MAKE YOUR OWN GLUTEN FREE FLOUR BLENDS
Gluten Free Flour is all the rage lately! It tends to be on the expensive side but if you have a L'Equip Nutrimill Grain & Flour Mill at home, then you are fully equipped to make your own gluten free flour mixes that can be milled ahead and stored for a few months in your refrigerator or pantry.
Recently, I have been experimenting with gluten flour mixes, both store-bought and home made. The store bought versions have worked well enough, but I'm not impressed that some of them contain ingredients I can't even pronounce. For homemade flours I find that freshly ground rice, quinoa or beans work well as a base flour. then adding starch in the right amount makes for a good all purpose type of flour.
It is important to understand that gluten free flours behave very differently to wheat or grain flours, without the gluten content, it is necessary to work with more starch products. Also, I find that allowing the dough to sit before baking often makes for a less crumbly, more satisfying end product.
By far my favourite Gluten Free Flour Mix is from America's Test Kitchen. Here is the mix followed by a delicious recipe for Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies:
GLUTEN FREE FLOUR BLEND - From America's Test Kitchen
Makes approximately 9 cups of flour mix
Be sure to use potato starch (you can substitute corn starch), not potato flour. Tapioca starch, however, is often sold as Tapioca flour, they can be interchanged. Use your Nutrimill Grain & Flour Mill on the finest setting to grind the rice into delicious fresh rice flour.
4 1/2 cups white rice flour
 1 2/3 cups brown rice flour
1 1/3 cup potato starch (I used cornstarch)
3 Tbl non-fat milk powder (I used non-instant skimmed milk powder)
Add all the ingredients to your Bosch Universal Mixer or Bosch Styline Mixer bowl with the French whips attached. Place the splash ring and lid on bowl, turn to speed 1 and mix for about 1 minute or until completely combined. OR add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and use a whisk to blend completely. Store in airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 months.
 GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Makes approximately 24 cookies
Notes: Many people (myself included) dislike the 'gritty' taste of rice flours. Letting the finished cookie batter stand for 30 minutes prior to baking can alleviate that grittiness. Also, Xantham gum is a key ingredient in this recipe (as well as many other gluten free recipes). If you are planning on regularly baking gluten free recipes, xantham gum is a good staple for you pantry.
1 3/4 cup of Gluten Free Flour Blend (see recipe above)
1 t baking soda
3/4 t xantham gum
1/2 salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (I used salted butter and omitted the salt)
3/4 cup light brown sugar (I found this too sweet, so only use 1/2 cup if you don't have a sweet tooth!)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 T milk
1T vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
I used my Styline Bosch Mixer for this, but it can be done easily by hand. 
Whisk flour blend, baking soda, xantham gum and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In your Bosch Mixer with whips attached, whisk melted butter and sugars together until well combined and smooth. Add in the egg, milk and vanilla, continue to ship until combined and smooth.
 Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a spatula, gently fold in the flour mixture and mix until soft. Fold in the chocolate chips, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Move oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. The batter will be sticky, so the easiest way to set the cookies on the lined sheets is with 2 soupspoons, working with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter at a time. Place cookies about 2 inches apart (they will spread!).
Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, for 11 - 13 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Cookies will be golden brown, the edges will have set but the centres will still be soft.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then move to cooling rack.
These cookies are delicious and chewy in the middle with a nice crispy edge. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
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1 2/3 cups brown rice flour
Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a spatula, gently fold in the flour mixture and mix until soft. Fold in the chocolate chips, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
baking sheets with parchment paper. The batter will be sticky, so the easiest way to set the cookies on the lined sheets is with 2 soupspoons, working with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter at a time. Place cookies about 2 inches apart (they will spread!).
