|
|
© FrugalAbundance
2007-2011
GFCF Means
Gluten
Free & Casein Free |
|
***Glad Flour***
The Best Ever, Easiest to Use Gluten-Free All
Purpose Flour
|
Small Batch |
INGREDIENTS |
Big Batch |
|
2 cups |
Brown or White Rice Flour |
6 pounds |
|
2/3 cup |
Cornstarch |
2 pounds |
|
1/3 cup |
Tapioca Flour |
1 pound |
|
1/3 cup |
Soy Flour
or Other Bean Flour |
1 pound (4 cups) |
|
Makes 3-1/3 cups |
. |
Makes 10 pounds or 30 cups |
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all of the ingredients in a large jar or plastic container
with a lid. Mix thoroughly. I use my hands for mixing because I find
it's most efficient. There are usually a few nooks and crannies of
flour that stubbornly refuse to mingle with their neighbors. By using
my hands I can seek out these rebellious pockets and convince them to
hang out with the rest of the crowd. Use this blend in any recipe
calling for Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour.
Per Cup: 565 Calories; 6g Fat (9.1% calories from fat); 12g
Protein; 116g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 12mg
Sodium. Exchanges: 7 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fat.
FLOURS
I have used both brown rice flour and white rice flour and a
combination of the two in this recipe and it works just as good
either way. Brown rice flour has more fiber and nutrition, so it's
the one I prefer to use.
If you don't have soy flour, or prefer not to use it, then any bean
flour may be used instead. Chickpea or besan flour or Garfava flour
work fine in place of the soy flour.
Batters and doughs made with this flour have a slight "raw"
flavor because of the soy flour. Some people may not even notice it.
If you do notice it then fear not. The raw flavor disappears
completely with baking.
Recipes in this website that call for gluten-free all-purpose flour
are made with this recipe. I have not used commercially available
gluten-free all purpose flours so I don't know if my recipes will
work with other blends.
I've tried lots of different gluten free flour blends. This recipe is
light-years above any other recipe I've tried.
TO SUBSTITUTE FOR WHEAT FLOUR
Use 3/4 to 7/8-cup Glad flour plus
1/2-teaspoon xanthan or guar gum for each 1-cup of wheat flour.
7/8-cup is the same as 1-cup minus
2-tablespoons or 3/4-cup plus 2-tablespoons.
If a recipe calls for sifted cake flour,
then use 3/4-cup Glad flour (plus a scant 1/2-teaspoon xanthan or
guar gum).
If a recipe calls for 1-cup of
all-purpose wheat flour, then use 7/8-cup Glad flour (plus
1/2-teaspoon xanthan or guar gum).
FURTHER INFORMATION
In gluten-free baking it's necessary to use a combination of flours
to replace wheat flour. Rice flour, the most common gluten-free
flour, usually makes up the base of gluten-free flour blends. By
itself rice flour can make dense, gritty, dry baked goods. Other
flours are added to help mimic the properties of wheat flour. Soy
flour adds browning, sweetness and helps emulsify batters. Cornstarch
keeps the mixture smooth and light. Tapioca flour improves the
texture of the finished product, add chewiness and contributes to browning.
The flours in this blend are inexpensive when compared to most
gluten-free specialty flours. Another plus, they are available in
many supermarkets or can be made at home with a coffee mill. To make
small quantities of your own rice flour simply grind rice in a coffee
mill, about 1/3-cup at a time, until it has the consistency of flour.
If you don't already have an electric coffee mill you may find it a
worthy investment. Grain mills are another option, especially if you
use large quantities of rice flour. If you do much baking the initial
investment will pay for itself quickly.
Commercial rice flour is inexpensive at Oriental and Mexican
food stores. Some natural food stores and Co-ops sell it in bulk. At
my local market rice flour is in the Mexican food section. Home
ground rice flour costs about half of store-bought rice flour.
Grinding flour can be tedious, especially in a coffee mill, but it's
a great chore for a kid who is bored and needs something to do. I
prefer to use our K-tek grain mill to make a lot of rice flour at once.
Tapioca flour can be made by grinding old-fashioned tapioca (not
minute tapioca) in a grain mill or a coffee mill. Soy flour is
available at most supermarkets, either in the special "Health
Food" section or, more often, in the conventional baking aisle.
If you prefer to make your own soy flour you may grind soybeans in
most home grain mills. Be sure to read your owner's manual to make certain.
For more information on gluten free flour blends visit Solving
The Gluten-Free Flour Mix Mystery (off site).
THE COST (Prices
are from Southwest VA, February 2010)
If I buy all of the ingredients at my local supermarket then I can
make a 10-pound batch of Glad flour for $13. This is $1.30 per pound
of flour which is quite reasonable for gluten-free flour. The least
expensive prepared GF all-purpose flour in my area is $2.89/lb. By
mixing the ingredients together myself I save a minimum of $1.59 per
pound of flour I use, or nearly $16 for each Big Batch I make.
If I'm willing to do a little more work I can reduce the cost
further. Using our K-tek grain mill I grind bulk-purchased rice
(50¢/lb) and soybeans (99¢/lb) to make the required amount
of rice flour and soybean flour. Then I use tapioca flour from the
Oriental Food store which costs only $1/lb, instead of paying $3/lb
at the supermarket. At Walmart I can get a pound box of cornstarch
for 88¢, bringing the cost of 10-pounds of Glad flour to a total
of $6.75 or about 68¢ per pound. This is a minimum savings
of $2.21 for each pound of flour I use, or $22.21 for each 10-pound batch.
The most expensive all-purpose gluten-free flour in my area is
$8/lb, or $80 for 10-pounds. A 10-pound batch of Glad flour costs
$6.75 for 10-pounds, for a grand savings of $73.25 per Big
Batch! If I use 5-pounds of flour a week, then over the course
of a year I'll spend $175.50 on Glad flour. The same amount of
expensive store-bought flour would cost $2080 for a savings of $1904.50!
The least expensive store-bought gluten-free flour would cost $751.40
for a year. Glad flour made with flours purchased from the
supermarket and then combined at home, would cost me $338 per year.
This still saves me $413.40 per year by making my own GF all-purpose
flour instead of buying it pre-mixed. No matter how you add it up,
preparing one's own gluten-free all-purpose flour provides BIG savings.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
My recipe is based on the talented Bette
Hagman's classic blend. Her original recipe was made up of:
- 2 parts rice flour
- 2/3 part potato starch
- 1/3 part tapioca starch
Potato starch is expensive in my area so I tried it with cornstarch
instead. It worked well, but was still a little off. I tried
adding soy flour, which I keep in large quantities in my pantry. I
could not believe how good the results were. I've tried many
gluten-free flour blends and been so disappointed with the results.
With this blend I am completely satisfied with my baking. It's
so easy to use too and substitutes almost effortlessly for wheat
flour in most recipes.
The name happened because the kids began asking me if I was using
that new flour and calling it "that new gluten-free all purpose
flour blend" was a mouthful so we started calling it Glad Flour
because the family, especially the boys, were so glad that I was
using it instead of any of the other blends we suffered through in
the past. Thus Glad Flour was born.
This formula is hereby placed into the public domain that it may help
other busy cooks who just want baking to be as easy as it used to be.
Recipes on this
site that use Glad Flour
|
