Grain Free All Purpose Flour
This Grain Free All Purpose Flour has become a staple for my paleo substitute for all purpose flour. Many people find that they either can’t or don’t want to consume as much rice. Grain free is going to be the easiest way to do this, although I will be using oat flour as well. Eventually I hope to branch out and experiment more with flours such as teff and sorghum. I am really excited though to show you how to make paleo flour with this paleo flour recipe.
Grain Free All Purpose Flour
Let’s start by answering some Frequently Asked Questions all about grain free, gluten free and paleo flours.
What is paleo?
Paleo is a grain free, dairy free, sugar free, legume free diet that is known to rid inflammation and help heal the gut. Many people find it beneficial.
What is the difference between paleo and grain free?
Grain free is just taking all of the grains out your diet. Paleo is much stricter will many restrictions.
Is grain free flour the same as gluten free flour?
Yes, if something is grain free it is gluten free. However, if you have celiac disease, or are baking for someone who does it is very important that your flour blend is certified gluten free to make sure there is no cross contamination.
What flours are paleo? Is there a grain free flour? Is almond flour gluten free?
Grain free flours are paleo. Here are the main paleo and grain free flours…
- Almond Flour
- Tapioca Flour/Starch
- Arrowroot Flour/Starch
- Cassava
- Coconut Flour
- Hazelnut Flour
- Plantain Flour
- Tigernut Flour
New flours are coming out all the time. I recently saw banana flour. However, each of these flours are very unique and you can’t substitute one for the other.
What can I substitute for paleo baking flour?
If you are wanting to turn a regular recipe into something paleo or grain free it can get very tricky. First, I would recommend only trying to convert an already gluten free recipe and not something that is made with a wheat flour.
You will get better results. You can use this flour blend cup-for-cup on all of my gluten free recipes. It works great! There are also a few paleo flour blends that you can buy at the store.
It is very important though that you are using a blend. No flour alone will provide the right combination (except cassava) to come out as expected.
How do I substitute all purpose flour for paleo flour?
Like in the last question I would highly recommend taking a gluten free recipe and using your paleo all purpose flour blend and using it cup-for-cup for the recipe.
Paleo Flour Recipe
Can I use paleo flour instead of coconut flour?
No, coconut flour is it’s own category of flour. It is a very thirsty flour and can not be substituted for any other flour.
Can I replace all purpose flour with almond flour?
That is also a hard no. Almond flour is a nut and it needs starches in order to bake light and fluffy. You will not get the results you hoped for if you do this.
What is the best grain free flour?
If you want just a grain free flour then I would say Cassava is probably the best. It tends to bake like wheat flour and works really well. Unfortunately I am unable to tolerate cassava and it is not an option for me.
Making a paleo all purpose flour to use is the best option for us.
Paleo Substitute for All Purpose Flour
So far I have been experimenting with this paleo flour recipe and have had great success with some recipes.
I have made cookies, pancakes, chocolate cake, French bread, pizza crust, biscuits, scones and strawberry shortcake. Stay tuned for these recipes on the blog in the future.
How to make paleo flour
Most bloggers don’t use a grain free all purpose flour. Typically it’s just a mixture of almond flour, coconut flour, and starches. I am an all purpose flour kind of girl. I need to mix it and keep it on my counter, which makes my life simple.
Making paleo flour is sooo easy and takes less than 5 minutes to throw it together.
You will need…
- Coconut Flour
- Almond Flour
- Tapioca or Arrowroot Flour
- Potato Starch
- You should also have psyllium husk on hand to use as a binder
Pro-tip: All flours need a binder. Gluten is the binder in wheat flour and since we are using gluten free flours a binder must be added. Psyllium husk is a gum free and grain free alternative for a binder. You can also use xanthan gum and guar gum if you do not need to be grain free/paleo.
To make the flour simply add all of your ingredients to a bowl and whisk well to combine. Store in an air tight container for up to 3 weeks. You can store this in the fridge to make it last longer.
