What is the best gluten-free flour for baking, cookies, cakes, bread, and pies when substituting for all-purpose flour in recipes? The most popular and available brands have been thoroughly tested and compared to find the all-time winning blend!
Testing the best Gluten-Free Flour Mix
If you are new to gluten-free baking recipes, or still trying to find your perfect stride, you way be wondering, “what is the best gluten-free flour to bake with?”
In the past several years there has been an explosion of gluten-free flour substitutes on the market to replace wheat flour. While they make it more convenient, rather than buying several flours to make your own mix, most still lack considerably in taste and texture.
The problem lies in the infinite possibilities of starch blends and varying ratios they can be blended together. Unfortunately, not all gluten-free flour blends are created equal, leaving vast differences in baking results. I experience this time and again when testing recipes for the site and writing my gluten-free cookbook.
For instance, white rice flour gives a neutral taste, but gritty texture. Sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, and teff flour can have very strong, off-putting tastes. While tapioca flours and oat flour has a more neutral flavor, they need complimenting starches to build elasticity.
Using a mixture of gluten free starches, such as rice, tapioca starch, potato starch, brown rice flour, coconut flour, and cornstarch can balance each other out, hopefully creating the best gluten-free flour. However, many products on the market fall short, resulting in disappointing baked goods.
For years I have been dedicated to Cup 4 Cup gluten-free flour because the taste mimics all-purpose wheat flour, and yields consistent results in baking. Different gluten free flour blends have equally dedicated users, though, so I wanted to test – is it really the best??
Common Problems with Gluten-Free Flour
I tested four popular and widely available store bought flours – Cup4Cup, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, King Arthur’s Measure-for-Measure, and Walmart’s Great Value Gluten Free-Flour Mix. To make sure I gathered a good variety of results, each were tested with different baking recipes – gluten-free biscuits, gluten-free pie crust, and cookies.
All the tested flours include xanthan gum in the mix. Some GF flours don’t contain it, which gives bakers more control over the amount added based on what they are making (ie. bread would need more xanthan gum, pie crust requires less). However, I wanted to find an easy, 1-to-1 flour to be used interchangeably with all-purpose flours.
I also used friends and family for “blind taste tests,” so my partiality to my “preferred” brand wouldn’t come into play. I was searching for the best gluten-free flour to hopefully avoid some of the common pitfalls like,
- Gritty texture – Usually comes from large amounts of rice flour used in the mix.
- Gumminess – Gluten free flours don’t absorb liquids as readily as regular flour, which leads to a dense, gummy texture.
- Holding shape – Gf flours also have a harder time absorbing fat. This is why gluten-free cookies have a tendency to spread so much more.
- Aftertaste – Usually resulting from stronger tasting flours used in the mix, such as teff or sorghum.
Allergens and Ingredients
If you follow a gluten-free diet, you may have other food allergies as well. Some common allergens are dairy, corn flour, or oats.
When making gluten-free recipes you want to make sure you aren’t unintentionally adding allergens with your baking mix. Therefore, before deciding which gluten-free flour is the best, look at its ingredients.
Rye, barley, and wheat cannot be listed as an ingredient for a flour to be considered gluten-free safe!
Price and Availability
Although there are plenty of gluten-free flours on the market, I wanted to compare the top four widely available either at a local grocery store, on Amazon or Vitacost.
For the best price, it’s beneficial to order in bulk to bring down the price. If you sign up for Vitacost’s email list they send a lot of coupon codes. I order enough bags to earn free shipping and use a coupon code to make the price per bag cheaper.
Cup4Cup – Available at Target, Amazon, and Vitacost $8.99 for 32 ounce bag or $0.28 per ounce. Amazon and Vitacost sells in in 3 pound bags, but it is still the same price / ounce.
Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 – Available at Target, local grocery stores, Amazon, and Vitacost $8.59 for 44 ounce bag or $0.20 per ounce.
King Arthur Measure-for-Measure – Available at Target, local grocery stores, and Amazon $8.99 for 48 ounce bag or $0.19 per ounce.
Great Value – Available at Walmart only. $2.98 for 22 ounce bag or $0.14 per ounce.
Cookie Testing
To test with cookie dough I used a traditional, non-GF, chocolate chip cookie recipe and the dough wasn’t chilled first.
