Gluten-free Flour Blends

I use one of the following in The Sensitive Pantry recipes calling for gluten-free flour blend or mix:

Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour (my favorite flour blend)

Better Batter

Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour Mix - Art of Gluten-free Baking

About Gluten-Free Flour Blends

One thing most of us have in common is the search for a great gluten-free flour mix. One that will replicate the results of baking with the wheat flour that can now no longer be allowed into our kitchens. You know the one…the one that makes the fluffiest of cakes, the flakiest of pie crusts, the crispiest of pizzas, the softest of rolls.

It’s common knowledge—in the world of GF baking—that a mixture of different flours, starches and gums are required to provide results similar to those yielded by gluten-containing wheat flour. But just which flours, starches, and gums should you choose and in what ratio? And are GF flour blends equal cup for cup to wheat flour? Those are some of the big questions.

There are cookbook chapters and blog posts by the truckload dedicated to this very subject. Some of you will want to consume all that information and others will just want to keep it simple—just tell me what ingredients I need to make a good cake, muffin, or loaf of bread!

Many of the GF blogs I’ve read have their own favorite GF flour mix that they use in baking sweet and savory treats. Some, like me, don’t mix up one blend but put together different flours for each individual recipe or use a pre-mixed flour blend offered by the companies that provide ingredients to GF bakers.

I’ve begun to compile a list of the various GF flour options so you can check them out yourself. Be sure to read the posts that go along with the blend “recipes” because the folks who developed them have great experience and typically share their tips for using the flour and baking gluten-free.

Something to be aware of—while most of the flours below contain xanthan gum some do not. It’s critical to note this difference when using flour blends in recipes that may or may not require xanthan gum. If my recipes specifically call for one of the flours below I’ve already taken into consideration whether the flour blend has xanthan gum or not and the recipe accommodates that.

I’ve also shared some of my favorite GF flours (these are not flour blends but can be used to make some of the homemade mixes you’ll read about in the links below) and will be sure to add links to great posts or information on GF flours as I run across them.

Mixes you can make yourself…

Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour Mix - Art of Gluten-free Baking

Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix - Gluten-Free Goddess

Gluten-Free All Purpose Mix - Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef

Wendy Wark’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix - Celiac.com

Carol Fenster’s Gluten-Free Flour Blends - Savory Palate

Gluten-Free Flour Formulas - Celiac Sprue Association

Mixes you can buy….

Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour

Arrowhead Mills GF All Purpose Baking Flour (*does not contain xanthan gum)

Better Batter

Jules Gluten-Free Flour

King Arthur’s Multi-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour (*does not contain xanthan gum)

*Always check flour blends to see if they include xanthan gum in their ingredient lists. Xanthan gum (or guar gum) diminishes the crumbliness that is often a trait in gluten-free baked goods.

If you choose a flour blend that doesn’t include xanthan gum you can add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon per cup of flour in your recipes to improve results.

Favorite GF flours…

Lara’s Whole Grain Oat Flour

Authentic Foods GF Flours - Rice Flours (Brown, White, or Sweet) & Sorghum Flour

Almond Flour - Elana’s from Elana’s Kitchen shares her favorite Almond Flours

Other GF flour information…

Solving the GF Flour Mix Mystery - The Gluten-Free Lifestyle

GF Baking 101: Gluten-Free Flours - Ginger Lemon Girl

Faux Eggs

Did you know…

…a large egg equals about 1.75 ounces or 3.5 tablespoons

…the egg white is 1.2 ounces

…the yolk is a little more than half an ounce

Here are the substitutes I use when baking without eggs. I use them pretty interchangeably although some folks can’t use flax or don’t like the flavor it imparts in baked goods. Chocolate has such a strong flavor the flax flavor really shouldn’t come through. So, if you’re worried about tasting the flax, feel free to use it in any baked good that calls for chocolate or any recipe where the main flavor is strong, not subtle. I  have also heard flax will help with rise. Not sure if that’s true but I haven’t noticed the opposite and I’ve generally had good results with flax. Ener-G Egg Replacer also provides good results so depending on preference feel free to substitute one or the other in any recipe posted here (unless otherwise noted).

Also, a general rule of thumb is to stay away from recipes that call for more than 2 eggs if you aren’t using real eggs. And, of course, it goes without saying that flax and egg replacers don’t work for custards, omelets, etc. — any recipe that relies heavily on eggs for a successful outcome.

Oh, and BTW, for those of you who can use eggs just go ahead and replace the faux eggs in any recipe with an equal amount of real eggs. (Truth be told I miss eggs much more than I miss gluten so I’d use them if I could.)

Flax Egg

One egg = 3 tablespoons warm water + 1 tablespoons finely ground golden flax.

Mix together and let sit for a few minutes until it becomes somewhat gelatinous.

Ener-G Egg

One egg = 2 tablespoons warm water + 1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer.

Mix together and let sit for a few minutes until it gels up a bit.

Chia Gel

Have not tried this yet but it sounds interesting. I’ll update you once I try it. Thanks, Joyce from Grandma’s Gluten-Free Baking N Cooking. Here’s her instructions for Chia Gel egg replacer.

Other Faux Eggs

There are many other options for replacing eggs in cooking — bananas, applesauce, tofu, and on and on.

Here are some additional resources for egg substitutes:

Cook’s Thesaurus

Veg Cooking