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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: LifeHappens on April 03, 2025, 12:00:23 PM

Title: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: LifeHappens on April 03, 2025, 12:00:23 PM: Background: I have been a sourdough baker for the last few years. My household has grown fond of homemade sandwich bread, cinnamon raisin bread and baguettes. With much sadness and gnashing of teeth I have realized I need to stay away from gluten <insert tears>

I have tried a couple of brands of grocery store gluten free bread and have found them... card-boardy in texture and flavor. Therefore, I'm on a journey to figure out gluten free baking, but am having sticker shock! A tiny little bag of gluten free bread flour costs more than 10lbs of King Arthur all purpose.

Do you have any suggestions for sources of gluten free baking ingredients? Favorite recipes? Ways to soothe my wounded palate and soul?
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: BECABECA on April 03, 2025, 03:16:39 PM: Before going the full gluten free route, have you tried Kamut flour? Many people who are gluten intolerant can have Kamut flour, as it’s made from an ancient wheat strain that has a different gluten structure that is easier to digest.
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: ixtap on April 03, 2025, 03:28:08 PM: I have been happy with almond flour for pancakes and flatbread. As for cost, I just bake a lot less since my partner went gluten free.
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: Daley on April 03, 2025, 03:47:27 PM: If tapioca flour is safe for you (does anyone have a banana allergy?), Costco and Sam's Club both carry off and on five pound bags of either King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill gluten free AP flour for around $10/bag. That's literally some of the best GF flour prices you're going to find short of 25-50 pound bulk bags, period, and it's literally a 1:1 drop in replacement flour with AP wheat flour in recipes without any conversion fuckery... excuse my french. Almond flour can also be had for good prices in bulk from either Costco or Sam's as well.

If you need/want to blend your own flour blends, Vitacost has decent flour prices from Bob's Red Mill and their house brand, along with cheap unflavored psyllium fiber, with some good prices on certified GF rice flours. Some of the cheapest arrowroot prices we've found that aren't complete trash or fake (as in just cornstarch) have been on Amazon from a brand called PuroRaw.

As someone with celiac, however, I have to personally warn against the cheap Asian bulk rice and alterna-flours from local ethnic markets as there's frequently cross-contamination from the packaging factories, sadly... so if you gotta do strict sub 20-10ppm GF, the money you save will be paid for in pain and suffering to your health and gut, and it's just easier to buy lab batch tested GF flours instead of going, "this grain should be clean and safe", rolling the bones, and hoping for the best. I know from experience, as we've tried and failed for me. (Though, we're kind of heading toward that future here, now, with the domestic food supply chain so it may not matter for much longer.) YMMV, however, especially if you're not hyper-sensitive, or you can find a brand locally at a good price that's generally regarded as safe in the celiac community (sadly, we don't have that local to us). (I don't want to discourage exploration, especially for the price, especially knowing how expensive lab tested GF flours are in this country... but do be careful, especially now that we're losing FDA and USDA safety oversight in our food supply chain and I've seen an increasing loss of cheaper GF tagged whole and bulk foodstuffs.)

As far as GF breadmaking goes, it's a whole other beast from regular breadmaking, as the doughs work more like quickbreads in assembly, handling and baking than traditional breakmaking as they're a considerably wetter dough. With this in mind, I know it's sacrilege for a sourdough baker to consider it, but you're going to have a less terrible time making GF breads, especially yeast risen GF breads, in a dedicated breadmaker with a GF bread setting for different proofing times.

King Arthur has a drop-dead easy GF bread machine recipe to start on (https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2015/06/23/how-to-make-gluten-free-bread-bread-machine) if you like. King Arthur's website actually has a lot of good GF bread recipes (https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/collections/gluten-free-recipes), BTW (as well as some of the best GF cake mixes I've had outside of Betty Crocker's old recipe which can be replicated (https://glutenfreerecipebox.com/copycat-betty-crocker-gluten-free-yellow-cake-mix-recipe/).)

A resource on how to mix and create your own various blends of GF flours (https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/how-to-mix-and-use-gluten-free-flour/) for various baking and dietary restriction needs, so you're not locked into pre-made blends, especially as each flour behaves differently and imparts different tastes and textures.

Beyond that, there's no shortage of gluten-free-crunchy-paleo-tradwife-mommy-blogger website bullcrap with ten bajillion half-assed GF bread recipes and wall of text stories before you can find the print recipe button out there that their creator will die on a molehill defending as the best bread on earth, only to find the recipe deeply lacking when executed on your own. What I'm saying is, despite having the Celiac diagnosis for 15 years, and making our own GF bread and baked goods for the past five since COVID to save money, there is really no specific resource I can point to as a sole compendium of good advice and recipes. What we've found is just a hodge-podge of what we've found that works combined with experience.

