One of the challenges of following a strict gluten free diet is that wheat flour, a major source of gluten, is used in so many different staple foods that we all enjoy. From cakes and pasties, to bread and biscuits, from the batter around your fish to the Yorkshire pudding around your toad in the hole.

Fortunately, you can still include many of these family favourites in your diet by using gluten free flour mixes in place of standard flour. These are specially formulated to help make gluten free baking easy and enjoyable.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at gluten free flour mixes and show you how to choose the right mix for your baking. We’ll also share some useful gluten free baking tips to make your bake the best it can be.

Why Choose the Specialist Gluten Free Flour Mix?

Standard flour is made from wheat, which contains gluten, so you cannot use it if you’re following a gluten free diet. That’s why the food science experts at Glutafin have put their heads together to create a range of safe flour mixes for your baking.

Gluten free flour mixes use a range of alternative ingredients instead of wheat flour. These include rice starch, maize starch and gluten free wheat starch. Many gluten free flours contain only one ingredient, but it’s Glutafin’s specialist blend of ingredients that help to give such great baking results.

The Glutafin gluten free flour mix has all been tried and tested to deliver maximum taste and texture, whether you are baking your daily bread, or creating a celebration cake for a special occasion.

Selecting the Right Mix for Your Bake

Our experts have chosen the perfect recipes for our gluten free flour mixes, so all you have to do is choose the right mix for your gluten free baking. Glutafin has a range of flour mixes available, but our favourites are our Select Multipurpose Mixes:

1. Glutafin Gluten Free Select Multipurpose White Mix – our most versatile flour, suitable for all kinds of cooking and baking, including bread.
2. Glutafin Gluten Free Select Multipurpose Fibre Mix – combining versatility with the benefit of added fibre to aid digestion

All Glutafin gluten free flour mixes contain calcium and folic acid to support healthy bones and digestion.

Essential Tips for Baking with Gluten Free Flour

Baking with gluten free flour mixes is a little different from normal baking, and you’ll need to tweak your technique here and there to accommodate for the lack of gluten. Here are a few gluten free baking tips to help you to get the best results:

Gluten free cake baking tips

1. Add a little extra baking powder for a lighter, fluffier cake
2. Add xanthan gum to stop your cake from crumbling (Glutafin flour mixes already contain guar gum, so this may not be needed)
3. Use slightly more liquid than the recipe to rehydrate the gluten free flour mix
4. Bake for 5-10 minutes longer at a lower temperature to avoid burning the crust

Gluten free bread baking tips

1. Don’t knead your dough. With no gluten, you don’t have to!
2. Don’t worry if your dough is wet. Gluten free bread dough is more like a batter than traditional dough.
3. Take care when cooking. Check the temperature of the middle of the loaf before turning off the oven, and don’t remove it from the oven until it has cooled.

Gluten free pastry baking tips

1. Be prepared for your pastry to be wetter and stickier than usual.
2. Rest your pastry for at least an hour so the flour mix can absorb the water.
3. Keep it in the fridge for at least an hour before you try rolling it out. Overnight is even better.
4. If the pastry still feels sticky, roll it out between greaseproof paper or cling film to stop it sticking to the counter.

There’s no need to miss out

Following a strict gluten free diet doesn’t mean you have to miss out on all your favourites. With Glutafin gluten free flour mixes, a little careful planning, and our amazing recipes, you can still enjoy a wide range of bread and baked goods that have all the taste and texture of the originals. You can also use the Glutafin flour mixes as a substitute in many of your favourite recipes from before you were diagnosed (with the exception of bread, where we would recommend using one of our specialist recipes.)

Check out the full range of Glutafin gluten free flour mixes now, or order your free Glutafin taster box today and sample the simplicity of gluten free flour mixes for yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can I substitute gluten free flour for standard flour 1 to 1?

A. Yes. High quality gluten free flour mixes are a direct replacement for standard flour in recipes. However, you should use Glutafin’s specialist recipes if you are baking bread.

Q. Do I need to add Xanthan Gum to gluten free flour mixes?

A. Sometimes, yes. However, high-quality gluten free flour mixes, such as Glutafin Select, already contain xanthan gum or guar gum, so you don’t have to add any extra.

Q. Why is my gluten free bread dense or heavy?

A. Dense or heavy bread is often due to insufficient water. Make sure your dough is moist enough, even if this appears wetter than normal bread dough.

Q. How do I store gluten free flour mixes?

A. Gluten free flour mixes should be stored the same way as standard flour, in a cool, dry place, preferably in a sealed container to keep out moisture. Always make sure you keep gluten free flour mix well away from standard flour to avoid the risk of cross-contamination.

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