Best Rice Flour

Rice Flour 101: Our Taste Tests & And A Recipe!

Let’s talk rice flour!

Is rice flour the secret ingredient that makes all baking projects better? And just what is rice flour? 

Here’s a quick 411 on rice flour:

• Rice flour is basically just ground up white rice that has a powdery texture. It’s very popular in Asian cooking and since it is gluten free, has also become popular as a substitute for wheat flour. 

• If you plan on substituting it for wheat flour, you’ll need to include some starch, either tapioca or potato, to get the right consistency.

• Rice flour comes in two basic types: regular and glutinous. Despite the name, glutinous rice flour doesn’t have any gluten, it’s just a stickier consistency when liquid is added. Glutinous rice flour is also often called sweet rice flour—although it isn’t actually sweet. It likely gets this moniker because it is more often used in Asian desserts for a sticky, soft, chewy consistency.

Pro tip: Do not substitute glutinous for regular rice flour and vice a versa. The texture won’t be right!

One clever use for rice flour: if you love baking bread, use rice flour to coat counters and proofing baskets to keep your dough from sticking—it doesn’t add any extra wheat flour to the dough, which keeps it from being too dense. 

Before we get to the winners of our taste tests, here is a recipe for soft bread that is gluten free:

Recipe: Soft Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

PREP TIME 15 minutes

COOK TIME 45 minutes

PASSIVE TIME 1 hour

Ingredients

• ½ cup Warm Water (118 mL)
• 4 tsp Active Dry Yeast (13 g)
• ¼ cup Honey or Sugar (30 mL)
• ¼ cup Gluten Free Egg Replacer (40 g) prepared according to package directions, or 4 Eggs
• 2 ½ cups Millet Flour (400 g)
• ½ cup Brown Rice Flour (80 g)
• 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp xanthan Gum (15 g)
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 ¾ tsp Salt
• ¼ cup Olive Oil (60 mL)
• ½ cup warm Water, as needed (630 g)

Instructions

1. Combine water, yeast and honey and allow to sit for 5 minutes, or until active and bubbly. While waiting, prepare egg replacer according to package directions.
2. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine millet flour, rice flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. Next add egg replacer (or eggs), olive oil and yeast mixture. Blend on medium using a dough hook. Add an additional ½ cup water as needed, starting with a tablespoon at a time. Knead in mixer for 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky, but not wet.
3. Place dough in a parchment-lined 8 x 4-inch bread pan. Wet your hands with water and smooth the dough and press into the pan, leaving it a bit rounded in the center. Cover with a light towel and place in a warm draft-free place. Allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour or a bit more if the space is not warm enough.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake 45 minutes, or until golden brown and the internal temperature is 206°F on a thermometer.

Recipe and photo credit: Bob’s Red Mill

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

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