Pet Peeves: How do you Bake Without Flour?

The question I get asked most often when I tell people I bake without wheat, milk, butter, or eggs, is not, “Really, you bake without eggs?” or “What do you use instead of butter?” No, the question I get asked most often is, “How do you bake without flour?”

I’ve stopped rolling my eyes. The truth is, there was a time where I might have asked the same thing. After being asked the same question over and over, I have come to accept that a large portion of us believe all flour is wheat. In fact, my entirely unscientific personal polling would lead me to believe that at least half of us believe that.

Here are the facts:

Wheat is flour. Not all flour is wheat.

Despite the fact that 90% or more of the flour we find on the grocery store shelves is indeed wheat, there are dozens of non-wheat flours.

There are many more gluten-free flours than gluten-containing flours. I once had a conversation with a waiter who kept insisting that rice contained gluten. Nope. Gluten-containing grains are wheat, rye, and barley. That’s it.

Wheat includes spelt, kamut, wheat germ, and all other forms of the wheat grain.

Flour can be made from grains, beans, nuts, and even seeds. Here are just a few of my favorites:



Top row (left to right): brown rice, millet, oat
Bottom row (left to right): sorghum, buckwheat, garbanzo bean (chickpea)

Always use gluten-free oat flour. Those with corn allergies may need to avoid millet.

What are your favorite gluten-free flours?