Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend (no xanthan gum)

This Gluten-Free Flour recipe will become your absolute failsafe flour when you are making a birthday cake, mixing up a batch of cookies or even baking an apple pie. That’s right, it even works in pastry too.

I am promising a lot with this Plain Gluten Free Flour Blend and not least because you don’t have to use xanthan gum or guar gum or any kind of binder with it.

Imagine baking your favourite wheat recipes again and just reaching for this one gluten-free flour and using it as a 1:1 swap. Sounds too good to be true? Well, I hope this gluten-free flour mix will be your next step to achieving gluten-freedom.

Watch the video to see how to make it

What is gluten-free flour?

The gluten-free flour you buy from grocery stores is in fact a combination of different single origin flours which may include flours such as rice flour, buckwheat flour or tapioca starch.

That’s because if you are familiar with gluten-free baking then you will know there is no such thing as a one-size fits all single origin gluten-free flour. If you have tried to use rice flour or oat flour in place of all-purpose flour in a cake or cookie recipe then you may have been disappointed at the gummy or crumbly texture.

This is due to the lack of gluten. Gluten is a collection of proteins found in wheat which stretch and become elastic when reacting with heat, creating bakes with a solid structure and light airy texture.

In order for gluten-free flour to mimic the role of gluten we need to use a combination of flours. These each provide certain aspects of that one role to create a cohesive gluten-free flour which can be used across different bakes.

READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Gluten-Free or Alternative Flours

Grocery store blends

Now, you can buy gluten-free flour from grocery stores which are basically pre-blended flour mixes. However, perhaps you are not achieving good results from these flours or maybe they are requiring you to add xanthan gum which you don’t love. It might even be the case that you need to avoid one of the ingredients in these flours so you just can’t use it. If this is the case then you might want to start thinking about making your own flour blends.

Your own gluten-free flour blend

If you don’t achieve great results from the grocery store blends then making your own blend at home I guarantee will be a real opener.

Even if you enjoy blending your own flours for individual recipes there will always be a place in a gluten-free kitchen for an easy All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend. One that you can reach for without thinking if you don’t have much time or you just don’t feel like dragging out numerous bags of different flour for one cake.

Can you use this gluten-free flour blend in a 1:1 swap with plain all-purpose flour

In most cases, yes. This flour works best as a substitute in most standard cake, cookie or quick bread recipes. I’ve even used it in place of flour in pastry and pie crust recipes and it’s a decent substitute.

Although my favourite flour blend for a gluten-free pastry is used in this recipe >>> Gluten-Free All Butter Pastry Recipe

Thickener: You can also use this flour as a thickening agent and it works well in sauces and stews like in these recipes:

• Gluten-Free Cheese Sauce
• Gluten-Free White Sauce
• Gluten-Free Gravy

What recipes this flour won’t work with

Look this DIY gluten-free flour is rather marvellous but I’m afraid I can’t advocate for its use in a gluten-free bread recipe or in other really basic recipes where the flour does all the heavy lifting in the recipe (like scones or shortbread) to produce the right texture.

Recipes where it's best to blend your own flours:

• Gluten-Free Soda Bread
• Gluten-Free White Sandwich Loaf
• Gluten-Free Artisan Sourdough Bread
• Gluten-Free Scones
• Gluten-Free Shortbread

Which flours do we need for this DIY gluten-free blend

Sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour / mochiko)

This is an excellent starchy flour which is made from glutinous rice (don’t worry there is no gluten involved). It has sticky properties and as such helps with binding. It also gives a bouncy quality to your bake

Substitution. You can swap this starchy flour for cassava flour or almond flour.

Sorghum flour

This wholegrain flour has a lovely toasty vanilla flavour which creates light and fluffy bakes. However, it can be gritty depending on which brand you use. I particularly recommend Bob’s Red Mill’s sorghum flour which doesn’t have these issues.

Substitution. You can swap the sorghum for buckwheat but it will have a more pronounced flavour. You could also swap for millet flour but it’s not my personal favourite as I find it a little bitter.

Oat flour

It’s a controversial choice as oat flour can be a particular problem for those with coeliac disease or a gluten intolerance. However, if you can tolerate oat flour then I urge you to use it here. It’s a lovely flour for both its soft texture and gentle buttery flavour and works well in this neutral gluten-free flour blend.

