Gluten Free Flour Blend (All Purpose)

This gluten free flour blend is easy to make and is a versatile version that acts as an all-purpose flour for most gluten free recipes.

The best part? It has tons of possible substitutions if you don’t have the exact flours listed.

Jump to:

• Why use a homemade blend of gluten free flour?
• Ingredients
• Gluten free flour substitutions
• Why there isn't xanthan gum in this blend
• Use only finely ground/milled flours
• How to make your own gluten free flour blend
• How to measure flours properly (hint: use a scale!)
• Storage
• Recipes that use this gluten free flour blend
• Commercial gluten free flour blends
• Recipe

Why use a homemade blend of gluten free flour?

I hesitated for years making my own gluten free flour blend, thinking it was too much work and overly complicated. Once I really got serious about baking delicious gluten free foods, I quickly realized that I had the best success with flours that I made on my own.

Commercial gluten free flours are handy, because all you have to do is pick one up at the grocery store. However, the results with some of these blends can be less than desirable. There are only a few commercially available blends in my area, and I don’t like the results from any of them.

You’ll notice some of my earlier recipes on the site use different combinations of gluten free flours. That meant I needed to have a lot of different flours on hand - not so simple! To make things easier, I came up with this blend… and it hasn’t failed me yet!

With only 3 gluten free flours to add together, it’s well worth the 5 minutes of preparation time - I promise! You’ll start getting more consistent results with a gluten free flour mix you can trust.

Ingredients

This all purpose gluten free flour blend contains only 3 gluten free flours. If you don’t have the specific ones listed, be sure to check out the substitutions section for more options.

Always use finely ground (or milled) flours in the blend for best results.

• White rice flour: this gluten free flour makes up the bulk of the blend. It adds a light texture to the mix and doesn’t leave a bitter aftertaste.
• Tapioca starch: also called tapioca flour, this gluten free flour also helps with light textures. It’s much, much lighter than white rice flour; hence why it’s often referred to as a starch. Too much tapioca starch in a blend can leave bakes feeling a bit gummy, which is why it’s the second ingredient by weight in this blend.
• Sorghum flour: the heaviest of these three flours, it gives this gluten free all purpose flour some weight. Sorghum has also been referred to as the gluten free flour blend that most resembles wheat flour when it comes to taste and texture, so it’s a great addition to any gluten free recipe.

Gluten free flour substitutions

If you don’t have all three of the gluten free flours listed for this blend, don’t worry! There are plenty of substitutions for 2 of them. (One is essential and there isn’t really a comparable substitute.)

• If you don’t have white rice flour: you’re out of luck with this one. This is the one gluten free flour that doesn’t quite have a substitute that compares in texture and performance. Luckily, white rice flour seems to be readily available in a variety of areas, so it should be easier to source.
• If you don’t have tapioca starch (tapioca flour): substitute in corn starch, arrowroot starch or potato starch in a 1:1 format. All of these options have almost the same lightness and texture, so they’re great options to use in place of tapioca starch.
• If you don’t have sorghum flour: substitute in oat flour, teff flour, or buckwheat flour. All of these gluten free flours are a bit on the heavier end in terms of density, so they should all perform relatively well when compared to one another. Oat flour is my personal favourite to use instead of sorghum flour, if you can get it (and can tolerate oats).

Why there isn't xanthan gum in this blend

As you may have noticed, this gluten free flour blend contains only 3 gluten free flours and nothing else. No xanthan gum has been added, like some commercial blends. Why is that?

Quite simply, you’ll get better results from customizing the amount of xanthan gum added to each recipe you make. Depending on whether you’re making cookies, cakes, muffins or pies, you’ll need to add different amounts of xanthan gum to alter the elasticity of the food. By using a gluten free flour blend that doesn’t contain xanthan gum, you can add it separately and get much more reliable results.

It also allows you to use your own binder, instead of xanthan gum, if you’d like to use a substitute and avoid xanthan gum completely.

Use only finely ground/milled flours

The texture of the gluten free flours used in this blend matters - a lot! 

Always use finely ground flours. This will avoid any texture issues in your bakes (no one likes a gritty muffin, even if it is gluten free!) and allows for consistency during preparation.

Coarser flours will absorb less water than finely milled options, so the moisture content of your baked goods will be severely impacted. Considering we are already battling against baking without gluten - who wants to add another challenge into the mix?! 

Play it safe and guarantee great results by using finely ground white rice flour, tapioca starch, and sorghum flour in this recipe.

How to make your own gluten free flour blend

Making your own gluten free all purpose flour is really easy. (It’s embarrassing I held out on making it for so long!)

In a large bowl, simply mix together the white rice flour, tapioca starch and sorghum flour. Use a spatula or whisk and ensure it’s thoroughly incorporated.

Transfer the flour blend to an airtight container for storage.

How to measure flours properly (hint: use a scale!)

Since you’re already taking a few extra minutes to make your own blend of all purpose gluten free flour, it’s worth it to weigh each ingredient properly. Instead of measuring using traditional cups and tablespoons, I highly recommend weighing them on a digital scale.

You can purchase an inexpensive kitchen scale (I paid $15 for mine) and it will become your favourite appliance when it comes to gluten free baking. Weighing ingredients, instead of measuring by cups, is much more accurate. This means your bakes will always be consistent AND successful!

Measuring with a cup can lead to too much flour being added, as you can inadvertently pack in a little too much of each. (The ‘scoop from the bag’ method is the worst for this.) You can use the fill and level method (by spooning flour in and leveling off), but since the densities of different flours are different - this can also cause problems.

Once you get used to working with a scale (it doesn’t take much practice), you’ll never want to go back to measuring with cups. Yes, it’s that amazing!

Storage

This gluten free flour blend stores really well in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for several months. Inside a pantry or kitchen cupboard is perfect! 

There’s no need to store this blend in the fridge.

Recipes that use this gluten free flour blend

Looking for something to make now that you have a fresh batch of all purpose gluten free flour? Look no further!

Commercial gluten free flour blends

If I haven’t completely convinced you that making your own gluten free flour blend is a great idea - it’s ok! As I said, I hesitated for many, many years until I finally got tired of making gluten free baked goods that never met my expectations. 

If you simply want a blend that’s commercially available, here are some suggestions for pre-made mixes you can use. All of these blends contain xanthan gum, so you’ll need to omit it as an additional ingredient in all of the recipes you use.

• Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour: this mix uses sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour and tapioca starch.
• Cup4Cup Gluten Free Multipurpose Flour: this blend contains corn starch, white rice flour, brown rice flour, tapioca flour, and potato starch.  It also contains milk powder, so it is not dairy free.
• XOXO Baking Gluten Free All Purpose Flour: this flour mix uses cassava flour, potato starch and coconut flour, so it is rice free.
• King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour: this mixture contains rice flour, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch.

Recipe

Other recipes