This is the flour mix I always use when I need to make something gluten-free. Even though our family is not gluten-free, we have a lot of friends who are, and I am trying to be gluten-light so I use this flour mix pretty often. My recipe is an adaptation of a recipe that I found at FrugalAbundance.com. I have followed its author, Miss Maggie, since she wrote on Hillbilly Housewife a long time ago. While I’m not nearly as down-home a cook as she is, I have learned a lot from her about cooking from scratch. Miss Maggie’s original recipe used soy flour but we avoid soy as much as possible, so I use chickpea flour. I imagine many bean flours would work equally well. I know most gluten-free flour mixes don’t include bean flour but I like that in combination with the whole-grain brown rice flour, it makes a complete protein.

Soy-free GLAD Flour Mix

• 6 cups brown rice flour
• 2 cups cornstarch or potato starch
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1 cup chickpea or other bean flour

• Use 7/8-cup to 1-cup GLAD flour plus 1/2-teaspoon xanthan or guar gum for each 1-cup of whole wheat flour. (7/8-cup is the same as 1-cup minus 2-tablespoons or 3/4-cup plus 2-tablespoons.)
• If a recipe calls for sifted cake flour, then use 3/4-cup GLAD flour (plus a scant 1/2-teaspoon xanthan or guar gum).
• If a recipe calls for 1-cup of all-purpose wheat flour, then use a scant cup of GLAD flour (plus 1/2-teaspoon xanthan or guar gum).

Notes from living in the tropics:

In the tropics, I have to store this flour mix in the fridge or the brown rice and bean flours go rancid. I have had a lot more trouble with gluten-free baking in the tropics than I ever had in the US. I’m very curious whether others have had this same problem. I have some recipes that worked beautifully in the US, but they have been complete disasters every time I’ve tried them here. My suspicion is that it’s the xanthan gum as the problem is always gumminess. I think it has something to do with the increased humidity. Lately, I’ve been leaving out the xanthan gum with moderate results, but if anyone has any ideas, I’d love to hear them!