How to use this paleo flour blend
You can use this cup-for-cup in any of my recipes and it works great! Here are a few recipes that we make with this paleo all purpose flour recipe all of the time!
- Gluten Free Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Grain Free Paleo Pancakes
- Paleo Chocolate Waffles
- Grain Free Gingerbread Pancakes (Dairy Free, Paleo)
- Paleo Apple Pie
- Paleo Pecan Pie
- Paleo Pie Crust
- Easy Blueberry Breakfast Cookies (Paleo, Vegan)
- Paleo Chicken Strips
- Chocolate Paleo Banana Bread
- Grain Free Paleo Pancakes
Maybe in the future this Grain Free All Purpose Flour might work itself into its own cookbook. What do you think?
I hope that you might get creative and use this in some recipes other than mine. Please share if you do! I have found that this works well in gluten free recipes if you add an extra egg and reduce the amount of liquid used.
Stay tuned for some excellent grain free recipes to go with this Grain Free All Purpose Flour! This is how to make paleo flour…
How to make Paleo Flour
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Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups Blanched Almond Flour
- 1 1/2 Cups Coconut Flour
- 1 Cup Tapioca Starch
- 1 Cup Potato Starch
- 2 1/2 tsp psyllium husk powder you can leave this out and add it as needed with your recipes
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add all of the flours and starches. Stir until well combined. Store in an air tight container.
Nutrition
What can I make with this Paleo Flour Recipe?
This was originally posted on 3/13/2018 and updated on 7/7/21.
You don’t add xantham gum to this mixture?
No. If you want to use it in a recipe that calls for it, then add it at that time.
Won’t you need Xantham Gum to bind the ingredients in any baking recipes? I’m a little confused..
Hi Julie,
Most recipes should call for the right amount of xanthan gum. I choose not to use it in my all purpose flour and add it as needed. Some recipes don’t need it like pancakes, waffles, biscuits. I hope that helps!
We choose not to use xanthan gum at all. That’s right, NO XANTHAN GUM AT ALL.
And no problems at all. The gum didn’t sit well with our digestive systems.
Either does rice for that matter, even organic rice, brings on shooting aches and pains, and even lifting something seems to cause an “injury” even if accidentally ingested (meaning I don’t know I’ve had it until after the aches and pains).
Anyway, to the binding: If we feel something needs a little binding, we use a little ground golden flax seed (or dark brown) mixed into a little bit of water OR a tsp of psyllium husk ground and mixed with a little water. Sorry can’t be more specific. This kind of baking is so individual, and I love seeing what happens. Aim for something delicious and if it works out differently, call your creation a different name!
When we first started out gluten free, before we gave up all grains, and a cake turned out a little flat or dry I would simply say, “Oh this is a European style cake.” End of story, end of perfectionism.
Actually we find grain free less temperamental than gluten free. And this multipurpose Paleo flour looks good, I would keep it in the fridge as otherwise the ground almonds could go quickly rancid. But then you have to remember to get it out so the flour mix can come to room temp before baking. Ah the joys…
We now bake artisan loaves of Sourdough Grain Free Bread using buckwheat, tapioca, flax and starch in the main. Dairy free, can be egg free, coconut free, nut free. So, everyone hang in there, and enjoy the lightness and freedom of eating gluten free.
We just saw an article saying that eating wheat interferes with the prefrontal cortex of the brain – that’s the reasoning centre of your brain. So if you want to think clearly, out with wheat, out with gluten, and for us, out with grains too.
can arrowroot easily replace the tapioca?
Yes, you can use arrowroot in place of the tapioca.
Would it work to sub additional tapioca for the potato starch portion? I’m allergic to potatoes and have the hardest time finding paleo flour that doesn’t have it.
I am confident that it will work just fine with additional tapioca starch. You can use arrowroot as well.
I love all your recipes!! Wondering if this Grain Free All Purpose Flour is the same recipe that you mentioned in your recipe for Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing? It says to use your personal GF All Purpose Flour Blend? Is this a different version?
