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This gluten free bread flour works best to make bread dough that behaves the most like you remember. Make shaped breads with a taste you’ll love.
I started a revolution of gluten free yeast bread when I published Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread in 2013. This is the gluten free flour blend at the center of it all!
What makes this blend special
My gluten free bread flour, first introduced in my bread cookbook, GFOAS Bakes Bread, in 2013, is made by combining 3 ingredients: whey protein isolate, modified tapioca starch, and a high quality all purpose gluten free flour like Better Batter's original gluten free blend. Together, they will open up the universe of what is possible with gluten free yeast bread.
Baking recipes that call for this gluten free bread flour is an experience much more like what you might expect when you're baking conventional yeast bread. The dough isn't overly wet like the batter-style of bread.
The breads you'll make with this gluten free bread flour appear different when raw, and taste different when baked. They have more internal structure and don't need to rely on eggs for additional structure like most gluten free breads.
Breads made with this blend using recipes that are developed for it often can handle 2 rises, like conventional wheat bread, one before and one after shaping. That means that the dough is easier to handle still, and there is even more flavor development in the yeast.
Recipe ingredients
- All purpose gluten free flour blend: I developed this blend using Better Batter's classic blend as the base. It also works with Nicole's Best multipurpose gluten free flour blend. You can also always use my “mock” Better Batter gluten free flour, or this 4-ingredient blend that contains (to make 1 cup):
- 90 grams (about 9 tablespoons) superfine white rice flour (64%)
- 31 grams (about 3 1/2 tablespoons) potato starch (22%)
- 15 grams (about 5 teaspoons) tapioca starch (11%)
- 4 grams (about 2 teaspoons) xanthan gum (3%)
- Whey protein isolate: an unflavored protein powder that is nearly 100% protein. I like Opportuniteas brand, Isopure brand, and many others.
- Modified tapioca starch/Expandex: Expandex is a chemically modified tapioca starch that helps create amazing stretch and chew to gluten free breads. It is chemically (not genetically) modified, and is not the same as and cannot be replaced with regular tapioca starch/flour. There are many ways to buy it on Amazon.
- If you can't find Expandex in your country, you can use Ultratex 3 in its place, which seems to be about 3 times as strong. Use 1/3 as much Ultratex 3 as Expandex by weight, and increase the other ingredients by 5 grams each per cup.
How to make gluten free bread flour
To make 1 cup (140 grams) gluten free bread flour, you'll need a simple digital kitchen scale. Simply place a bowl on the scale and press the “tare” button to zero its weight. Add gluten free flour until the display reads 100 grams, then tare that weight. Add 25 grams of whey protein isolate, tare, and 15 grams Expandex modified tapioca starch. Whisk together well.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
Whey protein isolate is the only protein powder that truly works to make my gluten free bread flour. I've had limited success with rice protein isolate and pea protein isolate in place of whey protein isolate, but you will need to add 50% more water to the bread recipe. That will create more of a batter-style gluten free bread recipe that just isn't as easy to shape. I think you're better off using our older style of gluten free bread recipe, like our gluten free bread recipe.
Potato-free
Better Batter uses two kinds of potato products: potato starch, and potato flour. There is no substitute for potato flour, but in place of potato starch, you can use arrowroot or cornstarch. Try using the 4-ingredient all purpose gluten free flour blend made from superfine white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, and xanthan gum, and replace the potato starch with arrowroot or cornstarch.
Modified tapioca starch
You can use either Expandex and Ultratex 3 to make this blend, but you can't make it without some form of modified tapioca starch.
Expert tips
Measure by weight
For consistent results in baking, use a simple digital kitchen scale. I have a more expensive one from OXO with a pull-out screen, but Escali makes a great digital kitchen scale that costs about $25. Dry volume measurement containers like cups are not standard in size, and it's not possible to avoid human error. When you're dealing with small amounts of different dry ingredients, a scale is the way to go.
Use the right whey protein
Whey protein isolate is not the same as whey protein concentrate, which has more fillers and less protein. Each 28 grams (1 ounce) of whey protein isolate should have about 25 grams of protein. Look at the nutrition label and make sure it's about 89% protein (25/28 = 89%).
Use the right recipes
My gluten free bread flour blend only works in gluten free recipes that were specifically designed for it, like our gluten free crescent rolls. If you try to use this blend in our classic gluten free bread recipe, which calls for an all purpose gluten free flour blend, it won't work.
