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sarahceliac
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 189
Location: MA
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 Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 11:40 am Post subject: Best/favorite flour |
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Hi, I am in urgent need of knowing what a good flour is to use for a thickener in a soup. I am making one and it calls for flour. I have never bought the flour before, I have not started to explore the baking, I always buy the premade GF. I NEED to start so I thought what better place to get info  I use cornstarch as a thickener for other recipes when cooking, but this calls for four and I don't want to deviate and mess it up. Any flour blend should work right?
Also I have a cake I want to try and need to know a favorite blend for it.
Thanks a bunch
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kathyjp
Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Posts: 35
Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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Cornstarch will work fine, but start with less than the recipe calls for. The sauce will have a shiny look, like some oriental sauces. Rice flour also works fine as a thickener.
Baking is trickier. I would suggest you look for a cookbook like the gluten-free gourmet ones to get a thorough understanding and some useful recipes. |
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The Edifying Conscience
Joined: 29 Aug 2005
Posts: 2424
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 5:45 pm Post subject: Re: Best/favorite flour |
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| sarahceliac wrote: | Hi, I am in urgent need of knowing what a good flour is to use for a thickener in a soup. I am making one and it calls for flour. I have never bought the flour before, I have not started to explore the baking, I always buy the premade GF. I NEED to start so I thought what better place to get info I use cornstarch as a thickener for other recipes when cooking, but this calls for four and I don't want to deviate and mess it up. Any flour blend should work right?
Also I have a cake I want to try and need to know a favorite blend for it.
Thanks a bunch |
To thicken soups and sauces I normally use sweet rice flour aka Asian rice flour. If you use the sweet rice flour and the recipe calls for 3T flour use 2 T sweet rice flour. It tends to take less to thicken. Corn starch causes soups to take on a shimmery appearance and it doesn't do well if it needs to cook simmer for a while. The corn starch breaks down.
When I need a GF flour, I normally use 2 cups brown rice flour, 2/3 cups potato starch and 1/3 cup tapioca starch. I mix several cups together and store it in the refrigerator so I have it when I need it. I've had great results converting many gluten baked goods with this blend.
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sarahceliac
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 189
Location: MA
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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Tec, thank you for you help. The soup calls for 2c flour because you add a bit of vinegar and let it set a while for best flavor results and then add water to it. It gets whisked in and I wasn't sure if the 3 different things blended would make for a good thickener? So you use the rice flour, I will have to try that and then do they sell the mix you use already mixed? Or you have to buy all three and mix them? You said you mix yours and store it, but do they sell it pre mixed?
Thanks again
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sarahceliac
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 189
Location: MA
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you Kathy for your advice. I really need all the tips I can get, as I have not yet experimented but it is really time to do so.
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The Edifying Conscience
Joined: 29 Aug 2005
Posts: 2424
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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| sarahceliac wrote: | Tec, thank you for you help. The soup calls for 2c flour because you add a bit of vinegar and let it set a while for best flavor results and then add water to it. It gets whisked in and I wasn't sure if the 3 different things blended would make for a good thickener? So you use the rice flour, I will have to try that and then do they sell the mix you use already mixed? Or you have to buy all three and mix them? You said you mix yours and store it, but do they sell it pre mixed?
Thanks again |
I'm not sure what soup your making or how much, but 2 cups sounds like way too much to me if it's only being added to thicken the soup. For thickening I use Sweet Rice Flour or Asian Rice flour that I buy at Trader Joe's or the Asian grocery stores. It's totally different from white rice flour that can be purchased at the grocery store.
For baking I use the blend I previously posted.
TEC |
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sarahceliac
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 189
Location: MA
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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Tec, I know it sounds like alot but it is a vegetable soup where you strain the veggies juice out and then mash them through a strainer to get the juice from the veggies. So the soup has no consistancy until you add the flour, vinegar, water mixture. It sounds like a lot but really it doesn't end up that thick. And since you whisk it in, there are no clumps. And it is delicious. Time consuming but so worth it. I will try to post it if I have success.
Thanks again
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gluten-free-mike
Joined: 07 Sep 2006
Posts: 349
Location: Cleveland, OH
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| Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 9:05 am Post subject: |
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I think the cornstarch suggestion is a good one. Even in traditional (non-GF) cooking, that would be a likely thickener for such a soup. I could see using sweet rice flour too, but in high amounts like you are using, it could make the soup gelatinous perhaps.
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Mike
GF Since 2003
Severe weakness for Desserts |
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mrsppmrxky
Joined: 09 Oct 2004
Posts: 1469
Location: GF Kitchen
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| Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 9:50 am Post subject: |
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| gluten-free-mike wrote: | | I think the cornstarch suggestion is a good one. Even in traditional (non-GF) cooking, that would be a likely thickener for such a soup. I could see using sweet rice flour too, but in high amounts like you are using, it could make the soup gelatinous perhaps. |
I agree. I think that I would be tempted to use a flour mix that has some of the bean flour added.
I am interested to see how your soup experiment goes. Just remember if you have a problem with it to take notes on what you did so that when you try it again, that you can adjust until you get it just like you want.
I really think that if you use 2 cups of cornstarch you are going to have a thick batter type result.
Please keep us updated. The soup sounds really good and I am always looking for a new dish to give variety at the P household.
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sarahceliac
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 189
Location: MA
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| Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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Hi, I was confused by using a 2 C measuring cup and hence I had said I was using 2 C flour. What it was was I was using the measuring cup to add in a lot of water, and there was about 6 T of flour. So, I added the flour and the rest of the cup water. This time I made it with regular flour for my Husband and I will have to let you guys know when I make it again with the GF flour where I can have some. He enjoyed it but said it was to thick, so I will have to use less flour and go through everyones posts on the Rice flour idea. That one seems to be the best bet? Cornstarch is so tricky with me when I am thickening things and it always leaves it clumpy. This soup needs to not be clunpy.
Thanks everyone and I will try to post the recipe when I figure out which flour to use and have tried it.
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Sarah |
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The Edifying Conscience
Joined: 29 Aug 2005
Posts: 2424
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| Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:43 am Post subject: |
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| sarahceliac wrote: | Hi, I was confused by using a 2 C measuring cup and hence I had said I was using 2 C flour. What it was was I was using the measuring cup to add in a lot of water, and there was about 6 T of flour. So, I added the flour and the rest of the cup water. This time I made it with regular flour for my Husband and I will have to let you guys know when I make it again with the GF flour where I can have some. He enjoyed it but said it was to thick, so I will have to use less flour and go through everyones posts on the Rice flour idea. That one seems to be the best bet? Cornstarch is so tricky with me when I am thickening things and it always leaves it clumpy. This soup needs to not be clunpy.
Thanks everyone and I will try to post the recipe when I figure out which flour to use and have tried it. |
The key to corn starch is to make a 'slurry' before adding it to what needs to be thickened. If a recipe needs 2 T of cornstarch. In a bowl add the corn starch and a tiny bit of water, broth, wine, etc and mix until the corn starch is incorporated and only then add it to what needs to be thickened. If you add dry corn starch to a pot of hot liquid it will definitely end up clumpy.
tec |
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Jam76
Joined: 25 Sep 2006
Posts: 11
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| Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:41 am Post subject: |
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| sarahceliac wrote: | | ... I will have to use less flour and go through everyones posts on the Rice flour idea ... |
I agree with some others above - I also use Arrowhead Mills white rice flour in soup and chili - you could try Bob's garfava-mix if you want a more hearty/salty bean flavor. Mixing with water before adding to the pot is key  |
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