My Gluten Free Flours Course

I went to a City run Course on Gluten Free Flours.  I did learn a bit, but am still confused.  I believe a lot of this is trial and error which can be quite expensive.  Here is what I learned.

Make your own Flour Blends; Below are 4 varieties of flour mixture:

1.  1 Medium Flour + 1 or 2 starches
2.  1 medium + 1 heavy flour + 1 or 2 starches
3.  2 medium flour + 1 or 2 starches
4.  1 Heavy Flour + 1 or 2 starches

LIGHT (STARCHES):

Light starches blended with heavier flours help your baked goods be lighter, fluffier and chewier.  Used on their own, they are great for thickening and binding.  They have very little nutritional value to use sparingly.

*  Arrowroot (use straight)
*  Tapioca Starch (aka tapioca flour)  -  makes baking gummy, chewy, so cut with potato starch
*  Potato Starch (do NOT confuse with potato flour - they are different)
*  Corn Starch - good if you want a crispy coating then fry


MEDIUM

Medium flours have the original nutrient content of the grain or bean.  They are light in flavour and are great assets to light, fluffy baking.  They should be blended with a STARCH for best results in baking.

*  Fava Bean
*  Garbanzo Bean (aka chick pea) - use for savoury foods
*  Millet (lighter than brown rice flour) --C
*  Sorghum -- C
*  Quinoa -- C
*  Oat Flour - can use without a starch flour
*  White Rice Flour (use sparingly as it has little nutritional value)

HEAVY
*  Brown Rice Flour --  C
*  Amaranth
*  Coconut - absorbs liquid so use only in small additions
*  Almond  --  C

NOTE:  C = KEEP COLD

My Instructor's Favourite Blend is:

2 Cups Brown Rice Flour
1/3 Cup Tapioca Starch
2/3 Cups Potato Starch
2 TBLS Coconut Flour

Use this mixture as 1 to 1 with wheat flour

Lastly, some interesting tips:

1.  Use ground chews with a bit of water as a thickener for soups
2.  Some good GF food web sites:
     http://minimaleats.com
     http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com
     http://www.allergyfreealaska.com

3.  Can't find the food you need or don't like shopping in grocery stores, you can order your
    food on-line at    https://well.ca  .  They are in Ontario but ship free of charge to most major
    cities in Canada.  Check their web site for details.