Gluten comes the Latin word for glue. Gluten is an elastic protein found in grain flours that gives dough elasticity and strength. Flours made from grains contain gluten.  When cooking for a gluten-free diet, you need to substitute flours made from other foods. Because gluten-free flours do not have gluten, you need to add other ingredients such as xanthan gum or guar gum to replace the gluten. Both xanthan gum and guar gum help to hold the ingredients together.

Below is a list of various alternative flours used in gluten-free cooking.

Arrowroot Flour

This is a white flour that is ground from the root of the Arrowroot plant. It can be used in place of cornstarch.

Aramanth Flour

This flour is ground from the Aramanth seed. It is related to pigweed.

Brown Rice Flour

This flour is milled from unpolished brown rice and is higher in nutrients than white rice flour. It has a slight nutty flavor.

Buckwheat Flour

Despite the "wheat" name, buckwheat flour is not a wheat grain. It is related to rhubarb. It has a very strong flavor and is normally used in small quantities with other bland flours.

Cornstarch

This is a refined starch from the corn plant. It can be used to thicken liquids. If you are allergic to corn, replace it with arrowroot or potato starch.

Cornmeal

This grainy meal is ground from corn. You can purchase yellow or white cornmeal.

Corn Flour

This flour is milled from the corn plant and its consistency is that of other flours. It is not grainy like cornmeal.

Garbanzo Bean Flour

This is ground from garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas). It is very high in protein.

Garfava Flour

This is a combination of garbanzo beans and fava beans. It is not as grainy as rice flour and is high in protein.

Millet Flour

Millet is a grain in the same family as corn, rice and sorghum. This flour has been accepted in Canada as gluten-free. It is being accepted by many gluten-free groups in the US.

Potato Flour

This is a heavy flour and is normally used in small quantities with other lighter flours.

Potato Starch Flour

Do not confuse Potato Flour with Potato Starch Flour. This flour is a fine white flour. I use this flour on a regular basis, in combination with other flours such as rice flour and tapioca flour.

Quinoa Flour(pronounced "Keen-Wa")

This flour is made from Quinoa seeds and is related to spinach and beets. The plant has a bitter-tasting coating, so always buy debittered quinoa flour. Quinoa flour has been accepted in Canada as gluten-free and is being accepted by many groups in the US.

Sorghum Flour

This flour is milled from the sorghum grain. Sorghum grain does NOT contain gluten. It has a strong flavor and is normally combined with other flours.

Soy Flour

This is a yellow flour with a nutty flavor that is high in protein. It is a heavy flour and is normally combined with other lighter, bland flours.

Tapioca Flour

This flour is made from the root of the cassava plant. It is a light, white flour. It gives texture to baked goods. This is a staple at our house.

Tef (Teff) Flour

Tef is a grain in the same family as corn, rice and sorghum. Tef flour has been accepted in Canada as gluten-free and many US groups are accepting it as a gluten-free flour.

White Rice Flour

This flour is milled from polished white rice and is very bland in taste. Since it tends to add a grainy texture to baked goods, I combine it with other softer flours.