Eli5: what happens in baking if i use, say, almond flour instead of wheat flour?

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Ive been thinking, recipes like pancakes and cookies want you to add flour but say to not overmix or else youll overdevelop the gluten. If i used a substitute that does not contain gluten would i no longer have to worry about over mixing? Does flour have something in it that non-gluten flours dont that would prevent these recipes from forming in the same way?

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5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

The gluten in the wheat flour serves as a sort of glue that helps to hold the food together. When you substitute a gluten free flour, you lose that ‘glue’ and your food items tend to be a lot more crumbly. The moisture absorption properties of what you are making can also change. I haven’t used almond flour before because some family members are allergic, but I suspect that it won’t absorb moisture as well as a regular wheat flour. If you directly substitute almond flour, you may end up with a runnier batter. We use oat flour for a lot of baked goods and it absorbs more moisture then regular flour.

Unless you are okay with your first attempt at making something flopping, I would suggest looking up recipes for what you want to make, because the best results will likely require more adjustments then just swapping the flour.

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