Bob’s Red Mill – The raw dough was considerably thinner than all the other doughs. I hesitated even baking them because I thought it would spread to one congealed glob on my pan.
Surprisingly, they didn’t all run together, but these cookies spread the most. The taste, across the board with all testers, was unanimously the worst. It had a strong aftertaste compared to the other cookies, and a drier, gritty texture. Overall ranked #4
Great Value – The dough held its shape well and the baking time was most accurate, where the other cookies needed a couple minutes longer.
The shape of the cookie held up with baking, but the cookie was considerably drier, very brittle and not very pleasant. Overall ranked #3
King Arthur – The raw dough had the consistency of “regular” cookie dough, and the shape held up best during baking. This flour seemed to do the best job of absorbing fats, so there wasn’t an issue with spreading.
By looks alone, there would be no way to tell these cookies were gluten free. The cookie was chewy, but unfortunately had an unappealing gritty taste. Overall ranked #2
Cup4Cup – The dough was slightly thinner than regular cookie dough. I was tempted to add a couple tablespoons more flour or chill the dough first, but I didn’t want to skew the results of the test.
Because of the thinner dough, the cookies did spread slightly and had to bake a minute longer. However the taste was resoundedly voted on the best.
The cookie was chewy, had no aftertaste, and many commented they would have no idea it was gluten free. Overall ranked #1
Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes
- Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
- Soft gluten-free chocolate chip cookies
- Sugar Cookie Bars
- Snickerdoodle Bars
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies
- More gluten-free Christmas cookie recipes
Best Gluten-free Flour for Breads, Biscuits, pizza crusts
For testing gluten-free bread recipe I used a pan biscuit recipe, which is similar to a quick bread recipe without yeast. Biscuits, like bread, use a considerable amount of flour and contains nothing to mask taste or texture, unlike cookies or brownies.
Bob’s Red Mill – After baking, this biscuit had a very dense, gummy texture. The biscuit was very chewy, almost inedible to bite into. Like the cookies, there was also a very strong aftertaste. Overall ranked #4
Great Value – This brand tied for the worst as well. The texture was similarly dense, although not quite as gummy. Like Bob’s Red Mill, there was a strong unappealing aftertaste. Overall ranked #4
King Arthur – By looks these biscuits baked beautifully. They had good height and very fluffy. However, the taste was very dry and grainy. While these biscuits might do well under a layer of gravy, eating on their wasn’t a great experience. Overall ranked #2
Cup4Cup – Like King Arthur, the rise of these biscuits was appealing. The texture inside was light and fluffy, plus they tasted most like traditional biscuits with no grittiness or aftertaste. Overall ranked #1
Pillsbury Gluten-Free – When I developed my gluten-free bread recipe, I also tested it with Pillsbury GF brand, since readers have been asking about it. Although I have only tried it with bread, it performed horribly. The bread was dry and inedible, so I didn’t test it further with other ingredients.
Gluten-Free Bread Recipes
Plus, for an ultimate guide, find many more gluten-free bread recipes or gluten-free muffins recipes all in one resource!
- Best Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread
- Gluten-Free Challah
- Gluten-Free Focaccia
- Fluffy Gluten-Free Biscuits
- Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread
- Quick Cheese Bread
- Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
- Gluten-Free Cheese Scones
- Gluten-Free Banana Bread
- Gluten-Free Cornbread
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
Pie Crust Testing
Making pie crust with gluten-free flour is a true testament to its quality. Like bread, it doesn’t contain anything in the recipe to mask an off putting taste or texture. Also, it needs to roll up to rolling and shaping in a pie dish.
I used the same pie crust recipe and measurements for each crust, however some flours did a better job covering the pie dish. For alternative pie crust recipes (low carb, dairy free, no bake) and amazing pie fillings, check out THE BEST GLUTEN FREE PIE RECIPES!
King Arthur – This was crust was the driest during mixing so I had to add more liquid to get the dough to bind together. After doing this, it was easy to roll out, but covered the dish thinly.
The baked texture was chewy and dense, however there was no off-putting taste. Overall ranked #4
Bob’s Red Mill – This dough cracked the most during rolling, but came together nicely once it warmed up a little. It covered the dish well with good coverage.
