Navigating the World of Gluten-Free Flours
The gluten-free flour section of your grocery store or baking supply site can feel overwhelming. There are dozens of options, each with different textures, flavors, protein contents, and best uses. Understanding the properties of different GF flours helps you choose the right one for each application and ultimately bake better GF food.
This guide covers all the major GF flours, their characteristics, and when to use them.
Why Blending Matters
Unlike wheat flour, which can be used alone for virtually any baking application, most GF flours work best in blends. This is because each GF flour contributes different characteristics:
- Some provide protein structure (almond, chickpea)
- Some provide lightness and starch (tapioca, arrowroot, potato starch)
- Some provide flavor and nutrition (sorghum, teff, buckwheat)
- Some provide bulk and neutrality (white rice flour)
A well-designed GF flour blend balances these properties to approximate the behavior of wheat flour.
The Major Gluten-Free Flours
White Rice Flour
The most widely used GF flour. Made from finely milled white rice.
Properties: Neutral flavor, fine texture, high starch content. Creates light, slightly delicate baked goods.
Best uses: All-purpose blends, cookies, cakes, muffins, coatings for frying. Works well in most applications where you want a neutral flavor.
Limitations: Used alone, it produces gritty or dry results. Must be blended with other flours and starches. Contributes little protein structure.
Ratio in blends: Typically 40-60% of a GF flour blend.
Brown Rice Flour
Made from whole grain brown rice. More nutritious than white rice flour.
Properties: Slightly nutty, earthy flavor. More fiber and nutrients than white rice flour. Slightly denser and heavier.
Best uses: Blends where you want more nutrition and don't mind a slightly heartier texture. Pancakes, muffins, quick breads. Works well in savory applications.
Tip: Very finely milled brown rice flour (like from Authentic Foods or Bob's Red Mill superfine) produces much better results than regular grind — the difference is significant.
Almond Flour (Blanched)
Made from blanched, skinless almonds ground to a fine powder.
Properties: Rich, slightly sweet, nutty flavor. High protein and fat content. Moist, dense crumb. Gluten-free but also grain-free and paleo.
Best uses: Cookies, cakes, quick breads, muffins, pancakes. Excellent at replacing a significant portion of flour to add richness. Great for French macarons. Works as a coating for chicken and fish.
Limitations: Cannot be used 1:1 for wheat flour. Creates dense, moist results — not appropriate where a light, airy texture is needed. More expensive than grain-based flours.
Not the same as almond meal: Almond meal is made from unblanched almonds and has a coarser texture with more brown flecks. It works for rustic baked goods but not fine pastry.
Tapioca Starch (Tapioca Flour)
Extracted from the cassava root, tapioca starch is a pure starch.
Properties: Neutral flavor, creates chewiness and elasticity in baked goods. Very fine texture. Creates a slight glossy stretch.
Best uses: GF flour blends (typically 20-30%), pie thickening, sauces (where you want a clearer thickening than cornstarch), Brazilian cheese bread (pão de queijo), GF tortillas, chewy cookies.
The tapioca secret: Adding tapioca starch to GF bread, bagels, and pizza dough creates a characteristic chew that's difficult to achieve with other flours.
Potato Starch
Extracted from potatoes, not to be confused with potato flour (which is made from the whole dried potato).
Properties: Neutral flavor, creates light, moist crumb. Excellent binding properties. Very fine texture.
Best uses: GF flour blends (10-20%), cakes, muffins, quick breads. Lightens the texture of dense GF baked goods.
Note: Potato starch is not the same as potato flour. Potato flour has a strong potato flavor and creates gluey textures. They cannot be substituted for each other.
Sorghum Flour
Made from ancient grain sorghum. One of the closest GF flours to wheat in baking behavior.
Properties: Mild, slightly sweet flavor. Good protein content. Behaves somewhat like whole wheat flour. Creates tender crumb.
Best uses: Bread, pancakes, waffles, muffins. Often used as a primary flour in GF bread blends because its flavor profile resembles whole wheat.
Nutrition: One of the more nutritious GF flours — good source of protein, fiber, B vitamins, and iron.
Buckwheat Flour
Despite its name, buckwheat is completely unrelated to wheat. Made from the seeds of the buckwheat plant.
Properties: Distinctive earthy, slightly bitter, nutty flavor. Good protein content. Creates tender but dense baked goods.
Best uses: Pancakes (blini and classic buckwheat pancakes are traditional), soba noodles (must be 100% buckwheat for GF), crêpes, quick breads. Works well in small proportions in GF flour blends to add flavor.
Limitation: Strong flavor that can overpower mild recipes. Use at 20-30% of blend maximum unless the flavor is desired.
Oat Flour (Certified Gluten-Free)
Made from certified GF oats.
Properties: Mild, slightly sweet, oaty flavor. Good fiber content. Creates tender, moist crumb.
Best uses: Cookies, muffins, quick breads, pancakes. Can be easily made at home by blending certified GF rolled oats in a food processor.
Note: Not tolerated by all people with celiac disease. About 5% of celiac patients react to avenin, an oat protein.
Chickpea Flour (Garbanzo Bean Flour)
Made from ground dried chickpeas. Also called besan or gram flour.
Properties: Distinctive bean-like flavor (can be reduced by toasting). High protein and fiber content. Creates dense, moist crumb. Excellent binder.
Best uses: Savory pancakes (socca), flatbreads, fritters, GF pasta with strong flavors, coatings for savory applications. Can be used in sweet baked goods but the flavor must be masked by strong spices or chocolate.
Teff Flour
From the ancient Ethiopian grain teff. One of the smallest grains in the world.
Properties: Distinctive earthy, slightly molasses-like flavor. High in iron, calcium, and protein compared to other GF flours. Creates moist, dense crumb.
Best uses: Ethiopian injera bread (the traditional application), quick breads, muffins, and baked goods where an earthy flavor is welcome. Good in combination with other GF flours to add nutrition and flavor.
Coconut Flour
Made from dried, defatted coconut meat.
Properties: Mild coconut flavor. Extremely high fiber content — absorbs enormous amounts of liquid (4-8x more than wheat flour). Creates very dense, moist crumb. Cannot be substituted 1:1 for any other flour.
Substitution ratio: Typically use 1/4 to 1/3 cup coconut flour to replace 1 cup of other flour, and significantly increase liquid and eggs.
Best uses: Pancakes, muffins, quick breads when used with a dedicated coconut flour recipe. Not suitable for adapting conventional recipes without significant testing.
Pre-Made GF Flour Blends
For most people, using a quality pre-made GF all-purpose blend is the most practical approach:
Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour: A reliable, widely available blend of sweet white rice flour, whole grain brown rice flour, potato starch, whole grain sorghum flour, tapioca flour, and xanthan gum. Works well for cakes, cookies, muffins, and quick breads.
King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour: Very popular for its neutral flavor and reliable 1:1 performance. Made from rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, and xanthan gum.
Cup4Cup Multipurpose GF Flour: Developed by a Thomas Keller restaurant group. More expensive but produces excellent results, particularly for pastry. Contains dried whole milk.
Better Batter: Beloved by serious GF bakers for its versatility and excellent results.
Making Your Own GF Flour Blend
A simple, reliable DIY all-purpose GF blend:
- 2 cups white rice flour
- 2/3 cup potato starch
- 1/3 cup tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
Store in an airtight container. Use in equal measure to all-purpose wheat flour in most recipes.