The Rural Voice, 2019-05, Page 40My Mom loved to have a cup
of tea or coffee with a
friend and a little treat to go
with that and I inherited her love of
sweets. When I was diagnosed with
Celiac disease over seven years ago,
I still craved those familiar treats and
wanted to find something that I could
make that was good enough to share
with friends without Celiac disease.
Initially I was disappointed in many
recipes that were labelled “gluten-
free” so I began experimenting with
various mixtures of gluten-free flours
using my own tried and true
“regular” recipes and I had much
more success. All of the recipes
below are also delicious made with
wheat flour, if I remember correctly,
just omit the xanthan gum!
Gluten-free All Purpose Flour Mix
(GF AP flour)
It was difficult to know where to
start for flour mixes so I saved all the
labels of products that I liked and
noted which flours they contained.
There was no real way to know
which flour imparted what qualities
in combination so I used equal parts
of all the flours and I have only
amended it slightly over time. I have
decreased the amount of teff flour
because it is expensive and makes the
baked goods a less appealing darker
colour and I have doubled the sweet
rice flour because I think rice flour is
a good all round substitute for wheat
flour. It works remarkably well with
cakes, cookies, pies and muffins but I
am still working on a mix that works
for bread and biscuits. I tried “Mrs.
Epstein’s Coffee Cake” from the
March Rural Voice using this mix
and it was delicious!
I am always on the lookout for
these flours because no one store
carries all of them. I get some at the
supermarkets and others at the health
food stores and the bakery. I keep
them all together in a large bin so it
is handy when I am ready to mix a
few batches. It is best to keep this
mix in a container that can be shaken
before measuring so you get an even
mixture and the heavier flours are not
all at the bottom. I do not add any
xanthan gum to my all purpose mix
because I like to have a more
accurate measurement of it in
individual recipes. I always sift my
flour, after measuring, with the
xanthan gum and other dry
ingredients although I seldom
bothered when using wheat flour.
Ingredients:
1 cup white rice flour
1 cup brown rice flour
2 cups sweet rice flour
1 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup teff flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup arrowroot flour
1 cup potato starch
Directions:
It is more efficient to measure out
two or three containers at once when
you need to replenish your supply.
You can substitute this all purpose
blend cup for cup in most muffin,
cookie and cake recipes, adding a
teaspoon of xanthan gum for every 1
½ - 2 cups of flour. It will not work
that well for biscuits or yeast bread.
Fruit Breads or Loaves
Fruit loaves are a nostalgic partner
for coffee reminding me of coffee
and chats with my Mom. They are a
versatile treat because they can be
made ahead and keep well for a few
days or frozen for a later day
allowing you to make a variety or
36 The Rural Voice
Recipes by Anne Mann
Experimenting with gluten-free baking
Reducing the amounts of teff flour and doubling the rice flour makes a nice
gluten-free flour that works well with cakes, cookies, pies and muffins. The
almond almost loaf (above, left) and other fruit loaves (above right) employ fruit
to add taste and binding abilities.