Finally, I know you're mostly talking traditional bread, but I assure you that as far as tortillas go, you will burn out on the Mission or LaBandarita corn tortillas. So, I don't know where this recipe came from, or how much (if any) has been modified on our end, but have a good liquid dough recipe for GF tortillas:

Quote
LIQUID DOUGH FOR TORTILLAS

Ingredients:
3 cups of water
3 cups of GF AP flour
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions.
1 - In a saucepan or food processor, mix 3 cups of water, 3 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 teaspoon baking soda
2 - Over medium heat, pour a ladle of the mixture into a very hot skillet and cook until dried and slightly lightly browned on the bottom. Flip and continue cooking until done on both sides.

Next part of bad news is spoilered:
Spoiler: show
You can kiss baguettes and crusty flaky breads goodbye. It just can't be done. Sorry.

One last bit edited in at the end here... be aware of carb load on GF breads, too. Less protein and higher carb count on servings can and will get you if you're not careful. Be especially aware if anyone's diabetic, and do smaller servings by weight, size, and thickness than what you'd normally do with actual wheat breads.

Hope this helps get you started, and good luck!
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: Daley on April 03, 2025, 04:44:58 PM: Sorry, after all the edits to the last post, I just thought of something else to mention and don't want to edit again. It kinda feels important enough to have as its own post, though.

I know you want to make everyone bread, and feed everyone the same thing. I get that instinct. If anyone in your house can still have and tolerate wheat, however, let them still eat wheat... even if it means eating it outside of the house. There is a whole can of worms on malnourishment that celiac disease and losing access to wheat flour can set up. Don't inflict a strict GF diet on people who don't need it. Even if it means losing homemade fresh goodies for the sake of avoiding cross-contamination for the person(s) impacted, and never bringing said products directly into the kitchen/house. Again, don't force going gluten free on those who don't need it.

The person who's having to go gluten free is going to have enough of a rough time with malnutrition (especially electrolyte minerals) and needing to supplement to make up for the loss of in-diet B-vitamins, vitamins A, D, E and K, and trace minerals like selenium, copper and manganese, from both the small intestinal scarring that causes malnutrition through immune-responses to wheat gluten and the loss of wheat in the diet, which turns out to also be a pretty big and important delivery mechanism for most people to get a lot of those macro and micro-nutrients that are now harder to absorb through diet... so, don't impart that loss and need for additional supplementation on others who wouldn't otherwise need it.

I know helping the person(s) inflicted to feel more "normal" by sharing the same thing can help psychologically, and there is a trauma to losing a whole class of foods in the diet, but inflicting the misery of a strict GF diet on others has far greater consequences on health longer term than just the loss of lovely baked goods.

And lastly, the sooner the person with the gluten allergy can accept the loss of wheat products, the cheaper it will get for the budget otherwise. Trying to recreate the standard american diet in gluten free ways gets expensive, fast, and is deeply nutritionless. We only make bread in this house because of the breadmaker and it being cheaper to DIY than store bought. It's quick carbs that doesn't take a lot of effort to make, especially in a house where the afflicted (me) has multiple other dietary allergies and intolerances, so we actually found that a rice flour bread was actually one of the cheapest and easiest hacks for padding out the diet cheaply for me on the carb end than much of anything else.... especially after I lost my ability to tolerate tapioca starch. But it also doesn't mean that most of my carbs aren't just whole rice.
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: sonofsven on April 03, 2025, 08:17:22 PM: I use Bob's Red Mill 1/1 that I get at Costco as a direct replacement in recipes for regular flour with success, but I'm not baking bread with it.
Crisps, pies, cakes, and pizza are about the extent of my baking; oh, and pancakes.
I've tweaked the classic Betty Crocker pancake recipe to work with gluten free flour (and milk alternative).
Thick chewy pizza is out, but thin and crispy is still really good.
Crisps are actually better with GF flour because the flour is "crisper".
Franz makes my favorite GF bread, but they're a regional brand from Oregon and I don't know how wide their distribution is.
Have fun! My partner is pretty strict about gluten, so I took it as a challenge to see what we could make that would be good, instead of being sad about what we couldn't eat anymore.
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: mistymoney on April 03, 2025, 08:36:09 PM: https://rudisbakery.com/products/gluten-free-sourdough-white/

we like this one best.
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: LifeHappens on April 04, 2025, 09:04:33 AM: Thank you for all the information. I see I have quite the learning curve ahead of me! Fortunately I'm not celiac, so I don't need to be 100% strict on things.

Quote from: BECABECA on April 03, 2025, 03:16:39 PM
Before going the full gluten free route, have you tried Kamut flour? Many people who are gluten intolerant can have Kamut flour, as it’s made from an ancient wheat strain that has a different gluten structure that is easier to digest.
I have not heard of this. Any suggestions on where to buy Kamut flour? I was able to find a couple of places to order Kamut berries, but I'm not really looking to grind my own flour right now :)
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: LifeHappens on April 04, 2025, 09:09:39 AM: Daley, I appreciate all the information, especially the link to the self-mixed GF flour recipe.

