Cheryl is hosting the Loveliness of Baking fair this week which was good motivation for me to gather my thoughts on low gluten and gluten free flours. When I got sick in my mid-20’s I went on an elimination diet.  At the time I was reacting to just about everything, but particularly glutinous flours. Wheat and oats made me break out in a rash. Corn triggered migraines. My diet was pretty sparse while my health was rebuilding but it introduced to us grains that we may never have tried. These have remained staples in our diet even though I am able to enjoy a wide variety of foods again.

Americans in particular tend to have a pretty limited grain repertoire. We stick to wheat bread and crackers, corn chips and tortillas, and oatmeal. If you haven’t branched out too far from those three I have jotted down some things you might find helpful to know.

Gluten is the protein in grains that causes them to stick together and form long fibers in the dough. This is critical for yeast breads and helps to hold up the loaves as they rise and bake. It is also imperative when making things like tortillas. (These two items were very difficult to simulate. The Gluten Free Gourmet series of cookbooks are a help here. ) Those proteins also cause problems in the gut for a lot of people. Gluten has been linked to MS and Rheumatoid Arthritis and autism as well as celiac disease. Aside from that overloading on a particular grain can cause sensitivities. Lots of reasons to try some others.

I use my electric grain mill to grind whole grains into flours. Since low and no-gluten flours have varying qualities and textures here is a primer of sorts to help you get started:

brown rice – it has a gritty texture when ground into flour so it is best mixed with a smoother substance

millet – this is GOOD! It has a similar taste to corn meal but a much finer texture. Makes very light cake like baked goods. My kids prefer my mock cornbread to the real deal now.

buckwheat – not really a wheat at all. Strong flavor.  Good for pancakes or mixed in with other grains. A gummy texture so it works with rice flour. The white buckwheat is particularly nice.

barley – I use this for my all purpose flour in cookies, pancakes, muffins etc. Its light but has enough gluten to hold together by itself.

oats – heavy and clumpy. I add them in small amts to pancake batter or muffins. Obviously cookies <g>

Spelt – a cousin to wheat and lots more gluten than the rest.

amaranth – teensy grains with a bit of a strong flavor. Good mixed in small amts. Lots of protein.

tapioca, arrowroot, and potato starch – all kinda gummy and good to use as binders for rice or millet bases.  Arrowroot is the best of the list for making gravies.

Fwiw, I substitute barley one for one for wheat flour in recipes. Use the gluten free mix linked below if you want to use rice flour instead. Some links:

Blueberry Muffin recipe

Gluten free mix and recipes

wheat free recipes