Once upon a time, if you wanted to do some gluten-free baking, your only choice was gluten-free all-purpose flour which could make your breads and cookies gummy and lacklustre. Let’s face it, once upon a time, gluten-free was pretty much synonymous with “yuck”. 

With an increasing number of people moving away from gluten, a growing range of alternative flours are becoming available for a myriad of reasons. Each of these flours offers different characteristics to impart a wide range of flavor and texture to your baked goods and a little more, dare we say, excitement and experimentation into your kitchen. 

Buckwheat Flour

Don’t be fooled by the name buckwheat. It isn't related to wheat. Its name comes from a Dutch word that means “beech wheat”, a reference to the fruit of the buckwheat, which resembles a tiny beech nut. Buckwheat is a herb closely related to rhubarb and sorrel and belongs to the pseudocereal group. 

To make buckwheat flour, the seeds are milled into a fine flour which is typically greyish in color. Buckwheat flour isn’t heavily refined and contains black flecks of hull fragments that give it a darker hue than wheat flour. Though most buckwheat flour has black specks, the color can vary from white to pale tan depending on the type of buckwheat used (green or common) and how fine the ground is. 

Buckwheat flour is full-bodied with a distinctive, earthy taste. It pairs well with toasty and rich foods such as chocolate, coffee, caramel and nuts. Mushrooms, parsnips, and tart fruits also go well with the flavor buckwheat imparts. Just make sure to use ingredients that can stand up to the robust taste of buckwheat. Buckwheat flour is the main ingredient used in soba noodles, blinis (Russian pancakes), and galettes. The pronounced buckwheat flavor gives these foods, and many others, a unique flavor profile. 

Because it’s gluten-free, this flour doesn’t have the same binding properties as a gluten flour. It doesn’t rise very well, and using a 1:1 swap of buckwheat flour for a different gluten flour may result in baked goods which are heavy or crumbly.  If you want the recipe to have a majority of buckwheat flour, be sure to blend it with a starchy flour like tapioca starch or arrowroot powder to make it easier to work with.

Because of its many nutritional benefits, buckwheat is considered an ancient grain (read more about ancient grains in our post 11 Types of Grains you Should Know About). It’s a complex carbohydrate and contains all 9 essential amino acids. Buckwheat also has high magnesium levels, which help relax blood vessels and improve blood flow, flavonoids that are good for the cardiovascular system, iron, calcium, and a myriad of other beneficial minerals. What’s more, it’s considered one of the best sources of plant-based protein available. 

Looking to get started? Try recipes that already use buckwheat flour, like these buckwheat flour pancakes, to familiarize yourself with using it before swapping out the wheat flour in other recipes. 

Rice Flour

A common substitute for wheat flour, rice flour is made by milling down rice grains until they are extremely fine. White rice flour is made from long or medium-grain white rice, which has the bran removed before grinding. Brown rice flour, where the bran remains intact, has a slightly darker color. 

This flour has a very subtle taste, though brown rice flour is a little heavier and nuttier due to the presence of the bran. The delicate flavor of rice flour makes it ideal in recipes where you want other flavors, such as bold spices, to shine through. 

Rice flour doesn’t act like ordinary wheat flour. Because of the absence of gluten, it creates thinner batter and doesn’t bind or rise well. But once you learn how to use this flour, it can create some incredible baked goods. Traditional shortbread recipes use rice flour because the sandy texture makes for that crumbly, but crisp consistency shortbread is known and loved for. 

Every Day Gluten-free Gourmet offers in-depth instructions and tips on how to bake with rice flour.

Baked goods aren’t the only thing you can use rice flour in. Because rice is a hard grain, the flour derived from it doesn’t absorb water the same way wheat flour does. For this reason, rice flour can be used as a thickening agent in soups and sauces. Use it to coat tempeh, tofu, and even French fries to make them extra crispy and crunchy.  

Rice flour is a good source of fiber, calcium, magnesium, iron, and choline, an essential nutrient that helps with healthy liver function. It’s also a good source of protein! 

Millet Flour

Millet flour has a light texture and a sweet, nutty flavor with a hint of corn. This gluten-free flour resembles wheat flour in both texture and appearance. 

Experts say millet flour can be used in the same ways that regular wheat flour is used. But a complete substitution isn’t recommended. Like other gluten-free flours, if using millet flour alone, be sure to add wheat-free binding agents like xanthan gum to help the dough stay elastic. When cooking with millet flour, the absence of a binding agent can make crumbly cakes that don’t retain their shape. But once you learn how to use it, millet flour can give baked goods an excellent texture and distinctive flavor. 

Because of its mildly sweet taste, millet flour is commonly used in desserts and sweetbreads. It’s good for cakes, cookies, muffins, and crepes. Oftentimes, you may be able to reduce the sugar required in a recipe, relying on the naturally sweet taste of the flour. 

Millet displays prebiotic activity, which helps to promote the growth of friendly gut bacteria linked with healthy digestion. The grain is a good source of protein and iron and is high in dietary fiber. 

