We usually turn to rice when confronted with wheat allergy, or the need to stay away from gluten. Rice flour is the base of most cake, cookie, bread and all purpose gluten free flour mixes. But rice does not provide great nutrition and cakes can be quite crumbly, especially when made egg free. I have combined some amazingly nutritious gluten free flours—Amaranth, Sorghum, Quinoa, and Oats with a starch for binding, to produce fantastic cakes, cookies, pie crusts, Indian rotis and just about anything that wheat flour can make. These flours are available in most specialty food stores and are becoming increasingly available in mainstream stores in the US. You can also find Amaranth, the Indian ‘Rajgira’, and Sorghum (‘Jowar” in India) in all Indian stores.
Grandma’s Gluten Free Flour Mix
Ingredients:
- 1 cup amaranth flour
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 1 cup quinoa flour
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1 cup oat flour (just grind one minute quick cooking oatmeal in a dry grinder)
- 1/2 cup corn-starch (also called corn flour in some parts of the world)
- 1and 2/3 teaspoon xanthan gum/ guar gum.
- 1 level teaspoon salt.
- Note: If oats do not suit,, use 1 cup of cornstarch / tapioca starch
Method:
- In a large bowl, mix all flours well, taking care that bowl and mixing spoons are dry.
- Add salt and xanthan gum and mix well.
- Make double the quantity, or more, and store in dry, airtight jars.
- To retain freshness, store in fridge.
Baking time for gluten free flour is a little more than the time required for baking with wheat flour
In the absence of Egg Replacer, use—3 Tablespoons water, 3 Tablespoons oil and 2 level teaspoons baking powder, mixed together. this mixture is equivalent to 2 eggs.
Note
I stay away from soy, as it is an established allergenic food. However, if soy is not an allergy issue, use 1/2 cup soy flour in place of quinoa flour, which may not be available in all places. Quinoa is protein rich and soy is a good substitute But, if soy is a problem food, and there is no quinoa, make the flour mix without quinoa/soy. Add 1 1/3 teaspoon xanthan/guar gum. If the gums are not easy to obtain, you could omit them. They add that extra bit of stickiness, and give a slightly better ‘stretch’ quality to the dough. Increase the quantity of oat flour by 1/2 cup and and also add 1/2 cup more of corn starch (cornflour). This will enhance the binding quality of dough, prevent crumbling of baked goods., and will help in rolling out chapatis etc. more efficiently
Fact Files on the Ingredients
Amaranth
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This is an excellent source of protein, and is high in certain amino acids which are usually found only in animal foods.It is loaded with iron (a 100 g serving gives 50% of daily requirement based on a 2000 cal. diet). It is also a good source of calcium, vitamins, minerals and fiber.. Actually, amaranth is not a grain, but is the seed of a plant that is grown for its nutritious leaves as well. Toasted amaranth seeds can be eaten as breakfast cereal. The name ‘amaranth’ itself comes from the Latin root word, ‘amar’, as also the similar Sanskrit word, which means ‘immortal’. |
Sorghum
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This is among the oldest known grains and is also rich in protein, iron, calcium and potassium. Since it metabolizes slowly, it is possibly beneficial to diabetics as well. It is a good addition in any baking mix, as it does not have an intrusive flavor or color. It has been a staple food in Africa and India for centuries. |
Quinoa
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This is often described by nutritionists as the ‘super grain’. The National Academy of Science describes quinoa as ‘the most nearly perfect source of protein from the vegetable kingdom’. Ancient Incas called it the ‘mother grain.’ It has nine essential amino acids, has more calcium than milk, is high in iron, minerals, micronutrients, Vitamin E and some of the B group vitamins. |
Oats
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Oats are actually gluten free, but there is some chance of cross contamination as they are sometimes grown in proximity to, or in rotation with wheat. Cross contamination can occur during the milling and transportation process as well. If gluten free oats are available, go ahead as they have a good binding quality, are high in fiber , and contain some amount of iron and protein. |
Others
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Xanthan gum and other gums such as guar gum and locust bean gum are gluten free and help to give gluten free flour a spongy, elastic texture that gluten containing flours usually provide. Corn-starch is not only a thickener to be used in soups and sauces, but also has a great binding quality. other starches such as tapioca starch, potato starch or arrowroot flour may also be used in place of corn starch. |
Can't Believe It's Allergy Free! 
This is very useful. I made the mix, and the rotis somehow seem so much lighter.
This flour mix works really well…. now my son can eat chapattis….
[…] Gluten Free Miracle Chapati Potato Quinoa Croquettes Grandma’s Gluten Free Flour Mix The Magic 3-2-1 Microwave […]
Hi!
What a fab flour mix! Could you please convert the measurments from cups to grams/ounces? I am planning to make a really big batch, and am afraid that volume measurments may throw off the ratios.
It is much easier for my viewers to use the cup and spoon measurement, that is why I write it this way. for your purpose, I will contact you on your e mail.
Hi! Thank you so much for all these recipies! My 5 yr old daughter was just diagnosed with Celiac Disease and she cannot eat gluten or oats. For the Flour Mix, do I then add 1 1/2 cups of cornstarch in total to replace the oats? And just to be clear, by cornstarch you mean the thickenening agent right (not actual corn flour)?
What is know as cornflour in India is called cornstarch in the US. This is a better term as it is actually only pure white starch, which is sticky and good for binding. Since you cannot use oat flour, you could try an added quantity of cornstarch, about 1/2 cup extra to the whole flour mix. You could also add 1/2 teaspoon extra of xanthan gum. The oat flour does neutralize taste and aromas of the other very strong tasting flours, so you might need an extra bit of vanilla, orange, lemon, cinnamon or any other essence of your choice, in baked goods, a little touch of herbs and spices in other recipes, such as jeera or ajwain mixed in chapati dough, or a touch of oregano, basil etc. in a savory pie crust.
Sorry I got back so late to you. Please tell me how this works. all the best
Thank you so much aunty for the amazing recipes that you are creating and sharing with gluten free people like me. I recently tried your flour recipe on SMTC… It was very good… And now i cant wait for that flour mix to get over so that i can try this version of your chappatis….
I am in india and quinoa flour is extremely expensive here… Should i use 1/2 cup of soy flour instead of 1 cup of quinoa flour with all the other measurements remaining the same?? Would the amount of salt be ok?
Heartfelt thanks once again for your efforts, time and patience in creating these recipes…
Kavita
P.s. If you want i can share my gluten free banana bread and chocolate muffins recipe with you. Just let me know…
Thankyou, Kavita…the recipe on my blog is working out even better than what I have shown in SMTC, as I keep experimenting to improve all the time. Please use 1/2 cup soy flour, with a slight decrease in salt…taste and see. Soya is a dense flour, therefore I recommend only 1/2 cup. Adding cooked moog dal for chapatti atta is also yielding better results. Try and give me a feedback.
I just made my son roti with this flour mixture. After 3 years of rubbery crispy rotis, this is the first recipe that actually works. I didn’t use the cling film to roll, my dough was a little firm and so rolled it out straight no problem.
Thank you so much!
Great! It is so heartening to know this.
Thank you for the recipe. I have a question. I find that the quinoa flour leaves a very strong after taste. I don’t want to replace with soya flour. Can we omit it instead? Will it make a difference?
When all the flours in the recipe are used, the after taste is usually masked. If you can still taste the quinoa, add 1/2 cup more of corn starch (corn flour). If you can safely use oat flour you could also increase that by 1/2 cup.
You could omit the quinoa altogether, but do go with the extra corn starch. Please let me know how this works for you.
I have just uploaded a cake recipe today…have a look.