Jumping into the world of gluten free baking can be scary! Even after six years   of trying to navigate the world of baking with gluten free flour I still struggle.

It’s hard to find the right consistency with gluten free flours, and get the texture just right. Nothing seems to taste as good as ‘normal’ food.

Through trial and error, and at much cost, I have finally found which flour blends work best for certain recipes. Save your sanity and money, check out my review of gluten free flour blends.

I have found that you have to use different flour blends, for different recipes. For example when you bake something heartier, such as breads or muffins, you have you use different flour. Something containing buckwheat or brown rice. When you are making more of a light baked good, such as sugar cookies or pancakes, it works best to use a flour that contains a rice flour.

Reminder: Gluten free flour is a little different than normal wheat flour, so you will need to use less of it if you are you using a normal gluten recipe. You will need to adapt to use either use a hair less flour or more moisture.

Here are my go to brands for gluten free flour, how to use them, and where to purchase them.

 

#1 Namaste Foods – Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend

W go through a lot of this flour. Like at least three bags a month, however truth be told we do bake a lot! We make all of our own breakfast breads and baked goods.

Namaste is heartier flour; it has a more dense constituency. This makes it perfect for baked goods such as flavored breads, more dense cookies such as oatmeal and chocolate chip, muffins, and bars. I also use this as thickener flour for rues and coating meat.

We buy this flour at Costco for the average cost of $12 for five pounds. Making this also the most cost effective flour!!

 

#2 Pillsbury Gluten Free Flour

This flour is finer, which makes it perfect for lighter things such as sugar cookies or pancakes. It’s fine; consistency of this flour makes it more powder like. It’s mostly white rice and potato starch based which makes it more airy and light.

I buy this flour at Wal-Mart for $6 or you can buy it on Amazon.

 

#3 Bisquick Pancake and Baking Mix, Gluten-Free

As a busy mom, I am not ashamed to admit that we eat breakfast food A LOT in our house for dinner. At least once a week I pull out the frying pans to fry up some pancakes and eggs. This is my go to Pancake and Waffle mix. It makes the lightest pancakes and waffles. The best part is that its dairy free also, which is hard to find in a pancake mix.

This mix is easy to find, as it is available at most retailers. I buy it on Amazon for the best price. It’s a true staple in our house.

 

#4 Pamela’s Products Gluten Free Baking and Pancake Mix

This is hands down the most amazing flour mix, however it does contain MILK! (Unless other wise stated). This is a great all purpose blend that works great for banana breads, muffins, and the fluffiest pancakes. On the back of the package there is a great recipe for this AMAZING coffee cake.

We used to use this a ton, before discovering that my daughter had a dairy allergy. I used to buy it by the case, no lie, from Amazon and it would only last us a few weeks.

If I could pick any gluten free flour to buy, this would be hands down the one.

 

I hope this helps you in your gluten free adventures. I know if can be tough at times, however it is so worth it! These are some great staples to have in your home. Please feel free to email me with any additional questions you may have!