Doves Farm Gluten Free Flour - Plain & Self Raising
Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 11:36AM 
Key points
- · A specialised blend of naturally gluten free flours
- · Blended with the addition of xantham gum to recreate the baking quality of wheat flour
- · Perfectly adaptable for any given recipe – you can use like for like measurements
- · Available in all big supermarkets and directly from Doves Farm
Taste
True baking is an art in itself but baking with gluten free flour creates an extra challenge for the home cook. There are actually a vast array of naturally gluten free flours available to buy (buckwheat, quinoa, potato, corn are but a few) the problem lies in that each flour has its own flavour, density, texture and chemical reaction. Finding the perfect blend of gluten free flour, that best mimics the manner of a natural wheat flour is both time consuming and costly. Doves Farm not only does it all for you, but they do it particularly well. Using a blend of rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat flours (with the addition of xantham gum and raising agents in the self-raising variety) this gluten free flour is a delicious and convincing gluten free alternative. Once cooked, the flavour is subtle and fairly neutral making it ideal for baking with.
Texture
In its raw form the flour is very light and a clean, crisp white. Once baked, the flour reacts in the manner of any other glutinous wheat flour and becomes fluffy and soft. I can confidently say that I have never had a bad result from using either of the Dove’s Farm blends and find them a godsend in the kitchen. With a little tweaking of the other ingredients (depending on your level of sensitivities) you can make glorious cakes, breads, sauces and puddings from them.
Cookability
The results of your cooking will always be dependent on the recipe used, your choice of other ingredients, oven temperatures, whether you are having a bad day and other variables! Although baking is a science; baking for food sensitivities can often be a trial and error experience. Whatever your level of cooking skill, you can rely on these flours to perform their job well.
I personally use Doves Farm flours for nearly all of my baking: from making the perfect roux to glossy, golden pastry, I am a big fan of this product. Doves Farm themselves say that you can use their flours in a like for like way, so adapting existing recipes becomes easy. They do recommend that you add a little extra liquid when baking. I think this comes down to your own judgement but most applies for when you are adapting an older recipe rather than following a specialised allergy-friendly one.
Ingredients
Rice, Potato, Tapioca, Maize and Buckwheat Flour (the percentages are their secret)
Availability
Doves Farm is a successful and renowned brand now so its availability is widespread. Their products are available in large numbers of supermarkets such as Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, as well in nearly all health food shops. The Doves Farm website offers a list of stockists in your region, as well as the option of buying from them online, in both small and bulk quantities. For further information:
Reader Comments (1)
Dove's Farm has some cross contamination issues with Gluten and Wheat from their other non-Gluten flours.