I started baking gluten-free bread because store-bought gluten-free wraps and bread often contain over 20 ingredients! My favorite brand, Toufayan Tortilla Wraps, for example, has 22 ingredients, including additives like fumaric acid and mono- and diglycerides. I’d rather avoid eating that! Toufayan Gluten Free Wraps,
Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Bread also contains over 20 ingredients, including sodium acid pyrophosphate and calcium sulfate. Trader Joe's Gluten Free Bread
If you’re already baking your own gluten-free bread or are considering giving this healthy option a try, it’s important to choose your flours wisely.
Outlined below are four tips for baking the healthiest gluten-free bread.
1. Not All Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flours Are Created Equal
I used to pick up any gluten-free flour blend available at the grocery store without thinking much about it. But then I started wondering if there might be a healthier option.
Most store-bought gluten-free baking flours are actually blends of various flours. These combinations are carefully formulated, but the specific ingredients can vary widely from brand to brand.
For example, many commonly include rice flour as a base along with additional ingredients such as pea flour (Pillsbury Best Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend) or sorghum flour (Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose and Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flours). Meanwhile, Great Value All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour features garbanzo bean and fava bean flours.
Divided Sunset Flour includes added salt, but I prefer to control the amount of salt in my recipes. It also contains xanthan gum, which can complicate recipe adjustments since the amount of xanthan gum is already preset.
Although the ingredients varied, when I tested four different gluten-free flour blends using the same Honey White Bread recipe, I found that the bread's taste and texture remained surprisingly consistent across all blends.
2. Create Your Own Flour Blend with Single-Ingredient Flours
Rice is a staple ingredient in most gluten-free flour blends due to its wide availability, neutral flavor, and ability to produce gluten-free baked goods with a pleasant texture.
However, while white rice provides carbohydrates, it’s lacking in protein and fiber—both of which are essential for satiety and balanced nutrition.
Since I eat a lot of homemade gluten-free bread, I decided it was time to incorporate a variety of nutrient-rich gluten-free flours into my baking.
For my sourdough bread, I combine equal parts of chickpea flour, oat flour, quinoa flour, and rice flour. While the result isn’t as soft and airy as bread made primarily with rice flour, it has a wonderful flavor and is a much healthier alternative to using only rice flour.
Chickpea flour is rich in protein and fiber and provides a good source of iron, magnesium, and folate. Quinoa flour is packed with fiber, iron, magnesium, and antioxidants. Oat flour offers plenty of dietary fiber, along with protein, iron, and essential B vitamins.
Incorporating these flours into your baking not only enhances the flavor but also boosts the protein, fiber, and nutrient content, making your baked goods more balanced and nutritious.
You could also experiment by adding coconut flour, corn flour (maize), sorghum flour and/or almond flour to your blends.
If you're feeling adventurous, you might try zucchini flour, green banana flour or Jerusalem artichoke flour—if you can find them. Alternatively, you can go the DIY route and use a dehydrator to make your own specialty flours!
Adding xanthan gum separately gives you the flexibility to adjust the amount based on your recipe's specific needs, helping you achieve optimal results and create even more delicious baked goods.
3. Single-Ingredient Flours Are Free from Additives
As mentioned earlier, some commercial flour blends include added ingredients like salt, xanthan gum, and others. By opting for single-ingredient flours and mixing your own blends, you can be confident that your flour contains no unwanted additives.
4. How to Your Create Own Single-Ingredient Flours
Surprisingly, chemicals are sometimes used in the production of gluten-free flours. For example, while the process of making chickpea flour is typically simple and chemical-free, some commercial methods may involve the use of chemicals for purposes like de-oiling or improving flowability. Science Direct
By making your own flours at home, you can ensure they are completely free from additives and chemicals.
Making your own flours at home is both simple and more cost-effective than purchasing store-bought single-ingredient flours.
For instance, Quaker Oat Flour costs $0.81 per ounce, whereas Quaker Oats are just $0.13 per ounce. Similarly, Bob's Red Mill Chickpea Flour is priced at $0.81 per ounce, while Bob's Red Mill Chickpeas cost only $0.36 per ounce.
To make oat, quinoa, or chickpea flour, simply add around two cups of your chosen ingredient to a high-speed blender (such as a Vitamix) and blend on high for about 30 seconds. Transfer the freshly made flour to a sealed jar to maintain its freshness.
When using conventional (non-organic) chickpeas, soak them overnight, dehydrate them, and then grind them into flour. This extra step ensures a cleaner and fresher final product.
If you don’t plan to use your flours within two to three weeks, store them in the refrigerator to maintain their fresh taste.
To make white or brown rice flour. freeze a thin layer of rice on a cookie sheet before grinding in the blender.
Freezing the rice beforehand helps create a finer flour with smaller particle sizes. The frozen rice becomes more brittle, making it easier to break down into smaller particles during grinding, which results in a smoother, more consistent texture in the flour.
