This gluten free bread flour is an easy blend to make. It uses only 3 ingredients and has a bunch of substitutions if you don’t have the exact flours and starches listed.
Use this in your favourite gluten free bread flour recipes!
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Why use a bread flour blend
I’m not a huge fan of pre-made gluten free flour blends, for a couple of reasons.
The top reason is that I’ve never had consistently great results with any of the blends that are available where I live. It’s a gamble whether or not some of my favourite recipes turn out using the same commercially available blend for everything.
The second reason is that a lot of these pre-made blends have xanthan gum already added. Depending on what you’re baking, different amounts of binder are needed. A preset amount isn’t going to cut it if you’re baking muffins vs. waffles vs. cookies. (Most likely why some recipes don’t have much success.)
And when it comes to most breads - I don’t even use xanthan gum! Psyllium husk is my choice of gluten free binder for breads.
Third is that a lot of blends have a significant percentage of lighter, starchier flours. I don’t like this when making bread, as it can turn out gummy. I also love the taste of millet, and when added with sorghum, it gives a bit of weight to gluten free bread that white rice, tapioca starch or any other starches can’t create.
I’ve also never seen a gluten free bread flour available on the market, which is why I make my own. (And you can now, too!)
Ingredients
This gluten free bread flour uses just 3 ingredients. If you don’t have the specific ones listed, be sure to check out the substitutions section for more options. Always use finely ground (milled) flours in the blend for best results.
- Tapioca starch (also known as tapioca flour): helps bring fluffiness and a light crumb to your gluten free bread recipes. Too much and loaves will turn out gummy, which is why it’s paired with the following two gluten free flours…
- Millet flour: my favourite when it comes to gluten free bread. It’s heavier than tapioca starch and provides an earthy flavour. For me, millet is what gives gluten free bread a similar taste to regular whole wheat bread.
- Sorghum flour: the heaviest of all the flours in this blend, this is what will give your gluten free bread a bit of weight. It’s a great gluten free flour to bake with and has been said to be the most similar to wheat flour!
Substitutions
If you don’t have the exact ingredients listed, here are some substitutes for the gluten free bread flour.
- If you don’t have tapioca starch, substitute it with arrowroot starch, cornstarch, or potato starch.
- If you don’t have millet flour, substitute it with brown rice flour.
- If you don’t have sorghum flour, substitute it with oat, buckwheat or teff flour.
All of these substitutions are comparable with the original ingredient listed, so they can be switched 1:1 at the same weights provided in the recipe.
How to measure gluten free flours
The best way to measure out gluten free flours is by using a kitchen scale. There are a few reasons for this:
- Scooping flours into a measuring cup is not consistent. One “cup” can be packed much more densely than intended. This means too much flour is added to your recipe. If you’re going to use cups in certain recipes, be sure to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and level off. (Still not totally accurate, but much better than scooping!)
- Using a scale is much more accurate. If the recipe calls for 150 grams of flour, you can easily weigh that out using an expensive kitchen scale. Simply tare the scale (set to zero) with whatever bowl you are using and add in the flour until you get to 150 grams. It’s that easy!
Different gluten free flours have different densities, which can lead to issues if you’re using cups instead of a weighted amount (like grams).
I always weigh my flours when baking gluten free. (Which is basically everyday!) It leads to more consistent results every single time.
How much does this recipe make?
This blend makes 1000g (or 1kg) of gluten free bread flour. That’s enough to make 2 loaves of Gluten Free Brioche with a bit leftover.
Does this blend contain xanthan gum?
This gluten free bread flour does not contain xanthan gum. The only ingredients are tapioca starch, millet flour and sorghum flour.
The amount of xanthan gum needed in gluten free recipes varies depending on what you’re baking, so I’ve always had the most success adding it separately.
When it comes to baking bread, I often don’t even use xanthan gum and use psyllium husk instead, which is another reason why it isn’t included in this bread flour blend.
What can you make with this gluten free flour blend?
You can make any type of bread using this flour blend!
Try it in my Gluten Free Brioche recipe for a deliciously rich loaf of bread.
Or make some amazing Gluten Free Pizza Rolls for the ultimate snack!
This blend can also be used as a gluten free bread flour substitute in other recipes. If possible, always substitute by weight (instead of cups) and monitor the amount of water/hydration used in the recipe. Different gluten free flour combinations will require different amounts of liquid in order to get the texture just right.
Storage
This gluten free bread flour can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for several months. Mason jars work great for storage containers! So do these plastic ones and these glass ones from Ikea.
Recipe
Gluten Free Bread Flour
Ingredients
- 450 g tapioca starch
- 400 g millet flour
- 150 g sorghum flour
Instructions
- Add tapioca starch, millet flour, and sorghum flour to a large bowl and mix well using a spatula or whisk.
- Transfer the bread flour blend to an airtight container for storage.
Notes
- Use finely ground/milled flours.
- Storage: store this blend in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for several months.
- Possible tapioca starch substitutes: arrowroot starch, corn starch, or potato starch.
- Possible millet flour substitute: brown rice flour
- Possible sorghum flour substitutes: oat flour, teff flour, or buckwheat flour.
Kelli says
My son was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease and I'm having a terrible time baking sweet desserts for him. With the holidays coming up do you have a favorite gluten free sugar cookie?
Ashley Schmidt says
Hi Kelli! Try this recipe: https://thissimplekitchen.com/gluten-free-dairy-free-sugar-cookies/
If you don't need to be dairy-free as well, you can just replace the dairy free butter with regular butter. I've got lots of other sweet treats on my dessert page, too! https://thissimplekitchen.com/category/dessert/
Catherine Gregory says
King Arthur makes a wonderful gluten free baking mix that makes amazing sugar cookies. You can order it online from King Arthur flour. Be sure to get the gluten free baking mix not flour.
Nikolina Ellingsen says
Thank you. I haven’t had homemade bread since my Celiac diagnosis. And rice flour slows down my metabolism.
Ashley Schmidt says
You're welcome, Nikolina!
Allen Goodall says
Do you have a recipe for Jewish seeded rye bread using your bread flour blend.
Ashley Schmidt says
Hi Allen! I'm so sorry, but I don't.
Cindy says
How much ground psyllium husk do you add to your bread mix to recipe to make one loaf of gf bread?
How much if Psyllium is powdered?
Live in Saskatchewan Canada and getting what many recipes call for are not available here and costly to order.
Thank you.
Ashley Schmidt says
Hi Cindy! The amount of psyllium husk you'd need would be specified in the recipe. (For example, in my brioche bread recipe you only need 12g for one loaf, but some other recipes may call for different amounts. https://thissimplekitchen.com/gluten-free-brioche/)
If you're using powdered psyllium, it looks like the suggested amount is 85% of the weight specified for psyllium husk - so for the brioche it would be approximately 10.2 grams of psyllium powder vs. 12g of psyllium husk.
I also live in Canada - on the east coast! I get my psyllium husk in the natural health foods section at Loblaw's brand stores. You might find it in with the supplements (since it can be used as a digestive aid).
Hope that helps!
Renee Cairo says
Hi Ashley. So glad to have found your site. I live in the tropics and I make my own gluten-free flour out of breadfruit that grows abundantly on my farm. Can I use it to make this blend instead of using the tapioca or potato flour or one of the other flours? Thank you in advance for your response .
Renee Cairo
Ashley Schmidt says
Hi Renee! Thanks so much for visiting the site.
In all honesty, I've never used breadfruit flour before, so I can't speak to how interchangeable it is with tapioca or potato flour. Have you used it as a substitute in recipes before?
If you do end up trying it, I'd love to hear how it goes!