Which flour to use instead of wheat?

The different flours and their properties

Below is a list of gluten-free flours with each its own particular taste, texture and proprieties.

1. Amaranth*: rich in proteins and amino acids; hazelnutty flavor, adds softness to biscuits, pancakes, and bread. Add ¼ - ½ cup to your mix.
2. Sorghum: rich in proteins; provides humidity and sweetness as well as minerals and fibers; has nutty taste; good base for cakes, biscuits and pancakes. Add ⅓ to ½ cup to recipes. Can be replaced with starch, manioc, rice, almond, chickpea, coconut and buckwheat flour. Originates from Afrika but is now cultivated everywhere.
3. Quinoa: rich in omega-3 and proteins; tastes like hazelnut; good base and binding for pastries and bread. Beware it absorbs liquids so replace traditional flour with half the quantity only. Make it yourself by grinding the quinoa grains. Add ⅓ cup to recipes.
4. Millet : good source of magnesium et fibers; enhances the taste of pastries and biscuits but makes them dry. Add ¼ cup.
5. Teff*: rich in proteins and minerals; it has a rich taste but also makes pastries dry. Add ¼ cup.
6. Rice: light and slightly sweet; Base flour with a neutral taste. Good for bread, buns and cakes. Also binds and thickens creams/sauces. Beware this flour retains water so you must use half as much as usual. Add ⅓ - ½ cups. In whole grain rice flour the peel parts are also included.
7. Buckwheat: a flowering plant that enriches the earth through its cultivation, it reduces toxic acidic waste in humans, balances the ph level being alkaline and increases energy! Makes pastries heavier; strong taste, bitter, enhances and stabilizes; good for crêpes, bread and chocolate cakes. Add ¼ - ½ cups.
8. Chestnut*: rich in fibers and proteins; strong taste; will make excellent cakes. Add ¼ cup.
9. Almond: makes pastries heavy, sweet, soft, juicy and fattier; provides texture, stabilizes, and enhances. Count 50 gr almond ≙ 100 g wheat flour. This flour absorbs water so you need add 10% more liquid. For rising pastries, replace only 1/4 of total flour.
10. Chickpea : very rich in carbohydrates, fiber, and proteins yet low in fat; provides texture and airiness but beware it has a strong taste. Characteristic taste, good in carrot cake and soft gingerbread as well as in pie dough and veggie steaks. Becomes sticky when added to liquid, so needs to be mixed with other flour. Add ¼ cup.
11. Coconut: gluten-free flour always used in addition to other flour; provides a very pleasant flavor to pancakes, muffins, brioche. Made from dried and ground pulp from the coconut. Contains over 40 percent dietary fiber but only about ten percent fat and is very different from other flours. It absorbs liquids so beware use only a little. Use in small amounts as a seasoning in pastries and to boost, for example, smoothies and porridge. Add ¼ cup.
12. Manioc Tapioca: gluten-free flour used to give texture to pastries; silky and light, it will improve the elasticity of pastries and cookies and make them spongier and smoother. It does not contain any significant nutritional value and should not be the sole basic flour in a preparation. It is also recommended as a thickener in sauces and soups. Add ½ cup.
13. Oatmeal: oats are a real nutritional hit. It binds liquid and is gel-forming. Good at binding liquid in bread and pastries. Good, mild nutty taste. Oats are naturally gluten-free but are handled in the same environment as gluten, so choose "pure oats" for gluten-free.
    
14. Arrow-root starch : this starch is used to emulsify (make the mixture homogeneous) and thicken. Is a replacement for cornstarch.
15. Corn starch (Maizena): commonly used in South and Central America for tortillas and tamales. Finely ground corn kernels. Good for bread, pancakes... Gives a yellow colour. Same as polenta but the latter is finer ground.
    

*These flours are either very expensive or difficult to procure.

Make your own gluten-free flour mix

• 50% - Structure: base flour (Sorghum, Tapioca, Quinoa or Rice)
• 25% - Texture: body or mass (Chestnut, Almond or Chickpea)
• 10% - Stabilizer: binding (Quinoa, Buckwheat, Oatmeal, Almond or Chickpea)
• 5 % - Emulsifier: softens the paste (Arrow-root)
• 5% - Thickener: provides volume (Maizena or Tapioca)
• 5 % - Enhancer: flavor and taste (Amaranth, Sorghum, Millet, Teff, Buckwheat, Almond, Chestnut)

Here is an example of flour mix for pastries and cakes :.

• 1 cup rice (150gr)
• 1 cup quinoa /sorghum (150gr)
• .2 cups tapioca (300gr)
• 1 cup chickpea (150gr)
• 1/2 cup millet (75gr)

https://www.noshtastic.com/gluten-free-flour-recipe-all-purpose-blend/

• 50% - White Rice flour
• 30% - Starch (corn or potato)
• 20% - Whole Grain (brown rice or sorghum, best half of each)

Suggestion recipe:

• 3 cups (500g) White Rice Flour
• 1 1/4 cups (200g) Potato Starch
• 3/4 cup (90g) Tapioca Starch
• 3/4 cup (125g) Brown Rice Flour
• 2/3 cup (85g) Sorghum Flour

Here is an example of flour mix for bread :

• 1 cup (150 g) each of manioc & millet flour
• 1 and 1/4 cup (195 g) rice (also einkorn flour)
• ½ cup (75 g) sorghum (also almond...see list above)
• 1 tsp (5 ml) salt
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) xanthane or guar (also corn or arrowroot starch or eggwhites)
• ¼ cup (60 ml) xylitol***
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) cider vinegar
• ½ cup (125 ml) olive oil
• 1 and 1⁄3 cup (325 ml) luke warm soja milk
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) dry yeast

Another mix from THECHEFTOMY

• 200g buckwheat flour
• 200g rice flour
• 100g chickpea flour
• 75g tapioca/manioc flour

Why use Xanthan Gum?

Xanthan gum works well in place of gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley that some people cannot tolerate). Xanthan gum helps trap the air bubbles created by leavening agents (baking soda, baking powder, yeast) to allow your breads and baked goods to rise. It helps thicken liquids, which is why it is often found in salad dressings and sauces. This thickening action helps hold gluten free baked goods together and keeps them from becoming too crumbly, making it a popular substitute to regular flour when making gluten free goodies.

What is Xantham gum?

It's a coating from a particular bacteria, Xanthomonas campestris which is bacteria that grows a protective coating. Think of it like an orange peel or the skin of an onion. It's a protective layer. When fed a particular food, this bacteria's coating becomes very sticky and makes a great binding and thickening agent in baking.

Most commonly, Xanthomonas campestris is fed glucose (sugar) derived from corn, soy, or wheat.