since it inhibits separation of the liquids. I have found this in many grocery stores in small boxes labeled as Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour, but it can be ordered from several of the suppliers listed on pages 343 to 347. It can also be found in some oriental markets. (Do not confuse it with plain white rice flour in the market.)
A soft, fluffy, cream-colored flour made from the hulls of brown rice. Like rice bran, it has a high concentration of minerals and B vitamins. And, like rice bran, it has a short shelf life.
A very fine white flour with a bland taste, excellent for baking when combined with other flours, and a good thickening agent for cream soups. Use only about half the amount to replace wheat flour, and mix it with water before adding it to a soup. Potato starch flour keeps well and can be bought in quantity.
Do not confuse this with potato starch flour. This is a heavy flour with a definite potato taste; I use very little of it. When called for in a recipe, potato flour can often be replaced with Potato Buds or mashed potatoes.
Sometimes called tapioca starch, cassava flour, or cassava starch, this very light, white, velvety flour obtained from the cassava root imparts a bit of chew to baked goods and is excellent used in small quantities with other flours for most baking. I have also used it in almost equal parts in recipes where chew is desirable, such as French bread. This keeps well and can be bought in quantity.
A yellow flour with high protein and fat content, this has a nutty flavor and is most successful when used in combination with other flours in baked products that contain fruit, nuts, or chocolate. With its distinctive taste, it is also excellent in waffles. Purchase soy flour in small quantities since it, too, has a short shelf life. Because there seem to be more celiacs sensitive to soy flour than to the white rice, potato starch, and tapioca flours, I don’t use it in my GF flour mix. This can sometimes be purchased in a low-fat version.
A refined starch obtained from corn, it makes a clear thickening for puddings, fruit sauces, and oriental dishes. Cornstarch is also used in combination with other flours in baking.
A flour milled from corn (maize), this can be blended with cornmeal when making corn breads and corn muffins.
This ground corn may be obtained in yellow or white meal. Combine this with other flours for baking or use it alone in Mexican dishes.
Especially desirable for those allergic to corn, this white flour obtained from the root of a West Indian plant can be exchanged measure for measure for cornstarch.
Chestnut, almond, and other nut flours can be used in small quantities to replace a small portion of other flours in order to enhance the taste of homemade pasta, puddings, and cookies. Because they are expensive and often difficult to find, I did not use them in any recipes in this book. If you have the opportunity to experiment, they are great additions to the diet, for they are high in proteins.
Garbanzo or other bean flours may be combined with rice flours for baking. They can also be added in small quantities to meat loaf, hamburger patties, and meatballs. I did not put in any recipes for these flours in this book, but they are high in food value and a great addition to the diet. Look for these in health food and East Indian stores.
This is the basic mix I use in many recipes. The formula is two parts white rice flour, two-thirds part potato starch flour, and one-third part tapioca flour. I mix this in large quantities and keep it on hand for baking.
6 cups white rice flour
2 cups potato starch flour
1 cup tapioca flour
Example 2
12 cups white rice flour
4 cups potato starch flour
2 cups tapioca flour
If you prefer not to blend your own, this flour can be ordered in boxes and bulk from one of the suppliers listed on pages 343 to 347. Ask for GF Gourmet Flour Mix or Bette Hagman’s GF Gourmet Flour Mix.
For general baking, use the following formula. For each cup of wheat flour called for in a recipe, substitute one of the following:
1 cup of my GF flour mix, suggested above
cup rice flour (brown or white)
cup potato starch flour
1 cup soy flour plus ¼ cup potato starch flour
½ cup soy flour plus ½ cup potato starch flour
1 cup corn flour
1 scant cup fine cornmeal
A powder milled from the dried cell coat of a microorganism called Xanthomonas campestris grown under laboratory conditions, it works as a substitute for the gluten in yeast breads and other baked goods using our gluten-free flours. It is available in some health food stores and by mail order from suppliers listed on pages 343 to 347.
A powder derived from the seed of the plant Cyamopsis tetragonolobus. This can be purchased in health food stores or ordered from suppliers listed on pages 343 to 347. Because this has a high fiber content and is sometimes used as a laxative, one should be aware that when used in baking it can cause distress to people whose digestive systems are sensitive.
If you are lactose intolerant, in baking bread, substitute one of the powders found in health food stores: Lacto-Free or Tofu White (both contain soy) or NutQuik (made from almonds). Another choice could be a powdered baby formula from a supermarket or drugstore: Isomil, ProSobee, Nursoy (all soy based) or Pregestimil (corn based). For both drinking and cooking, there are several soy liquids in the dairy section of your local supermarket. You may also find a pure rice liquid called Rice Dream at many health food stores. This can be used directly from the box in place of milk.
If you must avoid all parts of the egg, use Egg Replacer (free of egg, dairy, corn, soy, gluten), mixing with water as suggested on the package. As in all our baking, you may have to increase the amount to get the desired texture of cake or muffins. I worked out one recipe for bread using Egg Replacer (see Egg Replacer Bread, page 56).
For those allergic only to egg yolks or cutting down on cholesterol, use Eggbeaters (contains egg whites) according to package directions or use egg whites in place of whole eggs. Use two egg whites for one egg or three for two eggs. Replacement works best when only one or two eggs are called for in a recipe.
Many of the recipes may be further altered to fit other dietetic needs. The diabetic can replace sugar with sugar substitutes. In baking, the results are better if the substitute sugar is used in heavier, moister cakes and breads (Pacific Rim Cake, page 100, or Fruit and Fiber Muffins, page 83). Those who cannot tolerate soy can replace soy flour in a recipe with rice flour. Since soy creates a more moist batter, you may need slightly more liquid if you exchange it.
For those who must lower their sodium intake, herbs and spices, light salt, or salt substitute can replace some or all of the salt. But always read the labels on your mixed or substitute seasonings; some contain anticaking agents in the form of wheat flour or germ. Some of the cheeses can be exchanged for varieties lower in sodium. You can buy “light” chicken and beef broths and stocks or make your own salt-free versions using only herbs for seasoning, and keep them in the freezer to use later.
Anyone who needs more fiber could substitute brown rice flour for the white, add rice bran in many of the recipes, and include more high-fiber vegetables in the casseroles and soups.
If you prefer not to use wine, substitute a sparkling cider or grape juice. In some recipes where the wine is used to tenderize meat, try using a tablespoon or so of red wine vinegar. One tester used Diet 7UP as a tasty alternative.
The preceding may be confusing to someone just starting the diet, but the flours and alternatives for dairy products soon become as familiar as the various mixes previously pulled off the grocery shelves.
The cooking may consume a bit more time, but the results are worth it, especially when the whole family can eat (and enjoy) the same meal from soup through dessert.