Help! Can you substitute a gluten-free flour like Bob's Red Mill's version for regular unbleached AP flour in, say, a coating mix for fried chicken? I've never worked with it, but I recently posted a crispy chicken cutlet recipe on LND and just got a comment from someone who needs a gluten-free version. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

lastnightsdinner
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glutenfreegirl January 7, 2011
I'm later to this conversation than I hoped to be, but everyone has given you great advice! I concur about the Bob's Red Mill AP mix -- the bean flour taste is pretty assertive. (Their biscuit and baking mix does not have it, however, so it's a good choice.)

My favorite combination for fried chicken or fried fish is mostly sweet rice flour with a touch of sorghum flour. Sweet rice flour (or mochiko) is super starchy and thus sticks to everything well. It also makes a wonderfully light and crunchy batter. Think tempura.

We add the sorghum for a bit more bite. Sometimes using only sweet rice flour makes the final result too much like tempura. If that's not the texture you're seeking, then a touch of sorghum -- which has a similar texture to whole wheat pastry flour -- helps to give it a bit more heft.

Really, though, you can't go too wrong. For dredging, you just need a flour. The gluten doesn't actually matter here.
 
lastnightsdinner January 4, 2011
Thanks so much, everyone! I'm going to post a link to here in response to my commenter. Really, really appreciate the advice - Go Team Foodpickle!
 
mrslarkin January 4, 2011
I've used the Bob's Red Mill brown rice flour to coat fish fillets. They came out nice and crispy.
 
beyondcelery January 4, 2011
Rudi's GF bread also works as a coating, when it's processed into bread crumbs:
http://www.rudisglutenfree.com/ (Mix it with a little egg and some spices and you're good to go.)

I freeze the crusts when I'm done with the loaf and when I have a bunch, I run them all through my food processor. Instant crumbs! They can also be re-frozen and kept for months when you're using just a little at a time.
 
gingerroot January 4, 2011
My husband is gf and I've experimented with a variety of different things to replace flour when pan-frying, including gf flour (King Arthur brand is a blend of rice flours, potato and tapioca starch - no bean aftertaste), cornstarch, cornmeal, and crushed plain rice cakes. Each produces a slightly different result - cornstarch on the delicate end of the spectrum and cornmeal on the other end. Lately, I've also been grating Rudy's gluten free bread to replace bread crumbs- I made Rhonda's pangritata using them last night and it was delicious.
 
healthierkitchen January 4, 2011
What about rice flour? What else is in the mix? The rice flour would be a thin coating though - not like your gorgeous cutlet above.
 
fourchickens January 4, 2011
Yes! You can substitute a gf flour mix for this. One thing to be aware of, though, is that Bob's Red Mill GF flour mix has bean flour--so the stuff you make with it will have a bean taste. I recommend a more neutral mix if you have time/desire to make one--one that doesn't contain bean flour. I have a mix on my site, as do other gf bakers. If you want to check out my mix, the link is: http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2009/11/the-story-behind-my-gluten-free-flour-mix/. The Gluten-Free Girl has a mix, too. So does Carol of Simple Gluten-Free, and Jules of Jules Gluten-Free.

I hope this is helpful. I am happy to help more if you need it. E-mail me with more questions!
 
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