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Gluten Free Flour Ideas
Finding the best gluten free flour may take some trial and error – after all, there are many different flour mixes and gluten free flour ingredients for sale at grocery stores, health food stores, and bulk food franchises. Each type of gluten free flour will have a distinctive taste, and each will be ideally suited to different sorts of recipes… Traditional gluten flours have naturally occurring binders that make them quite easy to work with – unfortunately, gluten free flours lack these convenient, built-in binders. Therefore, almost all gluten free flours will require an added binder before they can be used for cooking and baking. Often, food gums such as guar or xantham, are used to mimic the sticky, elastic quality of high-gluten dough and batters. Learning which flours to use and how to bind the flours with extra ingredients is really the secret to successful gluten free cooking and baking. Luckily, interest in gluten free flours has never been greater – there are thousands of wonderful recipes that utilize all types of gluten free flours. One of the most popular choices for today’s gluten free diets is brown rice flour. If you’re looking for brown rice flour, you should go for a high-quality product that is ground very fine; when this type of gluten free flour isn’t milled properly, it can have a gritty taste that is deeply unappealing. Somewhat sweet, with a nutty flavor, best-quality brown rice flour can be an excellent choice for sweet baked goods, such as gluten free muffins. Typical brown rice flour will have about 140 calories per serving (1/4 cup); it also contains iron, fiber, and protein. If you’re looking for a simple muffin recipe that uses super-fine brown rice flour, you may want to try this one: mix 2 cups of flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 4 teaspoons of sugar (or sugar substitute). You’ll also need a beaten egg, a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and a cup of milk. Add the wet ingredients and mix for 90 seconds – then, blend in the dry ingredients and pour the mixture into greased muffin tins. You should bake your gluten free brown rice flour muffins for about 24 minutes in a medium (350 degrees) oven. Experiment with spices, such as cinnamon and cloves – substitute dairy milk for almond milk to make your muffins more unique and delicious. Other types of gluten free flour, such as quinoa (pronounced “keenwa”) flour, will be effective in sweet or savory recipes, including banana loaves or gluten free pizza crusts. Quinoa is a veritable treasure trove of nutrition – it contains lots of protein and magnesium, as well as important amino acids that contribute to good health. This sturdy flour can replace wheat flour in lots of recipes – however, it does have a slight bitterness to it – this aftertaste may need to be balanced out by other ingredients. To make delicious sweet treats using Quinoa flour, create a perfect blend by mixing three cups of Quinoa flour with three cups of sorghum flour and two cups of potato starch – add in one cup of tapioca flour to complete your mix. This sort of gluten free blend should be used shortly after you make it – in general, gluten free flours don’t keep for long periods of time, as wheat flours do. Despite it name, buckwheat flour can be an excellent addition to gluten free blends. Often, this nutritional, gluten free flour is used instead of brown rice flour. Loaded with minerals, calcium and iron, buckwheat flour also has a very pleasant taste. To enjoy this flour, use it to make delicious, family-friendly buckwheat pancakes or pizza shells. As you can see, you don’t need to deprive yourself of taste and variety when you choose a gluten free diet. You can enjoy all of the benefits of going gluten free by choosing from myriad wheat flour substitutes. To get started, simply visit a well-stocked grocery store or health food shop and stock up on a series of flours you can combine for different recipes. These flours can be very nutritious and affordable; once you’ve learned how to use them in your cooking and baking, you’ll be able to create amazing facsimiles of all the wheat, rye, and barley flour recipes you love. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Melinda Knight- Wife & mother of a family allergic to gluten, and former Catering Director at three of the largest hotels on the Las Vegas strip, where she planned menus and parties for thousands including the occasional 3,000 person wedding. She now plans meals for her gluten free family and shares her recipes and ideas for living a gluten free life at her blog. |
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