Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking (The Experiment, 2012), by Kelli and Peter Bronski, brings flavor to the table of those suffering from gluten sensitivities. The book implements simple baking, cooking, and preparation methods while covering a wide range of recipes including all meals, snacks, and dessert. The Bronskis have dealt with celiac disease in their own home and have been developing their gluten-free recipes for over ten years. The following excerpt is a recipe for a simple, gluten-free flour blend.
Ingredients:
- 1-1/4 cups (156 grams) brown rice flour
- 3/4 cup (88 grams) sorghum flour
- 2/3 cup (90 grams) cornstarch
- 1/4 cup (37 grams) potato starch
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (14 grams) potato flour
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) xanthan gum
Instructions:
- Combine all the ingredients and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Yield: Makes about 3 cups
For convenience, we recommend making a quadruple batch of the flour blend and storing it in the fridge. The flour will stay fresh and usable for several months, though we bake often enough that we’ve never come close to having to toss out a batch of old flour. In fact, our biggest problem is having to constantly mix up a new batch!
Measurements for a Quadruple Batch:
- 5 cups (625 grams) brown rice flour
- 3 cups (350 grams) sorghum flour
- 2-2/3 cups (360 grams) cornstarch
- 1 cup (148 grams) potato starch
- 1/3 cup (56 grams) potato flour
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (14 grams) xanthan gum
Yield: Makes about 12 cups
Accurately Measuring Flour
By volume: Use a spoon to stir and lightly aerate your master batch of flour. Then spoon the flour from the master batch to a measuring cup. Finally, level the measured cup of flour with a straightedge such as a knife.
By weight: One cup of Artisan Gluten-Free Flour Blend weighs 125 grams.
Measuring flour by volume can be imprecise. Depending on how densely packed the flour is in your measuring cup, you may get more than, less than, or exactly the amount of flour you actually want. Measuring by weight is much more accurate and consistent. Plus, it’s convenient! When mixing up a batch of flour, set a large bowl on your scale and then tare (zero) your scale, add the first ingredient until you reach the desired weight, then tare again, add the second ingredient, and repeat until you’ve added all the ingredients and are ready to mix.
Flour Blend Ingredient Substitutions
If you have a dietary sensitivity to a component of the Artisan Gluten-Free Flour Blend, not to worry! Try these ingredient substitutions to mix an alternative version that will meet your dietary needs and still yield similar results:
Corn: Omit the cornstarch and replace with arrowroot flour (a shy 1/2 cup for a single batch, 1-3/4 cups for a quadruple batch).
Potato: Omit the potato starch and potato flour, and replace with tapioca starch (1/3 cup for a single batch, 1-1/3 cups for a quadruple batch).
Sorghum: Omit the sorghum and replace with additional brown rice flour.
Note: For tapioca and arrowroot, “starch” and “flour” are interchangeable terms. For example, tapioca starch, tapioca flour, and tapioca starch flour are all the same thing. This is NOT true for potato and corn. Potato starch and potato flour, and cornstarch and corn flour, are NOT the same thing and cannot be substituted for each other.
Working with Doughs
We like to work with wet/sticky doughs because they yield a better texture in gluten-free baking. If you find them difficult to work with, you can always add a little extra flour. And remember that practice makes the process easier!
More from Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking:
- Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake Recipe
- Basic Gluten-Free Pasta Dough Recipe
- Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread Recipe
Recipe excerpted from Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking, Second Edition © Kelli and Peter Bronski, 2009, 2012. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold.