BAPA: Gluten-Free Flour Blend

In 2015, when I was knee-deep in my Paleo diet phase, I went all mad scientist and created a grain-free, gluten-free flour blend. My aim was to make something you could substitute one-to-one for all-purpose wheat flour, in most recipes.

The grain-free flour experiment

I baked 51 small batches of cupcakes with different flour variations and invited some friends over for tasting. 204 cupcakes later, we narrowed it down to six winning flour blends. From there I continued testing, tasting and baking until I found a combination of gluten-free, grain-free flours that worked for me.

I baked and sold Paleo treats using my flour blend on a small scale locally for a while, like banana bread with cherry peppers and funky spices. It was really fun, but not all that profitable for the amount of time I spent doing it. When we moved East, I shelved the recipe and didn’t pick it up again until a month ago.

Gluten-free pizza crust

A gluten-free friend from Minnesota came to visit us and on a whim we decided to make pizza with my flour blend. Our pizza crusts turned out better than expected. They were down right delicious!

Since then, I’ve made this crust at least five times. I absolutely love it and want to share it with you. If you are sensitive to gluten or just want to get some different foods into your diet, this recipe is for you.

I call the blend BAPA, an acronym for the ingredients, but also a sweet nod to my boys’ grandfather. To make it you need buckwheat flour, almond meal, potato starch and arrowroot starch.

Ingredients

Makes 480 grams of BAPA, enough for two batches of pizza dough.

• 144g buckwheat flour
• 144g almond flour
• 96g potato starch
• 96g arrowroot starch

The method

Head’s up: You’ll need a kitchen scale. This is important because flours weigh differently and measuring cups will not give you the best result.

• Place a large mixing bowl on a kitchen scale and tare the weight to zero.
• Add the flours, one by one, to the bowl. Tare the scale between each flour to make sure you’re adding the correct amount. Math in the kitchen gets dicey when the baby is crying and your toddler gets involved.
• Combine the flours completely, using a whisk. You could probably do this in a food processor or Vitamix, but I haven’t tried it. If you do, let me know how it goes.
• Keep your blend in an airtight jar. Label it BAPA. Make delicious gluten-free, grain-free goodies. Love your life.

BAPA-friendly recipes

• Gluten-free pizza crust

I encourage you to try this flour in your favorite recipes or make it your own. If you make something using this blend, I’d love to hear about it. Comment below or tag me on Instagram.