Hi Barb! I use my gluten free all purpose flour blend in the cinnamon roll recipe. I have been having success using the grain free in place of the gluten free flour in most of my recipes. If you give the grain free flour a try in the cinnamon roll recipe, please let me know how it works out for you.
Here is the recipe link
Can you substitute arrowroot for the potato starch? I just bought Almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, and arrowroot starch today? Thanx
Absolutely!
I’m allergic to almonds and hoping that ther is something with similar properties that I can use as a substitute? I have cassava, tiger nut, coconut, and arrowroot flours on hand.
Hi Jess,
Can you have cashews, or hazelnuts? Although I have not made my all purpose flour with these I think they might work similar.
i made a batch of this subbing potato starch with arrowroot .. much prefer it to ready made blends i have been buying ! :]
Hi Maureen,
I’m so happy to hear that! Arrowroot works really well. Did you have a chance to rate the recipe? The ratings really help me. Thank you and have a great holiday!
Thank you for this simple,yet effective, AP gluten-free flour recipe. I love cooking from scratch, but limit baking (because who needs chocolate chip cookies on a monthly basis)? 😁
Is tapioca flour the same as tapioca starch?
Yes it is 🙂
Can this be used as a cup for cup substitute in recipes that aren’t normally GF and if so does the egg/liquid modification also apply?
In general I don’t recommend using any gluten free or grain free flours cup for cup because even the “cup for cup” flours don’t always work. I have found this all purpose blend to work really well in place of gluten free flour blends. You can try to use this for a non gluten free recipe, but it might take some time to learn how to modify it. I find that it typically needs an extra egg and sometimes more liquid. I hope that helps!
Can I use something other than coconut flour? I can have almond but not coconut.
I have never tried anything else, but I think that a different nut flour would probably work just fine. Cashew, macadamia, even more almond.
I have lots of food intolerances. Most flower blends, baking powders, (phosphates) do not work for me. Also, eggs, milk, chocolates are just a few. Would love to try to cut out so much rice by trying your recipe for flour etc.
Hi Rachel,
If you use it in other recipes other than mine you might want to use psyllium husk in place of xanthan gum to provide a binder. I hope it helps!
I cannot tolerate almond flour because I have a nut allergy. I also have gluten, dairy, chocolate, nuts, and Casava flour . I have IBS and so I am trying to go grain free and try recipes for making my own breads and desserts. It isn’t easy. I would like to have a grain free flour to use in my baking. I have purchased tigernut four and coconut flour. I cannot tolerate the physiliam husk,so I need to find something else for my binder.
I would recommend making your own blend with what you can tolerate. The general rule is 4 cups of grain and 2 cups of starch and then you can add a binder to recipes as needed, or add the binder to your blend. 1 tsp for every 2 cups. Have you tried guar gum? The only binders I know of are guar gum, xanthan gum and psyllium husk. My friend The Allergy Chef (find her on Instagram) works with multiples allergies and bakes wit Tigernut flour a lot. You should give her a follow. I hope that helps!
thank you for posting this! my question is, when and how much psyllium husk is added?
you had mentioned it is needed for a binder?
thank you for you help with this question
cindy
Hi Cindy, the rule of thumb is 1 tsp of binder for every 2 cups of flour. So if you decide to add it to the blend it will be a total of 3 tsp.
Your APF is exactly what I have been looking for. You didn’t say how much psyllium husk I need to add to this recipe. Can you please elaborate? Thank you and thanks for posting this recipe.
Hi Robin! You can either add 6 tsp to the mix, or add 1 tsp for every 2 cups you use as you bake.
Can you use this as a cup-for-cup substitute for wheat flour?
I would not recommend subbing cup for cup for wheat flour. This does however, sub cup for cup for gluten free flour. I would use a gluten free recipe and use this flour in place of gluten free all purpose flour.
Can I substitute cassava flour for the potato flour? I don’t eat nightshade vegetables.
I’ve never tried because I can’t tolerate cassava, but if you can have tapioca flour it is a direct sub. The cassava would probably work though.