DIY Gluten-Free Blends

This page serves as the anchor for all my cottage bakery's gluten-free DIY flour blends. The main takeaway is that gluten-free flour is not ONE ingredient, like we think of all-purpose wheat flour; it is a mixture of many flours/starches/hydrocolloids, each with a specific purpose and role. Please read through for my approach to making these blends. You will learn: how I categorize baked goods in my cottage bakery, how ingredient choices support those categories, and the advantages of blending your own gluten-free flour mixes.

Baked Goods Category

In my bakery and in my recipe development, I use three main categories of gluten-free baked goods:

• Pastries - eg: pies, yeasted pastries (like Danish)
• Batters/doughs - eg: cakes, muffins, cookies, brownies, scones, quick breads
• Breads - eg: loaves, rolls, brioche

These categories are broken down by final baked goods attributes. And as you guessed it, each of those attributes must be taken into account when choosing gluten-free flours.

Baked Goods Attributes and Ingredient Choices

Before I list them, there are two incredibly important resources to making your own gluten-free flour blends, especially if you plan on substituting some of my recommendations. Those resources are my ultimate gluten-free flour guide, and my hydrocolloid guide.

• Pastries should be crispy and layered.
  • Blends are high in amylopectin
  • Blends have taste/texture enhancers like milk powder (vegan or dairy)
• Cakes and muffins should be light and moist.
  • Blends have starches that stabilize the crumb
  • Blends contain high water absorption flours
• Breads should be able to double in size (after oven spring) and have a soft airy crumb.
  • Blends have powerful hydrocolloids to replace gluten and support structure
  • Blends support a strong oven spring by utilizing the most water-absorbent gluten-free flours

Advantages of a DIY Gluten-Free Flour Blend

There are so many advantages to blending your own gluten-free flour, and only two drawbacks I can think of: the time investment and the storage. For my cottage bakery, I spend about an hour a week blending my DIY gluten-free mixes, but that amount would last a household who bakes often for MONTHS! As far as storage, you should have space for 4-5 bags of different flours/starches.

Alright, let's get on with the advantages!

• It is more cost efficient
  • (eg: 5lb of Better Batter is $43, or make yourself for $28)
• It is much more versatile
  • you can have a perfect blend for pies, and a perfect blend for cakes.
• It gives freedom to experiment
  • you can play with and customize breads for taste preferences!
• It is likely more nutritious, as commercial blends tend to rely heavily on white rice flour and starches
  • why not add some easily digestible proteins to your bakes like amaranth?
• It can help you avoid major and minor allergens
  • The Cup4Cup commercial blend for example, uses milk powder; you could sub it for coconut milk powder or oatmilk powder if you have an allergy!
  • Other common intolerances are corn, rice and xanthan gum, which can all be subbed out!
• It allows us to pick high quality ingredients, such as organic flours, or superfine flours
  • Did you know most commercial blends use coarsely milled flours, which results in gritty baked products?

I hope I have convinced you! Please know that if you do not choose the DIY approach, I do give options for commercial blends and "doctored" commercial blends in all my DIY mixes, so please check them out!