I've used the Bob's Red Mill mix in the past and was happy with the results. The only problem I had was that I sometimes like to underbake cookies a bit to keep them a little gooey inside, and something in the gluten-free mix (I think it's the chickpea or fava flour) tastes absolutely foul before it's been baked. I learned that g-f cookies need to be more on the crispy side to avoid that weird taste that is found in the raw dough.

I'm eager to try the King Arthur brown rice flour blend myself. I wonder if you still need to add Guar or Xanthan gum to that? I started GF baking five years ago when my son was diagnosed with Celiac and there were very few decent GF flour blends available. Bon Appetite did a great feature on GF baker Annaliese Roberts the same month my son was diagnosed with Celiac. They raved about her chocolate chip cookies and her white cake. Her book, Gluten Free Baking Classics, is based on her Brown Rice Flour blend (brown rice flour, tapioca starch and potato flour) -- the key being to use the superfine brown rice flour. I have found the superfine flour through Chef De-vere. I make the flour blend a couple times per year and keep it in a big plastic canister in my fridge. The results are great, especially the pie crusts.

I've also enjoyed the Betty Hagman Bean Flour, which used to be available through Authentic Foods (not sure if it is anymore). You can't use that flour for everything (bean flour has a strong flavor), but I like that it's high in fiber, so I don't feel guilty about eating that extra slice of chocolate cake.

You should get reader input on GF cookbooks. I have some favs, but would love to hear others'.

I haven't had success with Bob's Red Mill GF all-purpose mixes. I love almond flour to use in baking (made a great pie crust recently). My sister loves Arrowhead Mills GF all-purpose mix.

I'm eating my first test batch pancakes made from Pamela's Mix as I read this article. They're quite good! I'll be posting a full review here on Friday.

I like Bob's GF AP mix for general things. Works really well when breading things like cutlets! Echo PP about almond flour -- it's amazing! There's also a homemade blend -- tapioca, rice and potato flour -- that works really well for general things.

without a doubt, honeyville's blanched almond flour as used over at Elana's Pantry.

I have had success with a 4:2:2:1 mixture of brown rice, white rice, sorghum and tapioca flours, mixed with 1 tsp xanthan gum per cup of flour. I'm not a big fan of Bob's because of the beany flavor.

I like the Glutino All Purpose GF flour as a great substitute for unbleached wheat flour. As a plus it has guar gum in the mix so I rarely need to add xanthan gum and can use it as a straight substitute in most quick baked goods (reducing the salt a little). But we can't have nut or coconut flours and we detest bean flours (and find chickpea flour particularly difficult on the stomach) so that knocks out a lot of premixed GF flours.

To add body and nutrition I sometimes mix it with sorghum flour, brown rice flour, etc.

I've had great success with Better Batter.

a note about pamela's: their baking/pancake flour mix has almonds in it, so for those with multiple allergies like me, it may not be the best choice. oddly, their mixes do not contain nuts.

here's the allergy chart on their website: http://www.pamelasproducts.com/Allergy.html

River Cottage showed me the best gluten alternative for a cake- mashed potatoes!

Honeville blanched almond. No contest.

Bob's is by far the best, for most all gf needs. My parents have a small pet treat business and have clients who's pets require gf (believe it or not), and have for years so I have been well versed in all their gf products long before before the current awareness/popularity. I would like to mention that although not an all purpose gf flour mix but I LOVE the Trader Joe's gf pancake and waffle mix. I have used it to make gf coffee cake, muffins, etc. it is super. It has been hard to find of late though so I am back to Bob's.

Bean Flours are EVIL! I find that a 1:1:1:1 of sorghum/teff/cornstarch/tapioca works well as a 'general' flour. It rolls identically to wheat flours for pies, boils nicely for bagels and ravolis, and tastes pretty darn good. I generally mill my own flours. More recipes to come in my cookbook (Cooking Wheat Less) once its published. Also don't forget chia (can hydrate about 1/3rd cup / cup of moisture in most things to make almost any gluten free product mostly not stink.

My husband was blessed with multiple food allergies, so along with his gluten-intolerance we have to contend with a garbanzo bean allergy. Unfortunately, a lot of GF foods have garbanzo flour...

As such, we use Arrowhead Mills mix pretty much exclusively. From crepes, to biscotti, and even shepherd's pie, it has never done us wrong!

What about Kinnikinnick's GF flour! Absent of the bean taste others where mentioning, their All Purpose Celiac Flour along with the Soya and Sweet Rice Flour are all dairy free and nut free.

I can vouch for the tastiness of King Arthur's Gluten Free Cookie Mix, Pancake, and Muffin mix. They are yummy - especially the cookies. Tried to use the bread mix to make sweet rolls (even though they advise against it) and they didn't come out so well.

I've used the rice/tapioca/potato starch blend from Bette Hagman's Gluten-free Gourmet books for years. 2 parts rice flour (brown or white, superfine), 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca starch. Ener-G foods carries it as their "Gluten-free Gourmet Blend." If I'm making bread I substitute a bit of the GF blend for sorghum flour.

You must use xanthan gum when baking with GF flours. Bette Hagman's rule of thumb:
For bread: 1 tsp xanthan gum per 1 cup GF flour.
For cakes: 1/2 tsp per 1 cup GF flour
For cookies: 1/4 tsp per 1 cup GF flour

My mom (who has celiac) swears by Annalise Roberts' recipe from "Gluten Free Baking Classics." Roberts did a piece on GF cooking for Gourmet a few years back, and the staff didn't even notice that the two recipes sitting out in the kitchen were missing the gluten. Her chocolate chip cookies are some of the best I've ever eaten.

I really like Jeanne's, though I've not used it in bread recipes. Recently made her chocolate cake to rave reviews. I also don't like the flavor of bean flours (and don't tolerated them well) and am on the fence about sorghum). Jeanne's appears rather flavor-neutral, with good texture, allowing other flavors to shine through.

Emma, I'd be glad to send some samples of King Arthur Flour gluten-free flour and mixes for you to try. Send me an email at allison[dot]furbish[at]kingarthurflour[dot]com. Thanks for bringing it up!

I haven't yet found one flour mix that works for everything, but I have found that Roben Ryberg's book, "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free" has some fantastic flour combinations, and they don't get crazy and out of control...there are some recipes that just use cornstarch! I made danishes the other day that were incredible, I couldn't believe it! I'd highly recommend it for anyone who has gone gluten-free and is looking for good recipes (without buying pre-mixed flours or spending a bajillion dollars on a huge variety of flours).

Bob's is great for almost everything! Otherwise I use Glutino Bread Flour Mix for most else!

I like blending my own.