Tapioca Flour?

How to use Tapioca Flour

Tapioca flour comes from the cassava root, dried and "milled", or powdered into flour. You can't substitute tapioca flour equally for wheat flour due to the absence of gluten and its lighter texture. Tapioca flour is often used in gluten free cooking as a thickener for pie fillings, puddings, and sauces.

For baking, mix tapioca flour with other gluten free flours and xanthan gum to replicate the properties of wheat flour.

Here is a recipe for an alternative flour using rice flour as the base. I have used this mix and it works well in most recipes.

6 cups Rice flour

1 cup Tapioca flour

2 cups potato starch

3 Tablespoons xanthan gum

Combine all ingredients well and use cup for cup substitute for wheat flour.

Tip: Store your alternative flour mixes in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

As with any baking substitute, the results will not taste exactly the same as the original recipe made with wheat flour, and for most baked goods the texture will be softer when you use Tapioca flour. Recipes that rely on gluten, such as yeast breads, may not rise as high as with wheat flour.