Substitution. You can also swap the oat flour for buckwheat or millet flour (as suggested with the sorghum flour).

Tapioca flour (starch)

This starchy flour is a great binder and works alongside the sweet rice flour to hold your bake together. It’s a lighter flour than sweet rice flour though so balances it out well to avoid your bake becoming too dense. Tapioca flour also browns well so will help give a good crust to your bake.

Substitution. You can swap for potato starch or arrowroot powder.

How to find the gluten-free flours in this recipe

Larger supermarkets are now great for sourcing single origin gluten-free flours. I can find oat flour and tapioca flour at my local big store. Sweet rice flour is available in Asian supermarkets or in the Asian aisle where is might be labelled glutinous rice flour or mochiko. Sorghum flour can usually be found at good health food or organic food shops.

If you live in a country where some of these flours are unavailable then I suggest using one of the substitutes I have suggested.

However, you can also buy any of these flours from various online stockists such as Shipton Mill, Healthy Supplies, Souschef or Amazon.

No xanthan gum needed

Xanthan gum or guar gum is a common additive to some gluten-free flour blends. And if you don't have xanthan gum in your blend many recipes will suggest you add it in along with your other ingredients. In theory xanthan gum helps to mimic the gluten effect since it is a powerful binding agent.

However, for this gluten-free flour blend xanthan gum is not required. The blend has enough starchy flours which help with the structure and the texture of your bakes without unnecessary additives.

In fact none of my recipes on this website contain xanthan gum. If you use the right blend of gluten-free flours with a sufficient amount of starch or protein then it isn't necessary to use xanthan gum at all.

However, on the odd occasion where you do feel your recipe could benefit from a little added binding power then you could add an extra egg or use ground flaxseed or chia seed.

READ MORE >>> Why I never bake with xanthan gum

How to make gluten-free flour: step-by-step instructions

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post. 

In theory you just add your flours together and mix them up. Here are some tips though so you achieve a good balanced blend.

1.Mix your DIY gluten-free flour straight into your airtight container. This is so there is minimal chance of flour wastage.

2. Make sure your container is large enough to fit all the flours with plenty of room.

I recommend this >>> Large Flour Container <<< which I adore.

3. Place your flour container on your digital scales and set the tare to zero.

For all gluten-free baking I do urge you to use a kitchen scale when weighing your ingredients rather than a measuring cup. You will achieve much more consistent results that will be akin to the original recipe. If you want to know more then you must read this post >>> Why you should weigh ingredients instead of using cups.

4. Weigh out your sweet rice flour. Set the tare to zero again. Continue to weigh all your flours directly into the container, setting the tare to zero each time.

5. Place the lid on the container tightly. Then give it a great shake for at least a minute, if not two, to make sure all the flours are well combined. Then it’s ready to use.

How to store your flour

Store your gluten-free flour blend in a cool dark place until you are ready to use. It is best to use within 3 months. Flours don’t have as long a shelf life as you might think.

If you are worried about the temperature in your storage place then you can also keep the flour blend in the fridge where it will keep nice and fresh until the next time you want to use it.

If you are keeping your flour in the fridge then once you have measured it out for your intended use then bring it up to room temperature before adding it to the other ingredients, so it will blend in evenly.

What recipes will this homemade flour blend work with?

You can use this flour in place of any flour blends for most standard cake recipes. Try using it as an alternative to the flours suggested in these recipes:

• Gluten-Free Vanilla Layer Cake
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Fudge Cake
• Gluten-Free Fruit Cake
• Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake
• Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
• Gluten-Free Victoria Sponge

It also works in other recipes, such as banana breads, scones, cookies, crumbles and even pie crusts (although when rolling out gluten-free pastry I recommend rolling between parchment to help avoid breaking).

Try it as an alternative to the flours suggested in these recipes:

• Gluten-Free Banana Bread
• Gluten-Free Scones
• Gluten-Free Strawberry Gooseberry Crumble
• Gluten-Free Ginger Biscuits

These recipes have been specifically developed using this homemade flour blend:

• Gluten-Free School Cake
• Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies
• Gluten-Free Strawberry Honey Cake with Honey Buttercream
• Gluten-Free Welsh Cakes