Tips for Gluten-free Baking

31/05/2023

I thought I would write a slightly more comprehensive blog post where I share my best tips for gluten-free baking! In this post, I will discuss different gluten-free flours and their uses! This post also contains a recipe for a homemade gluten-free flour mixture, so it’s worth browsing to the end if you’re interested 🙂

Ps. You can also check my blog post for Gluten-free Mediterranean Pantry Stables here!

Tips for Gluten-free Baking Contents

Gluten-free flours
Gluten-free flour blends
DIY recipe for Gluten-free flour blend
Tips for Gluten-free baking

gluteeniton bataattigalette — GLUTEN-FREE GALETTE WITH SWEET POTATO, CARROT, AND TOFU RICOTTA

Gluten-free Flours

Oat flour

Oat flour is by far my favorite flour, and I use it for everything! Oat flour is fairly inexpensive, high in fiber, and can be found almost everywhere. It’s also super easy to make at home – just pour some oats in a blender and grind it into fine flour!

Oat flour adds a lovely softness to the pastry, and it has a mild and pleasant taste, making it suitable for both sweet and savory baking. It can be used for flatbreads, pancakes, pies, rolls, pizza bases, cookies, and cakes. However, I suggest you pair it with other gluten-free flour because when used alone, the pastries may become a bit crumbly or too “slimy” 😀

For pancakes or crepes, it works great by itself!

Almond flour

Almond flour contains a lot of protein, good-quality fat, and fiber, which makes it a super good flour for gluten-free baking! Another one of my favorites 🙂 It makes your baked goods soft and moist and is especially good for cakes, muffins, breakfast rolls, breads, and pies.

Almond flour is made by grinding almonds into a fine powder, and it’s easy to make at home if you have a food processor! Almond flour made from both peeled and unpeeled almonds can be found in stores. For example, when making bread or muffins, this doesn’t matter in my opinion, but for making macarons it’s good to use finer flour (i.e. flour made from peeled almonds).

Other nut flours

Other nut flours, such as hazelnut flour or walnut flour, are also excellent for gluten-free baking. Like almond flour, they add a nice taste, texture, and softness to your baked goods. You can also make nut flour yourself by grinding nuts in a food processor.

If you are allergic to nuts, check out seed flours such as pumpkin seed flour or sunflower seed flour!

Buckwheat flour

Buckwheat flour works perfectly as a substitute for rye flour, because it has a nice “dark” and even a little rye flavor. Buckwheat is the basis of these gluten-free and vegan Karelian pies, and the taste is very good!

I wouldn’t necessarily use buckwheat flour alone for sweet pastries but you can mix it with oat flour or other gluten-free flour! And it works great. Buckwheat works very well in savory baking, and you can make super good bread, rolls, waffles, and pies! I often make banana pancakes by mixing oat flour and buckwheat flour and they are also super delicious 😋

Tips for Gluten-free Baking — Karelian pies made with buckwheat flour

Check the recipe for traditional Gluten-free and Vegan Karelian Pies here

Rice flour

Rice flour is a good all-purpose flour for both sweet and savory baking. I usually pair rice flour with other gluten-free flour, because as such it tastes a little too “grainy” in my mouth. Rice flour can be used for cakes, pancakes, bread, cookies, waffles, and muffins! It is also particularly suitable for breading (fish sticks, tofu) because it creates a nice crunch.

Coconut flour

Coconut flour is a slightly sweeter flour, making it an excellent choice for sweet baking 🧁 Because it has a high liquid absorption capacity, it’s good to add more liquid into the recipe if you are substituting wheat flour for coconut flour.

Chickpea flour

Chickpea flour (also known as gram flour) contains a lot of protein and works great in savory baking! It has a mild legume flavor and works best in savory baked goods when paired with spices and other flavors. Chickpea flour can be used in vegetable patties, falafels, savory muffins, and pancakes or crepes.

Chickpea flour is also used to make vegan “omelets”.

Potato flour

Potato flour gives baked goods an airy and light texture and works well in homemade gluten-free flour mixes. Potato flour is often used in cake doughs, brioche doughs, and Swiss rolls. It also works well as a thickener in soups, sauces, and desserts. I often use potato flour as a moisture binder when making vegetable patties.

