Potato flour is exactly what is sounds like, baking flour produced by potato products. Usually an alternative to wheat flour, potatoes can make an all purpose flour and wheat flour alternative perfect for baking alongside instant yeast, sugar, unsalted butter, and your usual baking arrangements.
Is potato flour gluten free? Yes! This white powder contains no gluten protein when homemade, but be careful when purchasing from a store. Just like many other naturally free from gluten products, the manufacturing, packaging, or shipping process may result in cross contamination.
Cross contamination can occur in many potato based products. While raw potatoes are gluten free, potato flakes (instant mash potatoes powder), potato chips, and potato bread can all be contaminated. This is why we always recommend gluten free baking at home for safety.
Find out here Are Sweet Potatoes Gluten Free?
If you have a gluten intolerance, this flour is perfect for a variety of gluten free breads. With dry yeast, you can swap potato flour into all manner of bread recipes for gluten free potato bread. This flour blend will lead to a moist yeast bread, if combined with warm water and sugar.
What is Potato Flour?
Made of dehydrated potatoes which are then ground into a powder, potato flour is a gluten free alternative flour used in baking. In gluten free recipes, flour is often substituted for other binding agents such as xanthan gum. However, this flour removes the need of specialist xanthan gum or similar products.
Often confused with potato starch used in cooking for pie fillings and sauces, potato flour has as great a shelf life as any flour. Clocking in between three and four years, you won’t need to grab the plastic wrap to make sure this product doesn’t go bad from a lack of use.
Check out this article if you can use it as alternative, Is Rye Flour Gluten Free?
Is Potato Starch the Same as Flour?
Starch in baking is less common than flour, and the role of potato starch is usually reserved for cooking foods. Regular potato starch can be used as a thickening agent in sauces, or as an ideal coating when frying different foods.
Potato flour however is the baker’s choice. Biscuits and cakes can be difficult due to the very distinct flavors of these vegetables, but for breads and more savory bakes then the flour blend is ideal. Less ideal, however, for cooking.
Resistant starch also provides good bacteria for your gut, promoting digestive health. Still, if you are worried there are also alternatives to regular potato starch that will fulfill much the same role of potato starch in your cooking and frying.
Sweet potato starch, made of yams, one of these alternatives to potato starch. While still vegetable based, the flavor is entirely different and can’t be compared reasonably with regular potatos. Sweet potato starch is more of an aquired taste, as not everyone likes the taste of yams. You may also try arrowroot powder from South America.
If sweet potato starch isn’t for you, try tapioca starch. Popular in Asia, you must be careful using this type of starch. A tablespoon of potato starch may need additional tapioca starch instead. This is because its not generally as potent, so additional tapioca starch is important when being used as alternatives to potato starch.
If you don’t want to be adding additional tapioca starch (or getting starch from South America) and instead want a replacement for tapioca starch, then corn starch is a very popular choice. Corn starch is the go to thickening agent is many of your favorite foods, including sweet and sour sauce from your Chinese takeout.
Corn starch is an ideal replacement for tapioca starch, as it is very powerful with a very mild flavor. This means that corn starch can easily be masked in the flavors of your cooking, which you actually want to bring out. Potatoes and the additional tapioca starch however, may end up mixing into the taste profile of your dish. Learn more here Is Cornstarch Vegan?
Are Potatoes Gluten Free?
A common ingredient, potatoes are gluten free vegetables. This dry ingredient pairs well with all kinds of recipes, and is filled with protein and carbohydrates. This promote a feeling of fullness, meaning that the dry ingredient can be a great way to lose weight if you cook it correctly.
Plain potatoes or a loaf of potato bread, both use the dry ingredient in different ways. Plain potatoes can become baked potatoes, but if you want to use spuds to lose weight then avoid frying them in excessive amounts of oil.
Although naturally gluten free, make sure to check the actual product packaging of potato products and produce. Actual product packaging will warn about potential corss contamination of food allergen content, as they are required to by law.
Learn more here Are Potato Chips Vegan?
Other Gluten Free Alternative Flours
You can find an alternative all purpose flour rather easily in the modern world, thanks to the greater focus on helping those with food allergies enjoy their daily diet. A gluten free diet needing gluten free flour is just one of these accomodations.
Of the gluten free flours available, rice flour is a popular choice. Rice flour, much like wheat and barley based flours, are still produced by a grain. However, these other cereal grains have a protein content which can be up to eighty percent gluten!
So if you need a good quality gluten free all purpose flour blend, then rice flour is the choice for you. It is a reliable option for the avid home baker, and will ensure your baking time progresses smoothly. So why not try to fit it into your favorite recipe?
While an oat flour blend contains gluten, you can easily swap gluten flour with potato flour. Alternatively, try corn flour! Corn flour is also a grain, called maize, which contains no glutn compared to the cereal grains which make the popular flour in yeast recipes.
You can use potato or corn flour in yeast recipes, helping you to enjoy bread products without the upset intestines and stomach. Corn flour does not have the same earthy flavor of potatoes however, so if you were looking for a loaf of potato bread then stick to the other flour.
Read more this article Is Corn Flour Gluten Free
Bread products can be difficult to make, but the common sale of breadmaker yeast and gluten free flours means you can easily make a free from gluten yeast bread dough at home. Gluten free potato steamed bread can have a surprisingly sweet flavor from the sugar, compared to the sole potato flavor of potato flakes and use of starch in baking.
Health Benefits of Potato Flour
Potatoes are a great source of dietary fiber, helping your bowel movements and digestive health. Mashed potatoes, potato dough, potato rolls, and of course potato flour will be good sources of fiber for you in your diet.
Lesser known nutrition facts about potatoes are that they are great for heart disease. Protein and carbs in this super spud make for great nutrition advice for people with celiac disease, or enjoying a plan-based diet.
Gluten free breads using potato flour can therefore be a good preventive measure against heart disease, as well as the other nutrition facts about the potatoes as a source of fiber and key energy sources for you body.
If you have a health condition, the health benefits of potatoes and their flour can be great and you need not worry about your existing health condition when eating them. Thanks to a soluble fiber content, and it’s function as a binding agent.
Hey'all I'm Amy, a born foodie and diagnosed with celiac disease 7 years ago. I refused to cave into tasteless, boring gulten free food and create my own!
On my blog you'll find info & cool facts along with recipes, all on gluten free foods!