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My Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix is the easiest, most economical, and truly best substitute for “regular” gluten-full flour in my opinion. It’s the best!
One of the shocks that we face when going gluten free is learning that a single flour usually doesn’t work as a substitute for the gluten-full all-purpose flour that most of us were used to using in the past. Sure there was also cake flour and whole-wheat flour, but most recipes called for all-purpose flour.
We had it in our canister, our pantry, and our freezers, and used it 5-lb bag after 5-lb bag, right?
In the gluten-free world, however, you’ll find a multitude of gluten-free flours … like bean flours, buckwheat flour, sorghum flour, rice flour (white, brown, and sweet/glutinous/mochiko), potato flour, and then there are starches … tapioca starch (which is the same as tapioca flour), potato starch (which is not the same as potato flour), and so forth.
When we start out, we know nothing of these ingredients and being faced with learning about them and how to use—and even store them—can be overwhelming.
Some of you really don’t want to buy a bunch of gluten-free flours and gluten-free starches. We want something simple that we can use every time for every recipe. Or most recipes anyway.
Because of that, many of us turn to ready-made gluten-free all-purpose flour mixes. But, sadly, many of you have tried a number of ready-made gluten-free all-purpose flour mixes and have not been pleased. And you’ve spent a lot of money trying all these mixes.
Some are still at the back of your pantry. Others are taking up space in your freezer. (Tip: Pass those along to someone else who uses them or let them go. They’re not going to transform into your Cinderella of flours after sitting in your pantry.)
While there are some excellent ready-made gluten-free flour mixes, many of us find them too costly and some of us have additional intolerances to some of the individual ingredients that are included in such mixes.
Previously I’ve shared the homemade two-ingredient bestgluten-free all-purpose flour mix that I use in the notes section of all the recipes that I use it in. However, I’ve never shared it by itself before.
I want to do that today so it’s easier for everyone to find—those of you who are new to gluten free and those of you who have been gluten free for years, but are still not happy with their flour choices.
The mix that I’ve adopted as my own “go-to” flour mix came either from a user on a gluten-free forum or from a gluten-free individual that I talked to in person. I honestly can’t remember the source, but I absolutely love the simplicity of this recipe.
I have been using it successfully for years now. I quickly discovered that I could substitute it for gluten-full all-purpose flour in almost all my old recipes, and it worked beautifully. (Note: In most cases, I do have to add a small amount of xanthan gum when I use this flour mix.)
This gluten-free flour mix really is made of only two ingredients—a gluten-free flour and a gluten-free starch. The starch is cornstarch, which you can find in your regular grocery store—and pay the same price that everyone else is paying, I might add.
The gluten-free flour in this mix is finely ground white rice flour, which can be found at your local Asian market or online here. (Note that this is NOT sweet rice flour, which is also known as glutinous rice flour or Mochiko.) Asian white rice flour is very inexpensive and I’ve found it to be safe for me.
When you’re not buying a multitude of gluten-free flours and starches, making your own gluten-free flour mix is super easy. With only two ingredients and much lower cost ones at that, this mix is also very economical.
I pay a little over $1 per pound for both theAsian white rice flour and cornstarch. And, most important of all, this Two-Ingredient Best Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix works!
Okay, there are two types of recipes that I have not had good luck using this Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free Flour Mix recipe in … pancakes and yeast-based breads. I think the ingredients in this flour mix are just too finely ground and not substantial enough for these two uses.
But with everything else, I’ve had great success in using this recipe for my gluten-free flour mix when I am not interested in creating a grain-free recipe. (I’ve increasingly used almond flour and coconut flour for baking the last several years, and more recently cassava flour,tiger nut flour, and banana flour.)
Some reading will not like this gluten-free flour mix recipe because they say it lacks nutrition. That is true. I will not argue that point.
However, that’s no different than the gluten-full all-purpose flour that most of us used to rely on in the past without a second thought. Those endless 5-lb sacks of bleached white flour. And most ready-made gluten-free flour mixes are a mix of rice flour and starches as well so they are usually no more nutritious than my mix.
Plus my gfe baking recipes are often flourless and crustless. The crustless ones use only a very small amount of my gluten-free all-purpose flour whenit’s needed.
