Gluten-Free Cake Flour Blend
A gluten-free cake flour blend that works flawlessly to make cakes and quick bread recipes airy, fluffy, and light!
Post Celiac Diagnosis
After my diagnosis with Celiac disease, I’ve needed to change many family cake-based recipes to eliminate the gluten in the wheat-based flour. I found that switching out cup-for-cup gluten-free flour replacements in many recipes resulted in poor results – and my compost bin filling up with less-than-perfect baked batches.
Most results were disastrous.
The textures ranged from gooey messes to grainy. Many of my experiments even produced an almost sand-like feel when eaten.
Yuck!
That being the case, they were nothing I cared to eat myself or, for that matter, to share with anyone.
I knew there had to be a way to find the right balance between gluten-free flour and gluten-free starch that would produce a lower protein flour blend that could substitute for a traditional cake flour... I Experimented again, and again, until I finally found success!
I Just Couldn't Do Without Having A Gluten-Free Cake Flour!
This cake flour blend came about after searching forever for a manufactured gluten-free cake flour substitute. I needed a gluten-free fill-in for my grandma’s traditional wheat-based cake flour.
So, I set to the task of learning more about gluten-free flour options. After weeks of research, I discovered that it IS possible to make a low-protein flour blend for making cakes and baked goods.
My gluten-free cake flour blend is the best for doing it!
Along the way, these discoveries paved the way for this recipe.
- #1 – Cake flour is a fine-milled, delicate flour.
- #2 – Wheat-based cake flour has a low protein content.
So, milling the flour finer, lighter, and softer makes baked goods light and airy. Then, using low protein flours results in cakes with a fine crumb, a good rise, and a super-tender texture.
Knowing these two things was the key to making all the difference.
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The Properties of a Cake Flour Blend
Digging deeper into how to make a gluten-free cake flour blend, I looked at traditional wheat-based cake flour and how to mill it and make it.
Wheat-based cake flour is milled from soft wheat and contains the lowest amount of protein (5 to 8 percent) compared to other all-purpose wheat-based flour blends (10 to 13 percent).
There are two major soft wheat types:
The soft red winter type has a low protein content and is used as a blend in multipurpose flour for cakes, cookies, donuts, delicate pastries, crackers, and flatbreads.
Soft white, the second type, is low-protein wheat with high yields and produces lighter flour. This type of flour makes cakes, cookies, crackers, and pastries. It is also used in many Middle-Eastern-style flatbreads.
Knowing more about these types of flour gave me more clues…
Gluten-Free Flour Trials...
After playing around with many gluten-free flours and starches, here’s what I discovered:
- Sweet white rice flour and brown rice flour needed to be blended in equal amounts.
- Then, low protein gluten-free tapioca and potato starches were best for their (starchy) gelling properties.
- The gelling noticeably affects how air bubbles are trapped in the starch during baking.
- Using starches works well with the gum to balance and improve the batter’s consistency during mixing.
- Starchy flours increase the crumb’s softness and control how the starch gels during baking.
PRO-TIP
You’ll want to sift the gluten-free cake flour blend three times before adding it to the wet ingredients, which helps to ensure that the cake bakes light and fluffy.
Why this gluten-free cake flour blend works...
The higher starch content helps prevent gluten-free baked cakes and quick bread from having that grainy texture you may notice in some recipes.
Finally, this blend’s low protein flour and high starch combination provide a perfect balance. They make gluten-free cakes, coffee cakes, muffins, quick bread, and cookies that are perfectly airy, fluffy, and light with a fine crumb and soft, tender texture.
The Result
A suitable cake flour replacement – and a gluten-free blend that works flawlessly to make many cakes and quick bread recipes similar in taste and texture to favorite cakes and other recipes you’ll remember from childhood.
Gluten-Free Cake Flour Blend
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EQUIPMENT
- Large bowl
- whisk
- 12 cup airtight storage container
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Part Sweet White Rice Flour
- 1 Part Brown Rice Flour
- 1 Part Potato Starch NOT Potato Flour
- 1 Part Tapioca Starch also called tapioca flour, they are the same
INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
- Whisk until combined.
- Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dry cupboard until needed.
YOUR OWN NOTES
KITCHEN NOTES
Nutrition
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(Nutritional values are an approximation. Actual nutritional values may vary due to preparation techniques, variations related to suppliers, regional and seasonal differences, or rounding.)
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