When we first started on this journey fifteen years ago, there were very few options for learning about living without gluten and how to work with gluten free flours. I didn’t really even know what gluten was or how it affected the food we ate. I would read books and cookbooks on food allergies and gluten free diets. Now, you can find many cookbooks on gluten free baked goods.
At the time, a lot of the the gluten free flours and gluten free baked products were expensive and not very tasty. Because of the scarcity of good gluten free flour options and the high cost of premixed flours, I found in my research a simple ratio recipe for a homemade gluten free flour.
3:2:2:1:1 Gluten Free Flour:
3 c. garbanzo bean flour, 2 c. potato starch (if allergic, use cornstarch or arrowroot), 2 c. cornstarch (if allergic, use potato starch or arrowroot), 1 c. tapioca flour, 1 c. sorghum flour. Mix together and store in an airtight container. Place in a cool, dark cabinet away from light. For each cup of this flour, add 3/4 tsp. xanthan gum to give it the gummy texture of gluten in a baked good.
The 3:2:2:1:1 Gluten Free Flour does work well, but it is very difficult to test recipes on. It can be used as a one-to-one ratio (gluten flour to gluten free flour) in any recipe. However, a taste test of the dough doesn’t show the true results. The baking process mellows out the raw garbanzo bean flour flavor. The results are unclear until the baked good came out of the oven and cooled. The garbanzo bean flavor is strong; therefore, look for recipes that use chocolate or cinnamon to cover the flavor.
Gluten free flour and baked goods have come a long way! You can actually find delicious cookies, graham crackers, cake mixes and gluten free flour. I used the above recipe for 10+ years until I found Montana Gluten Free Baking Mix.
I use Montana Gluten Free Baking Mix in all Food Allergy Mealtime recipes, unless otherwise noted. You can use Montana Gluten Free Baking Mix one-to-one in any recipe you need to modify. (Although, test the recipe first before taking it to someone else’s house. 🙂 ). The flour is made out of gluten free oats, salt and xanthan gum. The oats, as a base, are bland enough in most recipes that even mild flavors can be tasted.
One tip to using M.G.F. Baking Mix is reduce any salt in a recipe by a smidge because the baking mix is salty on it’s own.
If you are looking at Food Allergy Mealtime recipes and using a different gluten free flour, make sure it has xanthan gum in the ingredient section. If it doesn’t, add 3/4 tsp xanthan gum for each cup of gluten free flour. Xanthan gum is needed as an additive to produce the stretchy, binding effect that gluten does in wheat flour.
Note: I did insert Amazon hot links in this post (and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, thank you!). However if you want to buy Montana Gluten Free Baking Mix in bulk, you may find better pricing at Montana Gluten Free or at Azure Standard, if it ships to your area.
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