The baked texture is dense, almost like a shortbread and has a rustic, whole grain taste. Overall ranked #3
Great Value – This dough was very easy to roll out, and covered the pie dish better. The baked texture was crispy and flakier, but the taste was lackluster and not very noteworthy. Overall ranked #2
Cup4Cup – While this dough was easy to roll, it was the thinnest and needed to be stretched the most to cover the pie plate.
The texture was very flaky and easy to cut through, while the other pastries were denser. It has a buttery, light taste, enough that the crust edges were always eaten, while the others were left behind on the plate. Overall ranked #1
Gluten Free Pie Recipes
- Best Gluten Free Pie Crust Recipe
- Chocolate Chess Pie
- Sugar Cream Pie
- Fresh Blueberry Pie
- Gluten Free Peach Crisp
best Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour!
Across the board Cup4Cup gluten-free flour seems to be the clear winner in terms of taste and texture.
However, it also the most expensive flour. If you are willing to pay a little more, you are guaranteed a quality flour that replicates the taste of traditional baked goods.
The other drawback of Cup4Cup is the allergens it contains. If you cannot have dairy or corn, King Arthur Measure-for-Measure seems to be a good runner up.
Another option is to forgo a gluten free flour mix and bake with almond flour or almond meal, which has a sweet nutty flavor, low in carbs, and high in protein.
However, almond flour isn’t a one-to-one conversion, like gluten-free flour blends, so it’ best used in recipes tested with almond flour, many of which can be found in this best almond flour recipes post.
Now that you are ready to bake with effortless success, be sure to check out more than 80 of the best gluten-free dessert recipes!
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Cup 4 Cup Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 King Arthur Measure-for-Measure
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Carla Mueller says
Hello, I appreciate all the work you went through to create this informative post. I’m looking for a DYI flour blend that is gluten, dairy, corn, and rice free. Do you have a recipe?
Melissa Erdelac says
Hi Carla,
I really wish I could help you out. As you probably know, cutting out the rice will be the tricky part. Have you tried working with alternative flours? I have quite a few oat flour recipes and almond flour recipes.
Best,
Melissa
Lucy says
Very helpful and so detailed, thank you!
Melissa says
Thank you, Lucy. I appreciate it!
Best,
Melissa
Donna says
I read your gluten free flour analysis carefully, then compared the ingredients. They all contain Xanthan Gum! Xanthan Gum is a no no for many folks with gluten intolerance. That additive creates bloat. I know. It happens to me. I’m on a campaign to tell all of you gluten free “experts” that you need to address this issue with appropriate recipes. Just recently a few commercial bakeries have introduced gluten free bread and bread items made with no xanthan gum. They are using psyllium and gar gum. I can’t use your recipes until you create xanthan gum free recipes.
Melissa says
Hi Donna,
Thank you for writing. I’m so sorry you are intolerant of xanthan gum. That must be frustrating with all the popular all-purpose mixes containing it.
Since I’m not intolerant, and this post highlighted the most popular brands on the market, I did include flours that use it. As I’m sure you are aware, there is a plethora of allergies out there and it would be impossible to address them all with authority and background knowledge.
Have you tried King Arthur’s gluten-free flour (not the measure-for-measure one)? I know that one does not contain xanthan and you can add the binders that work for you personally. Also, I have a lot of baking recipes on the site that do not contain any flour and are naturally gluten-free, like oat flour recipes, almond flour recipes, and flourless cookie recipes. I hope you can find something you enjoy!
Best,
Melissa
Janean says
Thanks for all this information. I have just come across your site while looking for gluten-free recipes and cookbooks. I am considering buying your Frugal Gluten-free Cooking cookbook. It looks like it would be so helpful for my family and my daughter who loves to bake and just learned she has celiac disease. I need to find a resource for her and your site is amazing! I have a sensitivity to nightshades (potatoes) as well as gluten. I have found that many gluten-free foods and flour blends have potato starch in them. Have you found any flour blends that work well which do not include potato? Is there a brand you would recommend substituting in your recipes?
