What to use instead of baking flour
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Structure in a pie or cobbler dough
Gluten forms a network that holds the shape while the starch gelatinises and sets, so the shell stands up on its own once it cools.
Measure-for-measure gluten-free blend with xanthanGluten-free
1:1 by weight, 120 g per cup, plus 10 min extra rest before rolling
Rolls out crumbly and needs patching. Bakes tender and sandy, and the edge browns faster, so shield it.
Pastry flourRan out
1:1 by weight
Less protein, so the crust is more tender and shrinks less. Handles softer and tears more easily when you move it.
Half whole-wheat, half all-purposeRan out
Replace up to half by weight, plus 1 tbsp extra water per cup swapped
Nuttier and darker, and the bran cuts the gluten strands so the crust is shorter and less flaky.
Spelt flourRan out
1:1 by weight, mix less and rest the dough 30 min
Sweeter and softer. The gluten is fragile, so it goes from mixed to slack quickly if you work it.
What doesn't work: Almond or coconut flour on its own in a pie shell. Neither is a starch or a gluten source, so there is nothing to set. Almond bakes into a rich crumb that falls apart on the first slice, and coconut soaks up every drop of liquid and turns to paste.
Thickening the juice in a fruit pie or cobbler
Starch granules swell and gelatinise in the hot fruit juice, holding the liquid so a cut slice stands up instead of running across the plate.
CornstarchGluten-free
1 tbsp cornstarch per 2 tbsp flour, tossed with the sugar and raw fruit before it is heated
Clear and glossy instead of cloudy, and it sets firmer. It thins out again if you boil the filling hard.
Quick-cooking tapiocaGluten-free
3 tbsp tapioca per 1/4 cup flour, tossed with the fruit and left to stand 15 min
Sets soft and slightly jellied with visible specks unless you grind it first. It is the only one that survives freezing and thawing.
ArrowrootGluten-free
1 tbsp arrowroot per 2 tbsp flour
Very clear and glossy, sets softer than cornstarch. It breaks down if held hot for long, so it suits a cobbler you serve straight away.
What doesn't work: Cornstarch stirred into the fruit juice after it is already hot, the way you can get away with flour. It seizes into lumps on contact and no amount of whisking breaks them up. It has to go on the raw fruit with the sugar.
Roux that thickens a sauce stiff enough to chill and shape
Flour cooked in fat then hydrated sets the sauce thick and, once cold, firm enough to roll into croquettes and hold under breadcrumbs.
Rice flourGluten-free
1:1 by weight with the flour, cook the roux 2 min longer
Sets just as firm. Paler because it barely browns, and the mouthfeel is a shade grainier.
Cornstarch slurry, no rouxGluten-free
1 tbsp cornstarch whisked into 2 tbsp cold milk per 2 tbsp flour, stirred into the hot milk
Glossier and more jelly-like when cold, so croquettes hold but taste slick rather than creamy. No toasted flour flavour.
Cassava flourGluten-free
1:1 by weight
Thickens harder than wheat, so start with three quarters and add more. Slightly sweet and it can go stringy if you overcook it.
What doesn't work: Almond or coconut flour in a bechamel. Neither one contains the starch that does the thickening. Almond flour disperses into a gritty sauce that stays as thin as the milk you started with, and coconut flour swells into lumps of wet fibre.