Some of the best corn flour substitutes include corn starch, rice flour, all-purpose flour, wheat flour, and potato flour. Read on to find out our top 7 picks for the best corn flour substitutes and the best ones used in baking! Simply put, corn flour is a finely-milled flour made from dried whole corn kernels.
It is considered a whole grain flour because it uses the entire corn kernel including the hull, germ, and endosperm. It is gluten-free and packed with nutrients such as fiber, protein, starch, vitamins, and minerals , and depending on the type of corn used, it may appear yellow, white, or blue. Since corn flour is made using whole dried corn kernels, it tastes similar to an ear of corn itself and has a unique sweetness balanced by an earthy flavor profile.
It has a bit of a bitter aftertaste when tasted raw and on its own; however, when used in baking, cooking, and grilling, its natural sweetness and earthy flavor come through. Like most flours, corn flour is primarily used to give structure to foods and baked goods.
It works great with binding agents such as eggs and helps provide shape to bread, muffins, waffles, pancakes, and more. Corn flour is extremely versatile and can be incorporated into several recipes. It can also be used as a thickener for sauces, soups, stews, and gravies, and works great as breading for meats and fried foods for that extra crunch. Corn flour and cornstarch are both derived from corn, are gluten-free, and are one of the most easily confused ingredients out there.
The main difference between them is that while corn flour is made using dried corn kernels, cornstarch is made using only the starchy part of the corn. Although they may look the same and have the same fine, powdery texture, cornstarch is relatively bland and flavorless as compared to corn flour.
Therefore, when using it for savory dishes, it may be a good idea to season the cornstarch before using it. As a whole, cornstarch can serve as a great substitute for corn flour but, in some dishes, they are not interchangeable and might not serve the same purpose. Corn flour makes some baked goods dense and crumble, whereas cornstarch is more commonly used as a thickening agent.
To replace 1 tablespoon of corn flour in a recipe, simply use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a little cold water to avoid clumping. Rice flour is another great substitute for corn flour that is extracted from finely ground rice until a white starchy powder is produced. It is widely used in Asian cuisine and is a staple ingredient for many soups, noodles, and even desserts.
Like corn flour, rice flour is also gluten-free and a viable option for individuals trying to avoid high-gluten foods. Rice flour works great as a thickening agent but when used as breading, it does not offer the same level of crunch as a corn flour coating. To replace 1 tablespoon of corn flour in a recipe, simply use 2 tablespoons of rice flour mixed with either hot or cold water. It will turn colorless when mixed with water and is a great option for thickening clear soups or broths.
All-purpose flour is also known as refined flour or simply flour, and is made from wheat grains after the brown covering has been removed. It is milled into a fine white powder that is highly refined and is an all-around great option for baking bread, cakes, pastries, muffins, and pancakes. It can be used both as a coating for deep frying and a thickening agent for soups and sauces. Though, the taste and texture may vary when using it as a coat for fried foods.
You will not end up with a light and crispy texture as you would when using corn flour. Instead, it may make the foods comparatively thicker and slightly chewier. Wheat flour is a nutrient-dense superfood that comes from grinding wheat into a fine powder. In addition to starch, it is loaded with protein and fiber and is a great substitute for corn flour. However, since wheat flour contains gluten, you may want to reconsider this alternative if you are looking for a gluten-free option such as corn flour.
Wheat flour is a great corn flour substitute not just for thickening foods but also for baking and cooking. When using it for other recipes, such as tortillas, use the same ratio as corn flour. Potato flour is obtained from cooking, drying, and grinding potatoes into a powdery white starch commonly used in baking and for thickening foods. Like corn flour, potato flour is also gluten-free and a great alternative for individuals with celiac disease.
However, since it contains high amounts of carbs and fats, calorie-conscious people must consume it carefully and in moderation. Another thing to note is that since potatoes absorb a lot of water, you must be a little careful when adding potato flour into your soups and gravies to make them thicker.
Add it later in the cooking process to prevent the soup or gravy from getting too thick. Excessive heat may also cause it to lose its thickening capabilities.