Packaged gluten free bread flour
There are two packaged gluten free flour blends that I have found work in my gluten free bread flour recipes. They both contain gluten free wheat starch, though, so they are not appropriate if you're allergic to wheat. They are:
- King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Bread Flour: Contains gluten free wheat starch, corn starch, cellulose and psyllium fiber blend, sorghum flour, pea protein, xanthan gum, and enzymes. It behaves most similarly to my bread flour blend.
- Caputo Fioreglut: Contains gluten free wheat starch, dextrose, maize starch, buckwheat flour, rice starch, psyllium seed fibre, guar, flavoring. It absorbs more moisture than my gluten free bread flour, and does not brown very well since it's so high in starch. You might try increasing the liquid in the recipe by 10% to compensate.
Breads to make with this flour
Here are gluten free bread flour recipes. Two of them are reprinted recipes from GFOAS Bakes Bread. The rest I created after the book was already published, to share here on the blog.
Soft Gluten Free Breadsticks
Gluten Free Crescent Rolls
Gluten Free Pull Apart Bread
Gluten Free Texas Roadhouse Rolls
Gluten Free Braided Nutella Bread
Gluten Free Subway Rolls
Gluten Free Bread Flour Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For bread flour with Expandex
- 100 grams all purpose gluten free flour blend, (71% of total) (See Recipe Notes)
- 25 grams unflavored whey protein isolate, (18% of total)
- 15 grams Expandex modified tapioca starch, (11% of total)
For bread flour with Ultratex 3
- 105 grams all purpose gluten free flour blend , (75% of total) (See Recipe Notes)
- 30 grams unflavored whey protein isolate, (21% of total)
- 5 grams Ultratex 3, (4% of total)
Instructions
How to use a kitchen scale.
- To make a gluten free flour blend of any kind, you will need a simple digital kitchen scale.
- Activate the scale by pressing the power button and allowing it to fully turn on.
- With nothing weighing it down, it will read “0”. You will be weighing in grams, which may not be the default unit of measurement. Switch to grams if necessary by pressing the appropriate button on your scale.
- Place a container large enough to hold however much flour you intend to create on the scale. Press “tare” again to zero out the weight of the container.
- Add your flour(s) one at a time to the bowl until the display reads the right number of grams of that flour. You may add the first ingredient somewhat carelessly since you can remove some flour if you add too much.
- Press the “tare” button to zero out the weight of that flour. Add the rest of the ingredients, pressing “tare” in between. Whisk and store.
To make bread flour
- If you are using Better Batter as purchased or you have already created my mock Better Batter blend using the method described above, your task is quite simple.
- Follow the instructions above to add the appropriate amount of Better Batter, tare, appropriate amount of whey protein isolate, tare, and the appropriate amount of Expandex or Ultratex 3.
- Place the blend in a container with a tight-fitting lid, whisk to combine well, and place in a well-sealed container in a dark, dry location.
- If you have to first create mock Better Batter or my Make It Simpler blend described above, first do that, making as many cups as you would like by multiplying every ingredient in the list by as many cups as you would like to create and store.
For multiples.
- To make multiple cups of bread flour, simply multiply each ingredient by the number of cups. Follow the method above, and store as directed.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Storage instructions
This flour blend will stay fresh for as long as its individual flour blends. Check the expiration dates on the components and take note of the nearest date as the “best by” date of your blend.
Store it in a sealed container in a cool, dark pantry, or in the refrigerator or freezer for longer storage. The whey protein will clump when cold, so be sure to let it come to room temperature before using it, and whisk it well to remove any clumps.
Hello, can I use cup4cup or your cup4cup recipe in place of the all purpose flour?
Not for gluten free bread flour, Holly. I explain everything in this post.
Hi Nicole,
Thank you very much for the recipes. I haven’t tried it yet but before I do I wanted to make sure that in the first option – bread flour with Expandex – I shouldn’t add xanthan gum, correct? If that’s the case I was just curious as to what ingredient in the recipe acts as the gum?
Thank you!
Hi, Bora, you can’t create the bread flour with just any base flour. You need to use Better Batter or my mock Better Batter, both of which contain xanthan gum.