I often bake grain-free now, so I’m not using this flour mix that often and am not going to worry about it lacking in nutritional content when I do.
Last, I am actually intolerant of/sensitive to a number of the other gluten-free flour options that are considered healthier and/or are included in other gluten-free flour mixes (e.g., sorghum, buckwheat, Expandex), but I do just fine with this flour mix.
By the way, some members of the paleo/primal community say that if you are going to eat a grain, go ahead and eat white rice as it is pretty mild on the digestive system—passing through one’s system quickly and harmlessly.
Some of you might be wondering about xanthan gum or guar gumfor binding. These ingredientsare, in fact, often included in homemade or ready-made gluten-free flour mixes to aid in binding. For most recipes in which I use this flour mix, I do add a small amount of xanthan gum, but I add it at the time of mixing.
I usually add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup of flour mix used in the recipe. So if a recipe calls for 2 cups of gluten-free flour mix, I add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum.
I would use the same amount for 2 ¼ cups of gluten-free flour mix, but if the recipe called for 2 ½ cups, I would bump up the xanthan gum a bit, to 1 ¼ teaspoon.
If you use guar gum instead of xanthan gum, you would probably add it to the recipe in the same proportion. I don’t do well with guar gum when it’s included in ready-made products, so I haven’t tried using it with this flour mix.
Other binders that you might use in place of xanthan gum (e.g., Pixie Dust) would probably work in conjunction with this mix as well. Please let us all know if you give them a try.
Some of the Gluten-Free Recipes in Which I Use This Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
~ Cinnamon-Sugar Crusted Popovers
~Classic Pumpkin Bread
~ Easy Crustless Apple Pie
~ Easy Crustless Peach Pie
~ Honeybear Brownies
~ Mediterranean Chocolate Cake
~ Perfect Pound Cake
Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix Recipe
Yield: The rice flour used in this mix is NOT sweet rice flour, which is also known as glutinous rice flour (due to its sticky nature) or Mochiko. You can make any size batch that you want. The proportions are as follows: 3 parts white rice flour, finely ground; 2 parts cornstarch. If you prefer brown rice flour, you can substitute finely ground brown rice flour for white rice flour, but please know that it will not be a true gluten-free all-purpose flour in that case. The brown rice flour-based version provides a heartier taste, closer to that provided by whole wheat. You can also choose to do a mixture of white rice flour and brown rice flour as your rice flour “part,” if you want to do some experimenting. This mix does not require refrigeration. If you want a finely ground, certified gluten-free rice flour, Authentic Foods is a great choice in my opinion. Gritty rice flour is the bane of gluten-free baked goods. Some individuals like grinding their own rice flour from rice or buying rice flour but then processing it more to ensure that it’s finely ground. I like the white rice flour that you can buy at international or Asian grocery stores. It’s labeled gluten free, but it is not certified gluten free. However, I know that some individuals have tested Asian white rice flour and it has tested gluten free. I have used it safely for years, but please use---or don’t use---to your own comfort level. I measure the rice flour and cornstarch by stirring, spooning into measuring cup, and leveling off with a butter knife. I also measure this way when adding the gluten-free grain-based flour mix to recipes. For most recipes in which I use this flour mix, I do use xanthan gum, but I add it at the time of mixing. I usually add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum per cups of flour mix used in the recipe. So if a recipe calls for 2 cups of gluten-free flour mix, I add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum. I would use the same amount for 2 ¼ cups of gluten-free flour mix, but if the recipe called for 2 ½ cups, I would bump up the xanthan gum a bit, to 1 ¼ teaspoon. If you use guar gum instead of xanthan gum, you would probably add it to the recipe in the same proportion. I don’t do well with guar gum, so I haven’t tried it. Other binders that you might use in place of xanthan gum would probably work in conjunction with this mix as well. Many recipes will work fine without xanthan gum, but you often won’t know until you give them a try. Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on PinterestLarge Batch of Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Yield: The rice flour used in this mix is NOT sweet rice flour, which is also known as glutinous rice flour (due to its sticky nature) or Mochiko. You can make any size batch that you want. The proportions are as follows: 3 parts white rice flour, finely ground; 2 parts cornstarch. If you prefer brown rice flour, you can substitute finely ground brown rice flour for white rice flour, but please know that it will not be a true gluten-free all-purpose flour in that case. The brown rice flour-based version provides a heartier taste, closer to that provided by whole wheat. You can also choose to do a mixture of white rice flour and brown rice flour as your rice flour “part,” if you want to do some experimenting. This mix does not require refrigeration. If you want a finely ground, certified gluten-free rice flour, Authentic Foods is a great choice in my opinion. Gritty rice flour is the bane of gluten-free baked goods. Some individuals like grinding their own rice flour from rice or buying rice flour but then processing it more to ensure that it’s finely ground. I like the white rice flour that you can buy at international or Asian grocery stores. It’s labeled gluten free, but it is not certified gluten free. However, I know that some individuals have tested Asian white rice flour and it has tested gluten free. I have used it safely for years, but please use---or don’t use---to your own comfort level. I measure the rice flour and cornstarch by stirring, spooning into measuring cup, and leveling off with a butter knife. I also measure this way when adding the gluten-free grain-based flour mix to recipes.For most recipes in which I use this flour mix, I do use xanthan gum, but I add it at the time of mixing. I usually add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum per cups of flour mix used in the recipe. So if a recipe calls for 2 cups of gluten-free flour mix, I add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum. I would use the same amount for 2 ¼ cups of gluten-free flour mix, but if the recipe called for 2 ½ cups, I would bump up the xanthan gum a bit, to 1 ¼ teaspoon. If you use guar gum instead of xanthan gum, you would probably add it to the recipe in the same proportion. I don’t do well with guar gum, so I haven’t tried it. Other binders that you might use in place of xanthan gum would probably work in conjunction with this mix as well. Many recipes will work fine without xanthan gum, but you often won’t know until you give them a try. Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on PinterestSmall Batch of Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Yield: 2 1/2 cups If you want to try this Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free Flour Mix out in a recipe before you make a larger batch, this is the amount you should make. Prep Time2 minutes Total Time2 minutes The rice flour used in this mix is NOT sweet rice flour, which is also known as glutinous rice flour (due to its sticky nature; it does not contain gluten) or Mochiko. You can make any size batch that you want. The proportions are as follows: 3 parts white rice flour, finely ground; 2 parts cornstarch. If you prefer brown rice flour, you can substitute finely ground brown rice flour for white rice flour, but please know that it will not be a true gluten-free all-purpose flour in that case. The brown rice flour-based version provides a heartier taste, closer to that provided by whole wheat. You can also choose to do a mixture of white rice flour and brown rice flour as your rice flour “part,” if you want to do some experimenting. This mix does not require refrigeration. If you want a finely ground, certified gluten-free rice flour, Authentic Foods is a great choice in my opinion. Gritty rice flour is the bane of gluten-free baked goods. Some individuals like grinding their own rice flour from rice or buying rice flour but then processing it more to ensure that it’s finely ground. I like the white rice flour that you can buy at international or Asian grocery stores. It’s labeled gluten free, but it is not certified gluten free. However, I know that some individuals have tested Asian white rice flour and it has tested gluten free. I have used it safely for years, but please use---or don’t use---to your own comfort level. I measure the rice flour and cornstarch by stirring, spooning into measuring cup, and leveling off with a butter knife. I also measure this way when adding the gluten-free grain-based flour mix to recipes. For most recipes in which I use this flour mix, I do use xanthan gum, but I add it at the time of mixing. I usually add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum per cups of flour mix used in the recipe. So if a recipe calls for 2 cups of gluten-free flour mix, I add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum. I would use the same amount for 2 ¼ cups of gluten-free flour mix, but if the recipe called for 2 ½ cups, I would bump up the xanthan gum a bit, to 1 ¼ teaspoon. If you use guar gum instead of xanthan gum, you would probably add it to the recipe in the same proportion. I don’t do well with guar gum, so I haven’t tried it. Other binders that you might use in place of xanthan gum would probably work in conjunction with this mix as well. Many recipes will work fine without xanthan gum, but you often won’t know until you give them a try. Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on PinterestVery Small Batch of Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