As for the caution about malnutrition, no worries about that. I'm also still baking homemade bread because, honestly, mine is better than a lot of the commercial products out there!
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: ixtap on April 04, 2025, 06:54:48 PM: Quote from: Daley on April 03, 2025, 03:47:27 PM
If tapioca flour is safe for you (does anyone have a banana allergy?),

Dang, I had heard about kiwi being highly correlated, but tapioca, too?!?
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: Daley on April 04, 2025, 07:38:40 PM: Quote from: ixtap on April 04, 2025, 06:54:48 PM
Quote from: Daley on April 03, 2025, 03:47:27 PM
If tapioca flour is safe for you (does anyone have a banana allergy?),

Dang, I had heard about kiwi being highly correlated, but tapioca, too?!?

Tapioca's lower risk, but there's still a risk of cross-reactivity for the unlucky few. When latex and bananas caught up with me, tapioca came with it... so I'm mindful of the link. But it also means traditional Maranta arundinacea arrowroot as a substitute binder flour is harder to source and a dicey proposition, as cassava (tapioca) and a half dozen other unrelated plant roots have also been known to be sold labeled as "arrowroot" as well.
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: BECABECA on April 07, 2025, 08:41:46 AM: Quote from: LifeHappens on April 04, 2025, 09:04:33 AM
Thank you for all the information. I see I have quite the learning curve ahead of me! Fortunately I'm not celiac, so I don't need to be 100% strict on things.

Quote from: BECABECA on April 03, 2025, 03:16:39 PM
Before going the full gluten free route, have you tried Kamut flour? Many people who are gluten intolerant can have Kamut flour, as it’s made from an ancient wheat strain that has a different gluten structure that is easier to digest.
I have not heard of this. Any suggestions on where to buy Kamut flour? I was able to find a couple of places to order Kamut berries, but I'm not really looking to grind my own flour right now :)
I asked my sister and she gets it from this place that’s local to her, but it does look like they also ship nationwide:
https://www.thefoodnanny.com/collections/kamut?page=1

Here’s a different vendor I found online that sells in more varied quantities:
https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/food/flour/kamutkhorasan/khorasan-flour-unifine-organic/33828?package=FL441
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: LifeHappens on April 07, 2025, 08:52:04 AM: Quote from: BECABECA on April 07, 2025, 08:41:46 AM
Quote from: LifeHappens on April 04, 2025, 09:04:33 AM
Thank you for all the information. I see I have quite the learning curve ahead of me! Fortunately I'm not celiac, so I don't need to be 100% strict on things.

Quote from: BECABECA on April 03, 2025, 03:16:39 PM
Before going the full gluten free route, have you tried Kamut flour? Many people who are gluten intolerant can have Kamut flour, as it’s made from an ancient wheat strain that has a different gluten structure that is easier to digest.
I have not heard of this. Any suggestions on where to buy Kamut flour? I was able to find a couple of places to order Kamut berries, but I'm not really looking to grind my own flour right now :)
I asked my sister and she gets it from this place that’s local to her, but it does look like they ship nationwide:
https://www.thefoodnanny.com/collections/kamut?page=1
Thank you!
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: BECABECA on April 07, 2025, 09:07:04 AM: Quote from: LifeHappens on April 07, 2025, 08:52:04 AM
Quote from: BECABECA on April 07, 2025, 08:41:46 AM
Quote from: LifeHappens on April 04, 2025, 09:04:33 AM
Thank you for all the information. I see I have quite the learning curve ahead of me! Fortunately I'm not celiac, so I don't need to be 100% strict on things.

Quote from: BECABECA on April 03, 2025, 03:16:39 PM
Before going the full gluten free route, have you tried Kamut flour? Many people who are gluten intolerant can have Kamut flour, as it’s made from an ancient wheat strain that has a different gluten structure that is easier to digest.
I have not heard of this. Any suggestions on where to buy Kamut flour? I was able to find a couple of places to order Kamut berries, but I'm not really looking to grind my own flour right now :)
I asked my sister and she gets it from this place that’s local to her, but it does look like they ship nationwide:
https://www.thefoodnanny.com/collections/kamut?page=1
Thank you!
You’re welcome! And you saw my edit that included a second vendor option that sells in 28oz up to 1200lbs? They also have lots of Kamut products like pasta and whatnot as well.
Title: Re: Gluten Free Flour Recommendations?
Post by: LifeHappens on April 07, 2025, 09:11:34 AM: Quote from: BECABECA on April 07, 2025, 09:07:04 AM
You’re welcome! And you saw my edit that included a second vendor option that sells in 28oz up to 1200lbs? They also have lots of Kamut products like pasta and whatnot as well.
Thanks for pointing it out. Unfortunately my area just lost our Azure drop location :(