Melissa says
Hello Janean,
I’m so glad you’ve found the site helpful and I do hope you purchase the cookbook. I personally cook from it all the time! They are all new recipes, separate from ones on the site. My suggestion for the Cup4Cup substitute would be to make your own because yes, pretty much all the GF flours use potato starch. 🙁 This recipe is a homemade substitute for Cup4Cup and does contain a little potato starch. However, you can always replace it with tapioca starch to make your own nightshade free flour, similar to Cup4Cup. It would take a big some purchase of ingredients on the front end, but then you can mix it up and have it on hand for for all your baking. Hopefully this helps!
Best,
Melissa
Janean says
Thank you for the suggestion; I will checkout that recipe. I did purchase your book! I am actually looking at it right now. I am excited to start making the recipes. They all look so good! I also purchased your electronic breads and desserts books. I appreciate your free tips too! Wow, I’m so happy I found your site. Thanks so much for sharing what you have learned! It makes this so much less overwhelming!
Melissa says
Of course, I’m happy to help! Reach out anytime. I know it’s overwhelming, but I promise you will get in a rhythm!
Best,
Melissa
P says
So, it would appear the major difference in outcome is between KA and C4C and that varies a bit based on product. Have you tried adding cornstarch to KA? Several German recipes have made that recommendation for even wheat glour yo impact both flakiness and taste. Thanks for this effort and outcomes!!!
Melissa says
Hello,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write. I have some KA on hand, so I will try adding the cornstarch to my next recipe. Thank you for the idea!
Best,
Melissa
Kathy says
Can oat flour be used in place of gluten free all purpose flour?
Melissa says
Hi Kathy,
No, I wouldn’t recommend it. Oats absorb liquids a lot more than other starches, so the results would be dry and crumbly. However, I do have a resource full of oat flour recipes if you’d like to take a look!
Best,
Melissa
Val says
Hi, which gluten free flour would be good for making dumplings, pirogi and pelmeni dough, please?
Melissa says
Hi Val,
Because of the high cornstarch content, I find Cup4Cup to be the best when I have roll or shape dough. I tried several flours when testing my gluten-free gnocchi recipe and the Cup4Cup was best handling. Hope this helps!
Best,
Melissa
Marilynn says
Which is best for a bread machine with a gluten-free setting?
Melissa says
Hi Marilynn,
I’m sorry I can’t answer this with absolute certainty because I don’t have or use a bread machine. However, readers have written in that they have adapted my gluten-free bread recipe for a bread machine using Cup4Cup and King Arthur Measure-for-Measure. They had great results with both!
Best,
Melissa
Anonymous says
Hi…so my experience, particularly with chocolate cake, has been different. I’ve tried with Cup 4 Cup 3 times – and all three times the batter immediately gummed up when the hot water was added and no amount of mixing fix the issue, with same baked result. This is not an issue with King Arthur. However, Cup 4 Cup is hands down my favorite for cookies – can’t even tell the difference between gluten flours and C4C.
Melissa says
Hello,
You bring a very good point that I will add to the post. Cup4Cup contains cornstarch which makes unbaked batters more gelatinous. It is tempting to add more water to thin it out. Since GF flours don’t absorb liquids as well, adding extra water does make the baked goods gummy if they are overhydrated. The key is to not add more liquid, changing the ratio of ingredients and just bake as is. The good thing is, once baked, they turn out fabulous and the texture is completely fine!
You’re right, though, KA doesn’t have this issue and is a great option! Thanks for writing!
Best,
Melissa
Karen says
I have to agree totally with you. I’ve tried nearly every gluten free flour mix, and even though it’s more expensive, Nothing beats Cup4Cup. I have the cookie dough resting, keeping my fingers crossed for good cookies. Thanks for the recipes.
Melissa says
Hi Karen,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write. Not till I started baking with it, did I think, “being gluten free isn’t’ that bad!”
Best,
Melissa
Jen says
Hi Melissa! THANK YOU so much for sharing your comparisons. I’m a gluten-free blogger myself and I always come back to Cup4Cup again and again. I’ve done some baking experiments with my own recipes and found Cup4Cup to be the clear winner, but I really appreciate the detail you gave here – and the results of the taste test! My non-celiac husband always raves about anything I make with Cup4Cup – and this only confirms my suspicions. Thanks again!