All starches, including cornstarch and flour, have thickening properties. They act like a sponge, absorbing liquid and expanding. They then gelatinize, firming up when they cool down. Because cornstarch is pure starch, it has twice the thickening power of flour, which is only part starch. Thus, twice as much flour is needed to achieve the same thickening as cornstarch. To thicken sauces, cornstarch is combined with cold water first, which is called a slurry.
Flour, on the other hand, is cooked with fat and made into a roux. A roux is made at the beginning of a recipe while a slurry is added toward the end. This is because the flour needs to be cooked longer to remove the floury taste; cornstarch needs a shorter cooking time and a higher heat to activate the thickening properties.
Cornstarch should not be cooked into a roux. Using flour as a thickener will make the sauce opaque and cloudy while cornstarch leaves a shiny, more translucent finish. This is a desirable feature for fruit pie fillings and certain sauces, especially in Chinese stir-fries. If a sauce is quite acidic, cornstarch won't thicken it quite as well.
This goes for sauces with tomatoes, citrus, or vinegar, or one made with eggs yolks or butter. If you use too much, a recipe including cornstarch becomes spongy when refrigerated or frozen.
Both flour and cornstarch are used to coat chicken, fish, and vegetables before deep-frying. Cornstarch typically makes for a crispier finish than flour. Cornstarch absorbs moisture from the food and expands, giving deep-fried foods a crispy coating. When the food is fried, the moisture cooks out of the cornstarch, leaving a crackly, puffy coating on the outside.
This is why most Asian fried recipes call for using cornstarch instead of flour. Flour will achieve this to some extent, but since more flour is needed to achieve the same effect, the coating will be thicker and chewier. Baking is where a complete swap won't work. A cake recipe, for example, will not turn out if cornstarch is used in the place of flour.
Baked goods rely on the proteins in the flour gluten to help create its body and texture. There are many excellent gluten-free baking recipes ; just note that cornstarch isn't the only flour or starch in most of them. Adding cornstarch to a cookie or cake recipe, however, will help to make the finished product more tender.
In fact, this homemade recipe for cake flour replaces 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour with cornstarch. This is because they absorb water and thicken a lot quicker than grain-based starches. Heating them for too long will completely break them down, causing them to lose their thickening properties.
Most cooks recommend substituting 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour. Tapioca is a processed starch flour made from the root vegetable cassava. You should substitute around 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour for each tablespoon of cornstarch. Rice flour is a powder made from finely ground rice. Rice flour can also act as a thickener in recipes, making it an effective substitute for cornstarch. It can be used with hot or cold water to make a paste, or in a roux, which is a mixture of flour and fat.
Rice flour is colorless when added to a recipe, so it can be useful for thickening clear liquids. Use double the amount of rice flour to get the same result.
Ground flaxseeds are very absorbent and form a jelly when mixed with water. That said, flaxseeds are a great source of soluble fiber, so using ground flaxseeds instead of flour can boost the fiber content of your dish 5. This should replace about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. You can combine ground flaxseeds with water and substitute the mixture for cornstarch. Glucomannan is a powdered soluble fiber derived from the roots of the konjac plant. As glucomannan is pure fiber, it contains no calories or carbs, making it a popular substitute for cornstarch for people following a low carb diet.
Most people use around a quarter of a teaspoon of glucomannan for every 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. It thickens at quite low temperatures, so mix it with a little cold water before you pour it into your food to avoid it clumping together when it hits hot liquid. Glucomannan is a soluble dietary fiber that thickens when heated with water. Psyllium husk is another type of plant-based soluble fiber. Try using small amounts of it in place of cornstarch for thickening.
This produces a gel, which is then dried and turned into a powder that you can use in your cooking. Very small amounts of xanthan gum can thicken a liquid by a large amount 9. You need to be careful not to use too much, or the liquid may become a bit slimy. Guar gum is also a vegetable gum. The outer husks of the beans are removed, and the central, starchy endosperm is collected, dried, and ground into a powder.
However, like xanthan gum, guar gum is a strong thickener.
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