Long comment with questions:
Thank you for letting us know the importance of tapioca. But I am confused about the one you are referring to in the above info about tapioca. You state, “For some reason, tapioca starch/flour tends to vary in quality pretty significantly. Luckily, even good quality tapioca starch is relatively inexpensive, so I buy it in large quantities from Nuts.com.” Is this regular tapioca flour, or is it the modified version?
This statement is another that confuses me on the tapioca ( I never heard of modified tapioca flour before reading your info on the web).
“Expandex is a chemically modified tapioca starch that helps create amazing stretch and chew to gluten free breads. Since it is chemically (not genetically) modified, it is not the same as and cannot be replaced with regular tapioca starch/flour.”
Two questions: When you are giving tapioca as an ingredient in a recipe, am I to assume you mean ‘modified’? If so, is the one from Nuts.com mofified?
And what is the difference in chemically vs genetically modified?
Here is another confusion statement for me. “If you’ve ever made a batter-style gluten free bread, which absolutely still has its place in my heart, the moment you make this bread dough you’ll see how different it is. You can manipulate it with your hands without moistening them first.”
I have not made Any gluten free recipes with dough where I did not have to ‘wet my hands’ to handle it, or use extra flour on the counter where I am working with it. Is that because of the modified tapioca, or something else I don’t know?
That is because of the recipe you are using, Verna. I’m afraid I can’t really explain it any other way. When I mean modified tapioca starch, which is Expandex, I specify that. When I mean tapioca starch/flour, I specify that. They aren’t the same thing at all. Just follow the recipes to the letter.
Hi Nicole! I was wondering if you had a link for where you got the unflavored whey protein isolate. I’ve found a few but i’m not sure if they are the right kind. Thanks, I love your recipes and I use them all the time!!
Hi, Lily! Sure, I like the Opportuniteas brand for whey protein isolate, but I think Judee’s also sells one and there are others. Just be sure it’s whey protein isolate, not concentrate.
Hi Nicole. It seems like whenever I try to make any breads with your bread recipes, the bread is almost always hard when it comes out of the oven. I make sure that I’m following every single step, but it is almost always hard. One time it might be soft, and the next it might be hard. Do you have any ideas why? I do use your “make-it-simpler” flour blend. Might that be the case?
Hi, Kara, whenever you get inconsistent results, it’s usually due to imprecise measuring. Human error is unavoidable in measuring anything other than by weight, and it produces unpredictable results. Beyond the flour ingredients, everything (including water) should be measured by weight. The make it simpler blend is not ideal for all bread flour recipes, though, which I state in the book. That could definitely contribute to your results.
I love to bake! Or should say, loved to bake. I have been gluten free for a month. You have given me the courage and information needed to start again. Thank you.
You’re so welcome, Holly! I’m so glad you feel encouraged. That’s the whole idea!
For the pure powdered pectin— do I need low methoxyl or high methoxyl?
Thank you!
I’m afraid I don’t even know the difference, Kati! I use Pomona brand pure powdered pectin.
Hi Nicole: I made the English Muffin Bread recipe and it turned out really well. I think I proofed it a little too much and baked it a few minutes too long. Here is a link to a slice with fresh Apricot jam. Yummy! Thanks for your help! https://photos.app.goo.gl/RboGXVHDfSSvrMs88
Looks great, Mary!
Thanks, Nicole. I will definitely by the bread book. I hesitated to purchase it because I don’t eat much GF bread. I got carried away by making the bread flour blend and then realized I wasn’t sure what recipe to use. Since I have been anxious to try the blend I will proceed to make the English muffin bread recipe while I wait for the book to arrive.
Thanks so much for all your time!
Thanks for your reply about what kind of breads I can make with the bread flour blend. In bread flour blend blog none of those seemed to be like a plain loaf bread that can be used in many ways. I made five cups of the blend yesterday and it was quite comical as illustrated by the mess I made. (I would send a picture but I don’t see where I can attach it.). :) What is the best basic recipe to try with the blend?
Thanks!
Mary
Oh, I see what you’re looking for now, Mary. Most of the recipes using the gluten free bread flour are in my bread book, which you would have to purchase. There is one recipe here on the blog for a basic loaf that uses the bread flour: gluten free English muffin bread. For recipes for unenriched breads, a full chapter on sourdough breads made with the bread flour, etc., you’ll have to purchase the book.