Key principle: No single GF flour behaves exactly like wheat flour. The best results almost always come from blending 2–3 flours — a starchy base (rice, tapioca, potato starch) + a flavour/nutrition flour (buckwheat, sorghum, teff) + a binder (xanthan gum or psyllium husk).

The Flour Guide

🍚
Rice Flour
All-purpose staple
Best for:Bread, cakes, pastry, coatings
Avoid for:Heavy sole use
Notes:Light, neutral flavour. The closest to AP flour behaviour. White rice flour is finer; brown adds nutrition and nuttiness. Best in blends. 1:1 swap possible but results are denser.
Ratio tip: For 100g wheat flour: 100g white rice flour + 1 tsp xanthan gum
🫙
Tapioca Starch
Lightness & chew
Best for:Wraps, pizza base, chewy cookies
Avoid for:Dense baked goods alone
Notes:Derived from cassava. Adds chew and glossiness to baked goods, improves texture in blends. Makes GF pizza bases stretchy. Also called tapioca flour — they're the same thing.
Ratio tip: Use at 15–25% of total flour blend
🌿
Buckwheat Flour
Earthy depth
Best for:Pancakes, crêpes, blini, hearty bread
Avoid for:Delicate cakes (too strong)
Notes:Despite the name, buckwheat is a seed — completely unrelated to wheat, 100% GF. Strong, nutty, earthy flavour. High in protein and fibre. Classic for French galettes and Japanese soba (check label on soba — often mixed with wheat).
Ratio tip: Replace 25–40% of rice flour in savoury blends
🌽
Corn Flour / Maize Starch
Thickening & crunch
Best for:Sauces, crispy coatings, tortillas, polenta
Avoid for:Bread (too coarse)
Notes:Plain cornflour (cornstarch) is a fine white powder for thickening. Corn flour (yellow, coarser) for tortillas and polenta. Both are naturally GF but check for cross-contamination. Cornflour thickens at lower temperatures than wheat flour.
Ratio tip: 1 tbsp cornflour = 2 tbsp wheat flour for thickening
🥜
Almond Flour
Moisture & richness
Best for:Macarons, frangipane, moist cakes, cookies
Avoid for:Bread (too heavy, dense)
Notes:Ground blanched almonds. High in fat and protein, low in carbs. Creates rich, moist, dense baked goods. Doesn't behave like grain flour — not a 1:1 substitute. Keep refrigerated. Best for Paleo/keto baking or in combination with starch-based flours.
Ratio tip: Replace up to 25% of blend for richness
🌾
GF Oat Flour
Mild & familiar
Best for:Biscuits, muffins, flapjacks, crumble
Avoid for:Yeast bread (too heavy)
Notes:Finely milled certified GF oats. Mild, familiar flavour. High in soluble fibre (beta-glucan). Adds moisture and a slightly soft crumb. Only use certified gluten-free oat flour — conventional oat flour is contaminated. Avoid if you react to avenin.
Ratio tip: Replace up to 30% of rice flour in bakes
🫘
Chickpea Flour
Protein & binding
Best for:Flatbreads, pakoras, socca, egg replacement
Avoid for:Sweet cakes (strong flavour)
Notes:Also called gram flour or besan. High in protein and fibre, strong savoury flavour. Excellent for binding without eggs (2 tbsp + water = 1 egg). Used across South Asian, Middle Eastern, and French cuisine. Toast briefly in a dry pan to reduce raw beany taste.
Ratio tip: 2 tbsp chickpea flour + 3 tbsp water = 1 egg
🌱
Sorghum Flour
Nutrition & flavour
Best for:Sandwich bread, flatbreads, wraps
Avoid for:Delicate pastries
Notes:Mild, slightly sweet, wheat-like flavour of all GF flours. High in protein, fibre, and antioxidants. Good in bread blends — adds structure without the grittiness of some GF flours. Widely used in commercial GF flour blends.
Ratio tip: Replace 20–30% of rice flour in bread blends
🍠
Potato Starch
Lightness & moisture
Best for:Cakes, light bread, thickening
Avoid for:Pastry (too soft)
Notes:Different from potato flour (which is heavier). Potato starch is fine, white, and neutral. Adds lightness and moisture retention to baked goods. Good at retarding staling. Not the same as potato flour — they're not interchangeable.
Ratio tip: Use at 15–20% of total flour blend
🌿
Arrowroot Starch
Thickening & gloss
Best for:Sauces, fruit pies, custards
Avoid for:High-heat sauces
Notes:Similar to cornflour but produces clearer, more glossy sauces. Breaks down at high temperatures and becomes slimy if overcooked. Ideal for acidic sauces (where cornflour clouds). Neutral flavour.
Ratio tip: 1 tbsp arrowroot = 1.5 tbsp cornflour
🌑
Teff Flour
Iron & earthy depth
Best for:Injera, dark bread, muffins, brownies
Avoid for:Light-coloured cakes
Notes:Ancient Ethiopian grain — naturally GF. High in iron, calcium, and protein. Strong, earthy, slightly molasses-like flavour. Dark in colour. Makes excellent injera (Ethiopian flatbread). Adds nutritional depth to bread and muffin blends.
Ratio tip: Replace 10–25% of rice flour for depth
🥥
Cassava Flour
Closest to wheat flour
Best for:Tortillas, flatbreads, almost any recipe
Avoid for:Yeast bread (requires adjustment)
Notes:Whole dried and ground cassava root. High in resistant starch. Closest GF substitute to wheat AP flour — often 1:1. Different from tapioca starch (which is just the extracted starch). Mild, slightly chewy. Growing in popularity for grain-free baking.
Ratio tip: 1:1 substitute for wheat flour in most recipes

The binder you're missing: xanthan gum & psyllium husk

Wheat flour contains gluten — a protein network that provides elasticity, structure, and the ability to trap gas bubbles from yeast. GF flours have no equivalent. You need a binder to replace it:

  • Xanthan gum: The most common GF binder. Use ¼ tsp per 120g of flour in cakes and cookies; ½ tsp in bread. Too much makes baked goods gummy and dense. Many commercial GF flour blends already contain it — check before adding more.
  • Psyllium husk: A natural fibre that forms a gel when hydrated. Use 1 tsp per 120g of flour. Preferred for bread and pizza as it creates a more authentic texture than xanthan. Also adds fibre.
  • Flaxseed (ground): 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg. Adds binding and omega-3 fatty acids. Slightly nutty flavour.

Our recommended all-purpose blend

HTGF All-Purpose Blend (makes ~500g):
300g white rice flour + 100g tapioca starch + 80g potato starch + 20g sorghum flour + 1½ tsp xanthan gum.
Suitable for: cakes, cookies, muffins, pancakes, coatings. For bread, substitute sorghum for an extra 20g tapioca and add ½ tsp psyllium husk per loaf.

Flour safety: what to watch for

All flours listed here are inherently gluten-free — they come from non-gluten grains, seeds, or roots. The risk is in processing. Always look for:

  • Certified GF label — tested to <20ppm
  • "May contain wheat" warning — avoid if you're sensitive
  • Mill source — some mills process wheat flour on the same lines
  • Date of manufacture — older stock more likely to be contaminated in mixed mills

Brands with strong GF certification: Doves Farm (UK), Schär (EU), Bob's Red Mill (North America, check individual products), Freee by Doves Farm.