Millet crops can grow with very little water compared to most other grains, so they’re well-suited for drought-like conditions. Millet is also pest-resistant. An added eco-friendly bonus for this healthy flour. 

Amaranth Flour

Amaranth is a pseudocereal and an ancient grain and has been cultivated for thousands of years. Native to North and South America, it was popular amongst the Incan, Mayan, and Aztec cultures, and today the flour is often used in Mexican, Indian, and Asian cuisines.

Amaranth flour is described as tasting nutty, earthy, and grassy. Made by milling the seeds of the amaranth plant into a fine powder, the resulting flour is beige in color, with a grain-like texture. 

Like the other flours on this list, the absence of gluten means that amaranth flour cannot act as a stand-in for wheat flour in recipes. Expert bakers say that, to begin with, no more than 20% of the total amount of flour needed in a recipe should be from amaranth. Lots of experimentation may be required to determine the dough characteristics, and achieve the most delicious flavor, and the best overall appearance.

The rich flavor of amaranth flour can make breads with truly unique flavors. Try pairing it with toasty-tasting almond flour to create breads with warm, nutty notes. Amaranth flour is best suited for making unleavened flatbreads like tortillas, pita, and naan when not mixed with other flours.

Amaranth flour works as a thickener for soups, stews, and spices. And it can make some truly crunchy and delicious cookies like these amaranth spice cookies from Yummly.

Not sure how to make a recipe that calls for egg vegan? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Learn how easy it is to make a flax egg here.

The nutritional profile of amaranth flour is nothing to turn your head at. Amaranth flour contains high amounts of protein and about five times the iron and three times the fiber of wheat flour. It’s full of micronutrients like vitamins A and C as well as healthy fatty acids. It’s also a fantastic non-dairy source of calcium. 

Soy Flour

To make soy flour, roasted soybeans are dehulled and ground into a fine powder. The resulting flour ranges in color from cream to yellow. It has a nutty and somewhat bean-y flavor and gives baked goods a pleasing, moist quality. 

Unlike other gluten-free flours, soy flour doesn’t have a similar texture to wheat flour because it’s made from beans rather grains. Bakers use soy flour to increase the protein content, strengthening the gluten matrix which helps with overall moisture retention. 

You’ll find that not many recipes use soy flour by itself. Love to Know offers an in-depth read on the best flours to mix with soy flour to keep your cooking gluten-free. You’ll also find some tips and tricks to working with this alternative flour. 

Even though it has almost 50% protein, soy flour doesn’t produce gluten. It’s low in cholesterol and saturated fats and contains those important amino acids that help keep your body functioning healthily. It’s also chockful of calcium and iron. 

Sorghum Flour

Best known for making an Indian flatbread called jowar roti, sorghum has been popular worldwide since its first cultivation in Africa some 5,000 years ago. 

Though sorghum itself is quite colorful, the flour found in most grocery stores is a light cream color. It has a mild, slightly sweet vanilla flavor and a soft texture. Because sorghum flour has such a mild flavor and pale color, it won’t affect the appearance or density of dishes. It’s quite easy to use in a variety of recipes. 

The pleasing qualities of sorghum flour shine through best in baking when paired with another starchy flour. Sweet rice flour, arrowroot, and tapioca flour are perfect partners for sorghum flour, and the blend of these flours can act as a replacement for wheat flour in both sweet and savoury recipes. 

The high protein and fibre content in sorghum give breads, cakes, and muffins stability and structure. It also tastes similar to wheat flour, so it is a good choice if you don’t want to diverge too far from the taste of traditional baked goods. 

Along with its protein and fiber content, sorghum flour is a good source of antioxidants that help to fight heart disease and inflammation. Because it’s low on the glycaemic index, it can help to balance out blood sugar and potentially prevent diabetes. 

Coconut Flour

Coconut flour is made from dried coconut meat that is a by-product of coconut milk production. The coconut meat is dried at a low temperature and ground down into a soft powder. The flour is off-white with a coconut flavor that some love and some don’t. If you don’t like the taste of coconut, you may want to use another flour on this list. 

A versatile flour, coconut flour can be used to make cookies, cakes, muffins, and bread. Like other gluten-free flours, it can be challenging to use since it’s not a grain-based flour, so to begin with, try to use recipes that already have coconut flour listed in the ingredients. 

Coconut flour is highly absorbent and has a drying effect on baked goods. Make sure to increase the liquid content, or use an extra flax egg or two, to keep your dough moist. 

The natural sweetness in coconut flour means the sugar required in a recipe can be reduced. When baking with coconut flour, try pairing it with other strong flavors like cacao, coffee, bananas and cinnamon. 

Coconut flour is rich in protein, fiber and healthy fats. It’s also exceptionally high in manganese, which helps fight against inflammation and acts as a powerful antioxidant. Throw in some iron, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamin B6, and you’ve got yourself one healthy, gluten-free flour! 

The Takeaway

Introducing new flours into your cooking and baking might take a little time, patience, and experimentation. And sure, there may be a few mistakes and mishaps on the way. But once you learn how to use these gluten-free flours, you’ll be able to expand your skill and increase your confidence in the kitchen.