Melissa says
Hi Jen,
Thank you so much for writing and I’m so glad you found the guide useful. I agree, my whole family doesn’t know any difference and loves anything I make with it!
Best,
Melissa
Alice says
Hi! Loved this article as my daughter and I have been testing chocolate chip cookies. She uses Bobs Red Mill, I’ve been using King Authors. My cookies are definitely thicker than hers which seem to spread out more. I was wondering if you have a good recipe for GF pancakes? Which flour would you use?
Thanks!
Melissa says
Hi Alice,
Thank you so much for writing. Ironically I just tested flours with pancakes as well. Cup 4 Cup doesn’t work as well with pancakes because the cornstarch makes the batter very thick. It’s a little tricky to spread on the skillet, but after cooking they taste fabulous! For a good marriage of ease of use and taste, I would use KA for pancakes. Typically I make the flourless pancakes on my site so I don’t have to use GF flour. If you want a traditional pancake, use this recipe, subbing in GF flour.
Best,
Melissa
Jessica Hunt says
I’ve been using Bob’s Red Mill all this time. I’m going to have to break down and pay more for the Cup 4 Cup to try it out!! Thanks for taking the time to test all of these for us!
Melissa says
It’s worth it, Jessica! You are so welcome!
Best,
Melissa
Joan says
Would like the same test to be done on regular flours.
I don’t bake gluten free things.
Melissa says
Hi Joan,
King Arthur’s regular flour is really good to use for non-gluten free things. If you have a Costco membership it is very affordable there! They also sell it at grocery stores. It’s what I use when I make my family’s sandwich bread because it’s so highly rated.
Best,
Melissa
Sandra Roberts says
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve been wanting to do what you did for a long time.
Melissa says
Happy to help Sandra! It’s my pleasure. 🙂
Best,
Melissa
Flour Farm says
Nice thorough review!
Have you tried Flour Farm Organic Gluten Free Blend yet? 😊
Melissa says
I haven’t! Where is it sold?
Karen M. says
I have used Cup4cup for a long time and by far the best! My problem with King Arthur measure for measure is it is very grainy, there regular gf flour is pretty good. Thank you for your testing!
Melissa says
Hi Karen,
I do notice a difference with KA reg gf flour, but I find it a pain to figure out how much xanthan to add each time. I just want to measure and dump like traditional recipes. While Cup 4 Cup is the best tasting, the amount of cornstarch does freak me out sometimes. The batters are very gummy and thick, but after baking, amazing!
Best,
Melissa
Carol says
Have you tried any homemade grain free flour mixes? I have had great results with my mix. Also lower in carbs and price.
Melissa says
Hi Carol,
i haven’t made any mixes yet, but have been baking a lot more with straight up almond flour. I actually prefer cookies baked with almond flour over anything right now. I have a few published on the site and you cannot tell there is almond flour in them!
Best,
Melissa
Jum says
My wife has good luck with costco’s cup for cup hluten free flour
Melissa says
The namaste brand? I have tried that before. It does bake well, but I personally didn’t care for the taste. I’m glad your wife has success with it, though!
Best,
Melissa
Karen says
Thanks for doing all the research and saving me a lot of trial and error!
Melissa says
You’re so welcome! Happy to help!
Best,
Melissa
Me says
Very subjective. I just don’t agree. I use Bobs Red milk flour and king Arthur, also pillsbury makes a gf mix that’s good. I tend to add a tablespoon or 2 of almond meal to some baked goods for the extra protein. I definitely don’t use just one type of flour. This was an ad for Cup 4 Cup brand. Sorry!
Melissa says
Hello,
I’ve been trying to get my hands on Pillsbury, but I can’t get it around here, and it has been sold out online. As soon as I can get some, I will retest with the others. Some other readers have said they have success with tweaking BRM, adding cornstarch and almond flour. I think that’s a great idea because it is more readily available and affordable. For this purpose, though, I wanted to find what worked best for a straight 1-to-1 conversion in traditional recipes.
As far as being an ad for Cup 4 Cup, yes it is the brand I use, but I was in no way compensated or have any ties to them. I wanted to see if it was truly the best, which is why I had at least 10 others blind taste test the different recipes and give their opinions. When you try the different flours side by side there is quite a difference between them.
Thanks for taking the time to write!
Best,
Melissa