There is no single gluten-free flour that does everything wheat flour does. The good news: you don't need one. Each naturally gluten-free flour has its own strengths – a neutral taste, a nutty character, extra protein or fibre, or a special texture – and once you know them, you can pick the right one for every dish, or combine a few for the best result.
1. Neutral base flours: rice, brown rice, millet and sorghum
These are your everyday all-rounders. They have a mild taste and let other ingredients shine.
- Rice flour – fine, silky and neutral. Great for shortcrust and sweet doughs, dumplings, pancakes and puddings, and a reliable thickener for soups, sauces and stews.
- Brown rice flour – made from whole brown rice, with a subtle nutty flavour and a little more texture.
- Millet flour – mild and slightly sweet; good for thickening and, mixed with other flours, for breads, pastries and cakes.
- Sorghum flour – neutral and slightly sweetish; add it at up to 15–20% of your flour mix for bread, cakes, pizza and pancakes.
2. Characterful flours: buckwheat and quinoa
- Buckwheat flour – despite its name, buckwheat is not related to wheat. It has an earthy, nutty taste and is ideal for pancakes and thin, unleavened flatbreads.
- Quinoa flour – rich and nutty; use it in breads, cakes and pastries, or to thicken stews and soups.
Tip: these flours have a stronger flavour, so start by using them as part of a blend with a neutral base flour.
3. Legume flours: chickpea, red lentil and green pea
Legume flours are naturally rich in protein and fibre, and they shine in savoury dishes.
- Chickpea flour – savoury pancakes, flatbreads, patties, cream soups, pâtés and hummus.
- Red lentil flour – mild and quick to work with: pancakes, flatbreads, patties and thickening.
- Green pea flour – brings a lovely colour to pancakes, flatbreads and patties.
All three also work as an egg replacer for breading: whisk the flour with water into a thick batter and use it instead of beaten egg.
4. Seed flours: golden flaxseed
Golden flaxseed flour is made from cold-pressed golden flaxseed and is high in protein and fibre. Mix it into breads, pancakes, muffins and cookies in a smaller proportion, use it for breading, or make a plant-based egg replacer: 1 tablespoon of flour + 3 tablespoons of water, left to stand for a few minutes.
How to combine them
Gluten is what holds a wheat dough together, so gluten-free baking works best with a blend: a neutral base flour for lightness, a smaller share of a characterful, legume or seed flour for taste and nutrition, and a natural binder such as psyllium husk to give the dough structure. Curious how that works? Read What replaces gluten?
Short on time? Our Bake-Free flour mixtures are ready-made blends – just add water and bake.
Good to know
- Weigh, don't guess – gluten-free flours absorb water differently, so a kitchen scale makes your results repeatable.
- Store them well – keep flours in a dry, cool place away from sunlight, and use wholegrain and seed flours, which contain more natural oils, within a reasonable time after opening.
- Cross-contamination matters – all our flours are made in a gluten-free production plant. If you mill or mix at home, keep gluten-free and wheat-based tools separate.
Explore all our gluten-free flours and find your favourites.
This article is for general information only and is not medical or dietary advice.