The same goes for corn starch and tapioca starch, which are also naturally gluten-free.

Also, check out these gluten-free flours and brans: teff flour (another “dark” flour, somewhat similar in flavor to buckwheat), oat bran, buckwheat bran, sorghum flour, soy flour, potato flakes, and quinoa flour!

Check the recipe for Gluten-free Orange and Cardamom pancakes here.

Gluten-free flour blends

You can find gluten-free flour mixes for different purposes at your local grocery store. Finding the perfect flour mix is kind of trial and error so you’ll just have to try different brands to find your favorite!

The packages usually tell you exactly what kind of baking they are suitable for. For example, you can find ready-made flour blends for pancakes, breads, and muffins (just to name a few!) A lot of them include sugar in their mixes, which is why I like to make my own gluten-free flour blend.

Homemade Gluten-free All Purpose Flour Blend

You can easily make your own gluten-free flour mixture by mixing different gluten-free flours. I usually add oat flour, buckwheat flour, rice flour, and potato flour, but it depends on what I’m baking.

For every 500 g of flour, you can also add about 1 tablespoon of psyllium husk powder and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum (not mandatory). Here’s my go-to recipe for gluten-free all-purpose flour:

250 g oat flour
100 g buckwheat flour (you can also use almond flour, especially if you are making something sweet)
50 g rice flour
50 g potato flour
1 tablespoon psyllium husk powder

Psyllium husk powder and Xantham gum

Psyllium husk powder

If there are any “special ingredients” worth getting, then definitely psyllium! Psyllium husk powder is one of the cornerstones of gluten-free baking and makes baking immensely easier. Psyllium is a soluble fiber made by grinding the seeds of the Plantago Ovata – plant. Basically, it kind of acts as the “gluten” of gluten-free baking, and makes the dough easier to handle. When using psyllium, the baked goods do not crumble nearly as easily, and the end result is moist and soft.

Psyllium powder has no taste or smell, so you can use it in any baking without worry 🙂 You can find psyllium husk powder in grocery stores, health food stores, and baking specialty stores.

Xantham Gum

Xantham Gum is used as a thickener in baking (and cooking), and it gives gluten-free doughs the consistency familiar to wheat. Xanthan gum is produced with the help of bacterial fermentation, and it improves the composition & structure of baked goods giving them a nice crunch. So great for cookies for example!

However, avoid using too much of it or you’ll end up with a rubbery pastry :D. Usually, about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon is enough (depending on the recipe)

Xanthan gum is sold in most grocery stores and online.

Other Useful Tips for Gluten-free Baking

Spices – You can use more spices and other seasonings when baking gluten-free.

Liquids – Add moistness to gluten-free baked goods with various fruit and vegetable purees, eggs, oil, margarine/vegan butter, nut butter, yogurt, and plant milk. Sparkling water adds a nice crispness to crepes and waffles.

Eat fresh or freeze – Gluten-free baked goods tend to dry out quite quickly, so if you can’t eat all the goodies on the same day, freeze the rest immediately after the products have cooled. This way you can have fresh pastries, buns, or bread whenever you want!

Patience & time – Gluten-free doughs and batters might feel a bit different from regular wheat ones – that’s okay! When making breakfast rolls or other baked treats, try putting a little oil on your hands. It’ll make things much smoother!

Gluten-free cakes and breads might need a bit more time in the oven, especially if they contain a high amount of oat flour. To check if they’re ready, use a wooden stick or a cake tester. After baking, give your rolls, cakes, and other goodies time to cool down before cutting them. They’re still cooking from the heat, and cutting too soon can make them not cook right.

And don’t worry if your treats aren’t perfect the first time – be kind to yourself! <3

Temperature – Always use ingredients at the same temperature when baking, and make sure to allow enough time for eggs and liquid products to warm up before using them.

Ps!

All the flours/grains I mentioned are naturally gluten-free, meaning they do not contain gluten. However, during the manufacturing process, the grains may come into contact with e.g. wheat, which is why celiac or people with allergies should always check the package to see if it is a gluten-free product.