Gluten-Free Buckwheat Rice Flour

Have you ever tried buckwheat flour?

Buckwheat is one of my favorite gluten-free grains to work with when baking. It is highly nutritious and has a unique flavor. The grain is slightly bitter so when making the flour mix, pair it with something sweet and mild, such as white rice flour. I find that gluten free baked goods with buckwheat flour are somewhat moister and softer than those made with some other grains. You can find buckwheat flour at speciality food stores or farmers markets/food cooperatives in regions where grains are grown. I found a great deal on a big old bag of locally produced buckwheat flour at an Amish country store while living in Chi-town (Check them out!)

Fun Facts about Buckwheat:

- Bees love buckwheat plants! Bees that frequent buckwheat plants make a very strong flavored honey, that is best enjoyed in small quantities. (Try adding a teaspoon to a basic vinaigrette recipe.)

- Buckwheat is a great source of fiber. By the way your mother called; Are you getting enough fiber?

- Buckwheat can be enjoyed in it's unrefined form as a groat, also known as kasha. Kasha can be cooked and enjoyed as a breakfast cereal or served over pasta.

- In terms of diet, buckwheat is considered a whole grain (even when turned into a flour) so chowing done on this tasty plant helps you make half your grains whole!

Gluten Free Buckwheat Rice Flour

prep time: 15 min  

Ingredients:

• 1 part brown rice flour* 
• 1 part sorghum flour*
• 2 parts buckwheat flour*
• 3 parts tapioca starch*
• 3 parts white rice flour*  

*All of these items can be found at specialty food stores such as, Whole Foods & Trader Joe's.  They are also becoming more and more popular at chain grocery stores and are often sold by a company called Bob's Red Mill. Ask your store if they cary Bob's Red Mill and if not, perhaps they will order some for you. Check out Bob's Red Mill website for a store locator.
Note: This recipe is broken down into parts so you can make as much or as little as you need. Using grams as your unit of measurement will make the math easier. For that, you will need a kitchen scale, which inexpensively at most home stores). If you are using grams the, list would contain the following ingredients: 100 grams brown rice flour, 100 grams sorghum, 200 grams buckwheat flour, 300 grams tapioca starch and 300 grams white rice flour (totaling 1,000 grams).  For more information about why I use a scale to measure my flour mixes please read my previous post.

Items needed:

• kitchen scale
• 2 very large bowls.
• wooden spoon 
• sifter (optional)

Set your large bowl on top of your scale and find the "tare" button to zero out your scale (or keep mental note of how much the bowl weighs and account for that). Combine all of your flours in the bowl. If working in grams, add as you go until you have reached 1,000 grams. Mix all of your flours very well with a wooden spoon. This step is critical because it ensures that all of the flours are well-incorporated and produces more evenly baked items. You can use a flour sifter to be extra certain you mix all the flour as well as possible. Store your flour mix in an airtight container or bag inside of the freezer to keep the oils inside of the grains from going rancid (which will give your food an off flavor).