The BEST Homemade Gluten-free Flour Mix (Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut and tree nut free; top 8 free; vegan)

Name: The BEST Homemade Gluten-free Flour Mix
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 4 cups rice flour (can you brown or white rice); 1 and 1/3 cups potato starch (NOT flour); 2/3 cups tapioca starch

September 19, 2016 by Megan Lavin 79 Comments

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One of the easiest (only three ingredients!) and cheapest gluten-free flour mixes you can make. Homemade so you can make large batches, this is a fabulous all-purpose flour you can use in any baked good. I substitute it 1:1 for regular wheat flour and it turns out beautifully every time.

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It’s almost baking season! With the holidays coming up my baking is ramping up and so I feel it’s best we start with the basics and make sure you have an allergy-friendly, all-purpose, gluten-free baking flour to get you through this busy baking season!

I feel like gluten-free has such a bad rep. People tried eating something gluten-free ten years ago and had a bad experience and now they assume all things gluten-free are dense, dried out shells of baked goods.

I think people tend to forget that baking with wheat probably had its own learning curve too–we just weren’t around for it! And, thankfully–gluten-free baking is getting better and better every day. (That’s not to say I still don’t buy some packaged stuff and want to gag–hence why I do so much of my own baking!)

I have been using this gluten-free flour blend for over six years now, and I have ZERO reason to stray. It performs every single time–whether in bars, brownies, cookies or cakes. It’s moist, it’s not gritty and best of all, I can substitute it 1:1 for regular flour. Meaning, that if the regular recipe calls for 1 cup of flour, I simply measure out 1 cup of my flour blend.

I like making a homemade flour blend because I find this helps with the cost. It really is a bummer having to buy THREE flours to replace regular wheat flour. That’s just the way it is to get that same texture and performance. So, I try to do it as cheaply as possible. I see some recipes that call for 4-6 ingredients and I just can’t do it!

I also like that I can make a large quantity, so that I have plenty on hand. There’s nothing more annoying than having to make a new blend every time you want to bake and have a craving you need to take care of.

I keep my flours in glass jars with lids in my fridge (as seen in the pictures). I feel this helps them last longer.

The nice thing with gluten-free exploding is that people have found that there are TONS of gluten-free flour substitutes: sorghum, buckwheat, millet, chick pea, coconut, fava and so on and so on. The problem I find with these is that they’re often harder to find, and often more expensive. Also, because my son is not simply gluten-free, but has a food-allergic disease called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE for short) he is also allergic to sorghum, buckwheat and millet. So, this was one of the few blends that he could do! THANK GOODNESS it was a good one!

Can you sub out brown rice flour for white rice flour in your gluten free flour blend?

Yes, I have found that both brown rice and white rice flour are quite interchangeable. I usually buy white as it’s the cheaper of the two, sometimes a bit “softer” in texture and often easier to find.

Where can I find the ingredients for homemade gluten free flour?

Speaking of finding them, here are the stores I often buy the ingredients to the flour recipe to:

Sprouts
Whole Foods
Walmart (sometimes)
Winco
Smiths
Maceys

I often feed non-gluten-free people my baked goods, and I frequently get a “THAT’S gluten free??!!”. So, I think this flour blend really does pass the test.

When making it, I measure out all of the ingredients into a large bowl, then I whisk them all to help distribute them evenly. Then, to also ensure it’s well-distributed, I put the lid on the bowl and shake it. Be sure to tap it heavily on the counter before opening it, or else you’ll have a cloud of flour everywhere!

How do you measure gluten free flour?

Lastly–when you are measuring gluten-free flour (and it’s counter-parts when making gluten-free flour) REMEMBER to take a large spoon and gently dump the flour into the measuring cup. Then, once it’s overflowing, take a knife and scrape off the excess, so you have a nice, clean, and even line with the measuring cup. You do not want to scoop or pack in the flour, as this will make the flour the wrong ratio and you won’t get the soft, just-like-wheat texture.

I hope this helps you enjoy some of your old favorites and get back to baking!

**PLEASE NOTE: Gluten-free flour does not rise like regular flour. So, you’ll notice all of my recipes call for an ingredient, xanthan gum, which helps give the rise and airy-ness that regular flour typically has. I prefer to not include this in my blend, as each type of recipe needs its own amount and to ensure I’m getting the proper amount.**

What can you make with this gluten free flour?

This flour is great in cakes, cookies, bars and muffins. Here are a few of our favorites, and ones that have raving reviews: