• Vitamins & Supplements
  • Food & Drink
  • Sports Nutrition
  • Free From
  • Natural Beauty
  • Weight Management
  • Offers
  • Summer Shop
  • The Health Hub
  • Learn more Healthbox
  • Account
Track your order Delivery & Returns Help Centre My subscriptions

Customer Service

  • Contact us
  • Site map
  • Site map
  • Store locator

About us

  • Who are we
  • Working at Holland & Barrett
  • Press releases
  • Privacy & cookie policy
  • Terms & conditions
  • Holland & Barrett More
  • Holland & Barrett International
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Modern Slavery Statement

Connect with us

Store
0370 606 6606
My account
Rewards
  • Sign in
  • How do I join?
  • What are the benefits?
  • FAQs
Holland & Barrett :: the good life
  • Menu
  • Account
  • Store
  • Basket
    Search for
    • Vitamins & Supplements
    • Food & Drink
    • Sports Nutrition
    • Free From
    • Natural Beauty
    • Weight Management
    • Offers
    • The Health Hub
    • Healthbox

    Home / Food & Drink / Diets / Gluten free flour – the basics

    gluten free flours
    gluten free flours

    Gluten free flour – the basics

    Are you a passionate baker with gluten sensitivity or coeliac disease? Or is a friend, colleague or loved one on a gluten free diet and you want to cater for their needs?

    Luckily, gluten free flours are becoming more widely available to meet increasing demand in the UK and there are countless innovative ways to combine them to produce delicious baked goods.

    Who might need to use gluten free flour?

    Those who have coeliac disease, or those who experience gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity would need to use gluten free flour.

    Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder when the immune system treats gluten as an invader, attacks gluten in the gut, and in the process, attacks healthy tissues too.

    A gluten intolerance or sensitivity is when you experience uncomfortable symptoms whenever you eat gluten. These can include diarrhoea, constipation, and cramps.

    What is gluten and why is it usually used in baking?

    Gluten is a form of protein found in grains such as wheat and to a lesser extent, barley and rye. Gluten goes sticky when water is added, which creates a gluey substance which, with more mixing, transforms into a stretchy, pillow-y dough.

    When combined with yeast and baked under high heat, the gluten in the bake forms tiny gas pockets, which inflate and harden. This is what gives bread, cakes and pie crusts their structure.

    What is gluten free flour made of?

    Various gluten free plants, vegetables and nuts can be ground or milled to make flour.

    In gluten free baking, a blend of more than one type of flour, including a binding agent, is usually preferable than using it alone. This helps to better mimic the desirable structure, texture and bite that gluten provides.

    The sticky, binding properties of gluten can be recreated using a high-protein flour such as quinoa flour. Alternately, you could use a small amount of xanthan gum to achieve the sticky gluten-like effect.

    Another tip is to use a small amount of tapioca flour in your blend. Tapioca flour is made from the cassava plant root and creates a thick, gluey texture which acts as a binding agent.

    Gluten free flour can be made from the following:

    • Buckwheat – not technically a wheat, despite the name. Buckwheat brings a wholesome, rustic flavour to muffins and pastry. Try our Banana Coconut Bread, made with buckwheat flour
    • Potatoes – made from potato starch. Potato flour can be used in bakes which call for a denser texture, such as pancakes or flatbreads
    • White or brown rice – full of fibre, best blended with other gluten free flours to avoid a dense bake. Great for pancakes or muffins. This Pomegranate & Orange Drizzle Cake uses half rice flour, half buckwheat
    • Nuts – almond or cashew flour can be added to another gluten free flour blend for use in almond flour cake, cookies, macarons, brownies and biscuits.
    • Corn – corn flour is made from the starchy centre of corn kernels. This can be used in cakes and pastry.
    • Maize – made from whole corn kernels. Great for tortillas, shortcrust pastry, biscuits and US-style cornbread. Learn to make gluten free pastry
    • Coconut – coconut flour is perfect for sweet bakes, imparts a strong coconutty flavour
    • Soya – made from toasted, finely crushed soya beans. Works well for thickening sauces and making flatbreads and pizza bases.
    • Quinoa – high in protein and fibre, the seeds of the quinoa plant are ground to make a fine flour, which you can substitute for wheat flour in recipes.

    For bread, an excellent combination would be rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat to give an all-purpose blend as an alternative to wheat flour that behaves in a similar way. You can blend your own – or buy ready-blended versions.

    If you plan on baking gluten free foods regularly, it’s a good idea to build a store cupboard of different gluten free flours, in order to create personalised blends according to what different recipes require.

    Shop Gluten Free Flour

    Last updated: 24 April 2020

    Sources
    https://www.coeliac.org.uk/information-and-support/living-gluten-free/the-gluten-free-diet/
    https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/food-and-nutrition/special-diets/gluten-free-diet
    https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/the-health-hub/food-drink/diets/gluten-free/how-to-choose-the-right-gluten-free-bread/
    https://www.coeliac.org.uk/information-and-support/your-gluten-free-hub/home-of-gluten-free-recipes/new-to-gluten-free-cooking/gluten-free-cake-making/

    Tweet
    Follow on Instagram
    Diets Food & Drink Gluten Free Gluten Free Intolerances Gluten Free Recipes Intolerances

    You may also like

    Is egg the best source of protein?

    Article

    Is egg the best source of protein?

    Fitness fanatics love protein-rich diets for helping them to maintain muscle mass and give them..

    READ MORE...
    Your guide to millet: nutrition, benefits & risks

    Article

    Your guide to millet: nutrition, benefits & risks

    Millet is an ancient seed that actually belongs to the grass family. Originating in Africa..

    READ MORE...
    Thyme health benefits

    Article

    Thyme health benefits

    Thought thyme was just something you throw into stews to add a little extra flavour?..

    READ MORE...

    Connect with us

    • Log in Register
    • rewards for life

    Customer service

    • Store locator
    • Contact us
    • Site feedback
    • Frequently asked questions
    • Delivery & returns
    • Site map
    • My account

    About us

    • Who we are
    • Working at Holland & Barrett
    • Press room
    • Privacy & cookie policy
    • Terms & conditions
    • Holland & Barrett More
    • Holland & Barrett International

    Brands

    • Holland & Barrett
    • Bootea
    • Dr Organic
    • Precision Engineered
    • Manuka Doctor
    • Good n Natural
    • Miaroma
    Register
    Click to verify if this website is operating legally

    Copyright © Holland & Barrett Retail Limited, 2017. All rights reserved. hollandandbarrett.com is a trading name of Holland & Barrett Retail Limited,. Registered office: Samuel Ryder House, Barling Way, Nuneaton, Warwickshire CV10 7RH. Registered in England: company no. 2758955. Registered VAT no. 211727395.