Q & A: Gluten Free Roux Options
I received this email today and thought it was a perfect way to get back to writing. I've been very busy with custom cakes and cookies but no matter how busy I am, I will always take some time to help answer questions about gluten free and allergy friendly food preparation.
"Hi Stacy,I was in Williams-Sonoma yesterday up on 59th St in NYC and they gave me your name as a great gluten free reference.My question is this:What is the best substitute for flour when thickening a white wine sauce?? Rice flour? Potato flour?I am having a party this Xmas and several people are gluten sensitive. I want to make Julia Child's Coquille Saint Jacque which uses a classic thick french white wine sauce, presumably very delicate since it is for light white fish and scallops. She makes a roux with butter and then adds the liquid. What is the best way to replicate this gluten-free?? I'd be OK with mixing flour in liquid rather than doing the roux...I don't want to use corn starch-- too weird a texture for this recipe, and want the thickener to be very taste-neutral. I do want to make the sauce thick enough to keep it from running all over the plate. ( will reduce the liquid a lot to help, but it will still need quite a lot of thickening). I would normally put this dish in individual ramekins but can't do it for this party--too many people and buffet style."
I'm so glad they gave you my information. You have several options and I will try to list the pros and cons of each. I could give you a quick answer, but I think it's important to give a little background as well as answer this question.
First, understand there are several ways to thicken liquids but for the purpose of this answer I'm going to lump them into two categories: starches and flours.
Starches:
All starches work by absorbing water (or other cooking liquids) into individual starch grains. The amount of liquid the particular starch is able to absorb and how concentrated the starch grains are in the liquid affect the thickness of the final dish. Popular substitute starches are Kuzu and Arrowroot.
You mentioned cornstarch which is highly refined and widely used in many cuisines. It can get quite gelatinous when it sits - but it's inexpensive, easy to obtain and almost everyone has it in their kitchen. It's biggest drawback, it doesn't reheat or hold well.
Arrowroot, arrowroot flour and arrowroot powder are the same ingredient. Arrowroot is derived from the starch of a plant native to the West Indies. It is highly digestible, natural and far less refined than corn starch. Like all starches it needs to used as a slurry as opposed to a roux. Slurries are added to cool liquids and stirred continuously but not vigorously. How long it's cooked is important; cook only to or just a few seconds past the boil or it will break down and thin.
Kuzu, pronounced kudzu, is the root of a plant that has long been considered soothing to digestive and circulatory systems. Kuzu is not cheap but you need very little in any given recipe. If you go this way read the label, cheaper products are sometimes mixed with potato flour and that's not what you want for this application. Kuzu MUST be cooked 1 to 2 minutes after the boil is reached to stabilize the starch but you need not worry about the stirring issues. With both kuzu and arrowroot the mixture will thicken and become clear.
Before I go into the flours - let's talk potato. This is where the designation of flour vs starch makes a difference. Potato starch and potato flour are worlds apart.
Potato starch can be found in any supermarket in the kosher section. It is a straight substitution for corn starch. It is very fine with a bland taste and works great for cream based sauces or soups. Use the slurry method and use about 1/2 the amount you would of a wheat based flour.
Potato flour is not the starch of the potato but the potato itself. Think instant potato flakes after a few pulses in a blender. It is a heavy flour with a definite potato flavor. It is not used very often and when it's called for in GF baking can be substituted with instant pulsed in the blender I like this for thickening traditional Irish stew.
The other ingredient that can get confusing is corn which is sold as a starch, flour and meal - all with different properties.
Flours:
There are many gluten free flours and they have very different properties. I won't go into all of the choices - that would require something that reads more like a book than an answer to your question.
The tricky part about GF cooking and baking is that no single flour substitutes for wheat based flour. You'll see that GF baking requires a blend of flours. I've spent years learning all the ways to combine them to get the results I want - often getting results that are better than standard wheat based flours.
Since you don't do GF often - the simplest answer is to pick up one of the commercially prepared gluten free all purpose flour mixes. The easiest to find is Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour, sold in 22-ounce packages. You can use that as a straight substitute. The issue for me is that the flours used in this mix can be difficult for some to digest and they strong flavored lending themselves better for a roux supporting stronger flavors such as in a gumbo. The technique for making a GF roux is simular but since there is no gluten the roux will behave very differently as it cooks. There is a good video that will show the differences while cooking. I'm including the video in this post. I personally like the GF mix called for in the video. Sweet rice flour and sorghum - both also readily available in most health food stores.
Glutinous rice flour--also known as Sweet Rice Flour--is used in many Asian cuisines to make sweets, buns and pastries. Contrary to its name, it does not actually contain gluten, making it safe for people with celiac disease. Sweet rice flour is made from short-grain sticky rice. The rice is polished and ground to a fine white powder. When cooked, glutinous rice flour becomes sticky and chewy. The moistness and elastic properties allow it to be shaped easily. The rice flour has a very mild, slightly sweet taste. This is a very versatile ingredient; it can be used as a thickener, dough or binder. It is commonly used to make mochi, a type of sweet rice cake often eaten in Japan. On it's own it wouldn't work well, BUT mixed with another GF flour, I think it is the way to go.
Sorghum, originating in Africa, is one of the top five cereal crops in the world. Since sorghum flour is neutral in flavor, it is a popular ingredient in many foods, as it takes on the flavor of whatever it is cooked with. It is very high in iron, fiber and protein, making it one of the healthier options for those who have a gluten intolerance.
I hope this helps! If you have any further questions just leave a comment.
Bon Appétit,
Stacy
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