TSP Gluten-Free Flour Blend

My head spins when thinking about the selection of available gluten-free flours. There’s the ubiqitous family of rice flours—brown, white, and sweet. The starch sisters—tapioca, corn and potato. Sorghum, buckwheat, millet, teff, amaranth and corn flours. Non-grains like coconut flour, nut and bean flours. And, the unique flours—grape, mesquite, and quinoa.

I could just shoo them all away, hunker down and use one blend. Just one. But, what would be the fun in doing that?

Still we all know experimentation and creativity can lead to some interesting—and not so interesting—results and a pantry full of expensive flours.

The good news is if you just want one “go to” gluten-free alternative to all purpose flour there are plenty of good choices you can either buy pre-mixed or mix up on your own. The latter is the least expensive of the two choices although it requires a tiny bit more work.

While I rely on a few tried and true blends (you can read about them here) I’ve been experimenting with my own blend. The primary reason is I like sorghum flour and have been using almond flour more and more but haven’t found a blend that combines these two flours along with the regulars (rice flours and starches). So, I just did it myself.

I’ve had some nice results with it so you’ll be seeing some TSP recipes coming up (hint hint…the next one) using this flour blend.

TSP Gluten-Free Flour Blend

You’ll need a kitchen scale and a big bowl in which to mix up the flours. Measure the ingredients, transfer them to the bowl, whisk, whisk, whisk until blended. Store in a large glass container in your refrigerator—bring to room temperature before using.

300 grams fine white sorghum flour

100 grams brown rice flour

100 grams sweet rice flour

100 grams blanched almond flour

250 grams tapioca starch

150 grams potato starch

Add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum to each cup of flour used. I’ve omited it from the overall recipe since some folks stay away from gums. However, without some kind of binder the end result may be on the crumbly side.

PRINT RECIPE

Sources for the ingredients above are:

Authentic Foods - sorghum, rice flours, and starches

Honeyville  - blanched almond flour

Twin Valley Mills - sorghum flour

Bob’s Red Mill - sorghum, rice flours, starches

Nuts Online - gluten-free flours of all kinds

Mango Pudding (gluten-free & dairy-free)

Have you ever had Mango Lassi? It’s a spectacular mango yogurt drink available in most Indian restaurants.

Not quite a smoothie. Not really a milkshake. Just cool and creamy and screams, “mango!”.  Perfect with that flaming hot, flavor packed Indian dish you just ordered.

Yep. That’s how I rolled (when I still could have yogurt). Got one every time.

I originally thought I’d post a non-dairy version of that beloved drink.  Then my mind started down a different path and “boom” (as they say in some circles) mango pudding was born.

The Thai and Chinese cultures boast a beautiful mango pudding made with gelatine. Not quite what I was dreaming about. I opted instead to mimic a classic—chocolate pudding—and substitute the bold flavor of the chocolate with the bright taste of mango.

It was a pleasant success. It’s a combination of sweet, almost citrusy, mango and creamy coconut with a hint of secret spices and topped with a crumble of pistachio. Very very pleasant. I will be making this often!

Mango Pudding

In a small measuring cup or bowl whisk together to create a slurry and set aside:

2 tablespoons coconut milk or water
4 teaspoons arrowroot
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cardamom

Mix together and heat in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it just reaches a simmer:

1 1/2 cups mango puree*
6 ounces coconut milk (full fat) or plain coconut milk yogurt
2 tablespoons agave nectar (more or less to your taste)

Lower the burner heat to low and slowly stream the slurry into the mango mixture whisking it to combine. Continue to whisk gently until the pudding begins to thicken, about 2 or 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and pour into four individual ramekins. Refrigerate until cold. Serve topped with crushed pistachios.

*Mango puree: I used Trader Joe’s frozen mango puree. According to their gluten-free list all their frozen fruits and vegetables are gluten-free. The package does not state gluten-free so please use your own judgment. Alternatively you can use fresh mango—probably two—peeled, diced, and pureed in a blender with a tablespoon or two of water. Frozen mango is another option; process the same as you would fresh mango to create the puree.

PRINT RECIPE

Ali from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen posted Mango Coconut Pudding using kudzu as a thickener.