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

Question

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?

In: Other

Answer 1

Wheat flour contains gluten, that’s the difference. Non gluten flours will not rise like gluten flours, and will fall flat and/or remain raw on the inside. You can definitely bake with non gluten flours, but the recipes and dough/batter will be considerably different.