I use the same flour mix for all of my recipes. I rarely use white rice flour, as it has no nutritional value and is all empty carbs. There are some great GF flours out there that I haven't even experimented with yet. Some of them being teff, coconut, mesquite, and quinoa. But they are all good fibers, and have their own distinct nutritional differences. I also stay away from refined starches like cornstarch and potato starch. These starches are hard on the digestive tract, especially for those who are already experiencing gut problems. Better options that are not refined are tapioca flour and arrowroot powder. And they work wonderfully. ;)
Sorghum is by far my favorite GF flour. It is full of fiber and vitamins, and tastes great. It bakes really well, and replaces regular flour without much difference. Brown rice is also a good one, high in fiber and nutrients.
I buy my flours in bulk as often as possible. Last year we invested in the Family Grain Mill grain grinder. It has more than payed for itself over the last year, and has allowed us to have nutritious fresh ground flour at a fraction of the price of prepackaged flour. I grind sorghum, millet, brown rice, buckwheat, and oats.
I double or triple this recipe, and store it in an airtight container in the cabinet to use throughout the week. If it's going to be longer than a week that I will use fresh ground flours, I store them in the fridge to prevent them from going rancid.
GF Flour Mix
1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups arrowroot powder
1 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup bean or millet flour
If you want to experiment with other flours, just keep in mind that GF baking works best if at least 1/2 the flour mix contains tapioca and arrowroot. Some flours, such as quinoa and buckwheat do best if mixed with another flour such as brown rice or sorghum, along with the starches.
If you are interested in purchasing sorghum in bulk (whole grain or ground), check out Twin Valley Mills. They only do sorghum, so there is no issue of contamination.
Thanks, Abbi. I KNEW you had one. ;) I think I have everything to make it too. I will let you know how my next baking project turns out. Thanks so much for sharing. =)
ReplyDeleteDo you find that the Arrowroot flavors the whole batch? We use Carol Fensters mix from her GF 101 book..... Essentially like yours only with potato starch instead of arrowroot. Our prob with the arrowroot was that it had such a strong flavor and that it was quite expensive. I didn't realize/think about the fact that Potato starch would be hard on the digestive system. We actually haven't make any flour mix for months as all our stuff is packed away...... Maybe by then I'll be able to get ahold of some arrowroot and slowly add more to each batch. Maybe a slow intro will get past my family's taste buds.
ReplyDeleteB - someone else had mentioned that they thought the arrowroot had a strong flavor, but I don't notice it. We get it at our HFS in 1lb+. bags for under $2 a bag. I can also get it in bulk through our co-op. It could be that I am just so used to it. I use it alone in recipes quite often, and haven't noticed a taste. Maybe do like you suggested, and slowly replace the potato starch with it and see how it goes. :)
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