Gluten-Free Flour Substitutes: Which One Is Your Favorite?

Replacing wheat flour with a gluten-free substitute is not nearly so simple or straightforward as we would like. No other flour can singlehandedly duplicate all the characteristics we love in wheat, but blending several different flours together can get mighty close. What’s your favorite gluten-free flour mix?

We think buying a pre-blended mix is a good way to go if you’re just starting out or bake infrequently. In the past, we’ve done all our gluten-free baking with the all-purpose mix from Bob’s Red Mill. It’s a blend of garbanzo flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, sorghum flour, and fava flour, and we think it does an excellent job in smaller baked goods like cookies, scones, muffins, and quick breads.

We haven’t tried King Arthur Flour’s gluten-free mixes yet, but we’ve been hearing good things about them. Their blend includes white and brown rice flours, tapioca starch, and potato starch. Their mix is so much simpler than Bob’s Red Mill’s that we’re curious how they match up.

Once you get the hang of gluten-free baking and get a feel for which flours you like best, it can be fun to start experimenting with your own blends of gluten-free flours. Since those store-bought mixes can start getting pretty expensive after a while, this can save you a few dollars, too. Bob’s Red Mill and Arrowhead Mills are both great sources for these various flours.

Which gluten-free flour do you normally use?

Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Substitutes:
• Bob’s Red Mill, $11.00 for a 6-pound bag
• King Arthur Flour, $7.95 for 24-ounce box

DIY Gluten-Free Flour Recipes
• Gluten-Free Flour Formulas from Celiac Sprue Association
• Jeanne’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix from Art of Gluten-Free Baking
• Gluten-Free Flour Mix from Gluten-Free Cooking School

Sources for Flours and Grains:
• Bob’s Red Mill
• Arrowhead Mills

Related: Gluten-Free Baking: How to Make an Easy Flour Substitute

(Images: Bob’s Red Mill, Arrowhead Mills, King Arthur Flour)