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I don’t know what’s more confusing to a new gluten-free cook: telling them they can’t use wheat flour anymore, or bombarding them with so many choices their heads are left spinning.
I was in the spinning category. So. Many. To. Choose. From.
After years of going gluten-free, I’ve narrowed gluten-free flours and blends down to my favorite three:
Coconut Flour
If I don’t want to use a blend of flours, I use coconut flour. Not only is it low in carbs, high in fiber, contains 14% coconut oil (which I LOVE because it’s high in lauric acid, strengthens your immune system, and boosts your metabolism), but it’s also grain-free. All of this makes it a great substitute if you’re trying to eliminate candida.
There are a lot of good recipes already out there, but if you want to try converting a recipe, substitute coconut flour in equal amounts of wheat flour. You’ll need to use about 1 egg per oz. (or 6 eggs for every 1/2 cup) of coconut flour to help hold it together (in place of gluten) and increase the liquids some as coconut flour is very absorbent.
GF Flour Mix
This is a combination of a bread mix found in Annalise G. Roberts’ book, Gluten-Free Baking Classics 
A combination of gluten-free flours that works well together.
- 1 1/2 cups millet flour
- 1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1 cup arrowroot powder
- 1 cup potato starch
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Blend together and store in a cool, dry place.
You can replace the tapioca flour and potato starch with arrowroot powder for a candida-friendly flour mix.
Carrie’s Master Mix
Carrie (a.k.a. GingerLemonGirl) created this Bisquick-like mix that really helped ease me into gluten-free cooking. Of course, I can’t seem to make a recipe without tweaking something – even a convenience mix. You can find the original here or my tweaked version below.
A Bisquick-like mix that really helped ease me into gluten-free cooking.
- 2 1/2 cups sorghum flour
- 1 1/2 cups millet flour
- 1 1/2 cups tapioca flour
- 1 1/2 cups powdered milk
- 1 Tablespoon (heaping) xanthan gum
- 3 Tablespoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons Himalayan salt
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
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Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Blend in butter, just like you would for a pie crust - until the pieces are tiny and fully incorporated.
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Store with a sealed lid in a cool, dry location.
Note: Use in any recipe that calls for Bisquick mix.
These are just some of the gluten-free mixes out there. But once again, whether you’re gluten-free or not, I encourage you to be careful about how much grain and starch you consume and whether or not it’s properly prepared by soaking or sprouting.
Coconut flour would be the exception as it is not a grain or a starch, and is actually quite healthy for you. 🙂
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Paula Miller, CHS, Metabolic Nutrition Consultant
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Very helpful! A friend and I are going gluten-free for various reasons. She’s had some time to bake and try out the coconut flour which she likes a lot. We just need to find a good place to order it from.
The BEST price I found was Azukar Coconut Flour
on Amazon.com – however, they’re often out of stock and you have to wait, and wait, and. . .
I’d also recommend the coconut flour from Azure Standard (if you can get it delivered to your area) at $5.05/lb. when I checked or Wilderness Family Naturals at $5.39/lb or $4.85/lb if bought in 12 – 1 lb. bags (you can freeze coconut flour if you buy in bulk).
Hope that gives you some options for starters!
Gluten Free Mama Mama’s Coconut Blend (Gluten Free Flour) 4 lbs. $12.15
Is this a Good Flour? Do you know? It’s at Azure Standard.
I’ve honestly never tried it. Maybe someone else can pip up. 🙂
Love the information in this post. I was 100% gluten free in June and have continued to be gluten free for the most part. I have not invested any money in gluten free flours, but with your suggestions and recipes I might have to give gluten free baking a try! I love to bake so it has been tough going gluten free. I found you through day2day joys healthy 2 day link up!
Try the GF Flour Mix, it is AMAZING for Pizza crust and Bread, )so far) still experimenting. I love it.. 😀
Thank you pinning on my Food Tips Board!
It can be quite an adjustment to bake GF for sure. Thank you for sharing such an informative post on Allergy-Free Wednesdays!
Millet is a goitrogen, so if you have thyroid issues it might be a good idea to opt for something else instead. (And for the price of a pound of arrowroot starch I can buy grassfed beef… not a tough choice ;))
I just wanted to stop by to let you know, I had to go Gluten Free a year ago. Never being much of a Bread eater, (unless it was a Loaf of fresh made Italian Bread- NOT GF), The bread aspect of the diet didn’t really bother me, but there were times that you needed bread. Anyways, the bread I bought was NASTY, and most of the recipes I found called for MANY flours. The cost of this diet itself is INSANE. So..I found a few recipes for bread that I tried, and they were OK, and I say that mildly. I was on a mission to make pizza dough, to try to save some money on the budget. I came across the recipe above for GF Flour Mix, and gave it a whirl. It was AMAZING. I had some left over so I labeled it and put it on the shelf. The next week, I HAD to make a loaf of bread, (only because Grilled Cheese Sandwiches), were on the menu. So I thought…Hmmmm, let’s give this a try. It was so nice to just measure out my 3 & 1/2 cups, instead of dragging out alllllll the bags. got the rest of the stuff I needed, added everything to the Bread Maker, and BAMM…It was the most wonderful Bread EVER. I will definitely keep this in my Pantry and would recommend this to anyone that is leery about the mix.. Sorry this is so long, and let me know who else I need to Thank…Thank you so much for posting this… 😀
I’m so glad you like the mix, Deborah! I too was on a mission for GF flour blend that could be used universally – it was so nice to find one and I’m happy to share my discoveries with all of you!
Happy baking!
I’ve tried your GF flour mix and I loved it! I made pumpkin raisen spice cookies, mmmmmm. BUT, I’ve recently learned that tapioca makes me sick (will the sensitivities ever end?). Can I substitute corn flour or corn starch for it?
Thanks and blessings!
Yes, you could. Just be cautious of using too much corn derived items – they can cause sensitivities too. 🙁
Hi Paula – you say you do 3 loaves at a time – can you bake them all at once? Also have you had good luck freezing the bread after it’s baked (or freezing the dough)?
Hi Becca,
Yes, I do bake them all at once and freeze two loaves after they’re baked. I’ve not tried to freeze them before baking.
What can I do to replace the dry milk in the master mix? Can I just leave it out and add cocconut milk to the wet ingredients? We have dairy allergies
You can sure try! I’ve never left it out – but I’m sure it can be done with a bit of tweaking!
I cannot tolerate coconut and Deborah J. Austin said she made pizza dough and regular bread. I pray she made it from Carrie’s Masters Mix.
Can’t have corn or potato either. Any suggestions?
I’m not sure what you’re trying to make, but have you ever used almond flour?
Sorry, I was referring to pizza crust. I tried Elaine’s Pantry paleo recipe with almond flour and it was a disaster.
You can also make pizza crust from almond flour, and there are recipes all over for crusts with cauliflower or zucchini. We prefer the zucchini one. 🙂
Hi!
I cant have potatoes. Could the mix work wothout it? I cannot have corn either…or nuts….(ugh!!!)
Thanks!!
I’ve never tried it without the potato starch, but if I were you, I’d replace the 1 cup of potato starch with 1/2 cup tapioca flour and 1/2 cup arrowroot.