- In today's video, I want to talk to you
about flour substitutions for baking
and making things like pancakes and waffles
and other breakfast favorites.
I share a lot of pancake recipes and treats
and baked goods on my website,
and obviously, I make videos about them,
and the number one question I often get is,
can I substitute X for the flour?
So, in today's video, I'm going to answer
if you can use oat flour,
a one-to-one all-purpose gluten-free flour mix,
whole-wheat flour, almond flour, and coconut flour
when baking.
Now, if you're trying to make baked recipes
without the refined flour, I should tell you
that my newest cookbook, "Clean Treats,"
has no wheat flour at all.
The only flour that is grain-derived inside is oat flour,
and then there are also some recipes that use almond flour
and some coconut flour.
So if you're just tired of converting recipes
from across the internet to suit your clean eating
and gluten-free dietary needs,
check out the "Clean Treats" cookbook.
The link for it is going to be right below the video.
Obviously, the first flour that I like to substitute
for all-purpose flour is oat flour.
Oat flour is simply a great choice
because it's naturally gluten-free,
now given that your oats are not cross-contaminated,
so make sure you check the packaging
if you have celiac disease.
Now, you can substitute oat flour for all-purpose flour,
typically at about a one-to-one ratio.
You can even make oat flour at home in a blender
or food processor by simply blending oats
into a fine, flour-like texture.
Super easy, right?
Now, oat flour will work great on pancakes,
waffles, cookies, muffins, brownies, and quick breads,
you know, the type that is baked inside a loaf pan,
like banana bread.
Now, I'm going to make sure to link some recipes
for you to try out with oat flour below this video.
One thought: you can not substitute oat flour
if you want to make a loaf of bread.
There is no gluten in oat flour to activate with yeast,
so oat flour is not a good idea for baking breads,
cinnamon rolls, or any other recipe that uses yeast to rise.
Up next, the all-purpose, gluten-free flour mix.
I even keep it in a different color container at home.
Now, I get this question all the time.
Can I use a mix that is gluten-free
instead of all-purpose white flour?
The short answer is yes.
Now, make sure that the packaging does say one-to-one
and that it is recommended
for the type of recipe that you're trying to create.
Some are better for cookies and quick breads,
and if used in something like a pancake,
you're gonna feel like you're eating sand.
In many of my recipes,
I will add a note that says, this recipe will work
with a one-to-one all-purpose gluten-free flour
after testing it, and I will also make sure
to link the one I used to test it.
Now, if you want to substitute all-purpose flour
for a whole-wheat flour,
the ratio is about one cup of all-purpose
to almost a full cup of whole-wheat.
It's really about seven-eighths.
So like I said, almost.
That is because whole-wheat flour is denser, heartier,
and it weighs more ounce per ounce or gram per gram
because it also has the bran part of the wheat.
If you measure it one-to-one,
you're gonna get a dense baked good,
and you'll likely have, sadly, to throw it out.
Now, if you're mid-mixing
and you just ran out of all-purpose white flour
and want to finish measuring out what the recipe calls for,
then you'll get good results with a 50/50 ratio
with just about any recipe.
So if the recipe calls for one cup of all-purpose flour,
and say you only have about half a cup,
you can top it off with the other half of whole-wheat flour.
When I bake cakes,
I typically use what they call cake flour or pastry flour.
This cake flour is simply white flour
that comes from a softer wheat that is designed for baking.
Think soft baked goods like croissants or yellow cake.
So if you want to whip up some pancakes like these
or a delicious loaf of double chocolate chip banana bread,
or maybe some cookies,
and all you have around is cake or pastry flour,
you can definitely use that.
A quick note.
Cake flour or pastry flour is not recommended
for bread making or baked goods that use yeast.
Onto the almond flour question.
Can you use almond flour
in place of all-purpose flour in recipes?
Most of the time, the answer is yes.
But here's the deal.
If you have a bag of almond flour
and you want to make something delicious with almond flour,
I highly suggest that you use a recipe
that was specifically tested and developed
to yield an amazing result with almond flour.
Just like in the "Clean Treats" cookbook,
you'd never know that used almond flour
in my chocolate sheet pancake or the brownies, you know?
Now, your grandmother's incredible cookie recipe
is not going to be amazing when you say simply swap
her all-purpose flour for almond flour.
Now, while some people say,
"Yes, totally substitute it one-to-one,"
I just don't recommend it.
Almond flour is expensive
because it's made from ground almonds,
and you'll likely have to adjust all the ratios
in the recipe.
It's just simply not a great idea.
And finally, the coconut flour.
Coconut flour is actually not a flour at all.
It's made from unsweetened, dehydrated coconut,
that has been ground
until it's achieved a flour-like texture.
Unfortunately, it does not behave
like traditional all-purpose flour at all.
For this reason, it's just never a good idea
to use coconut flour in place of all-purpose flour,
since it's about 10 times more absorbent.
So if you're just trying to use all the coconut flour
that's in your pantry,
just find recipes that were specifically created to use it
like these Snickerdoodles from the "Clean Treats" cookbook.
You'd never know the difference.
Now I'd love to know in a comment below
how you're substituting all-purpose flour
and what recipes and how it has worked best for you.
In short, there are substitutes that you can use
instead of all-purpose flour in your baked recipes.
But as always, I recommend that you find the recipes
from a reputable source that have been tested
and specifically created for the ingredients
that you have on hand.
Make sure to check the recipes are right below the video
to help you get started with your baking journey.
And while you're down there,
click that red Subscribe button
because a new recipe video comes out every single week.
See you next time.
(upbeat music)