Are you trying to decide whether to use rice flour or all purpose flour for a particular recipe? Or maybe you are wondering the best uses for each of these popular types of flour.
Either way, you will find the answers to the most commonly asked questions for all-purpose flour and rice flour.
Rice Flour Uses
Rice flour is a popular gluten free flour alternative used in all sorts of recipes. It’s one of my favorite gluten free flour alternatives for baking, but it’s more than just a good flour replacement.
Rice flour is highly versatile, and produces great texture while not overpowering the other flavors in your recipe.
Rice flour is a great base for making homemade pancakes, waffles, and even crepes. It produces a great texture, and you can use homemade or store bought rice flour for any breakfast recipe that calls for flour.
Rice flour is equally well suited for making gluten free breads and baked goods. It’s a great option for making everything from muffins to banana bread, and so much more.
The uses for rice flour doesn’t stop there though, it is also a great thickening agent. You can use rice flour to thicken soups, gravy and even for making a frying batter.
Related: Rice flour substitutes
All Purpose Flour Uses
All purpose flour is the most popular base for baked goods. It is perfect for making all sorts of delicious baked desserts.
It is perfect for making homemade cookies, cakes, and breads. But it is equally well suited for making great homemade pancakes, waffles, and crepes.
All purpose flour contains gluten, so it is a popular choice for things that need to rise, like sourdough bread.
All-purpose flour is quite possible the most versatile ingredient in the kitchen.
Related: All purpose flour substitute in cookies
What is the difference between rice flour and all-purpose flour
Rice flour has a grainier texture than all purpose flour but the primary difference is that rice flour is naturally gluten free, while all-purpose flour contains gluten.
What happens if you use rice flour instead of all-purpose?
When used in baked goods, rice flour will produce a final product that is denser than what you get when using all-purpose flour.
If you are okay with gluten in your recipe, you can use a half a half mixture of all-purpose flour and rice flour for an exceptional texture.
But if gluten free is the goal, the denser texture is not a deal breaker, and rice flour is an excellent baking ingredient.
When it comes to rice flour vs all-purpose flour as a thickening agent, they both provide similar results. Rice flour and all purpose flour can be used to add thickness to soups, gravies, stews, and marinades.
Related Recipe: Gluten free oatmeal cookies
How much rice flour replaces all-purpose flour
When substituting rice flour for all-purpose flour as a thickener, use a 1:1 ratio. Both of these ingredients will provide a similar amount of thickness to any type of recipe.
When replacing all-purpose flour with rice flour in baked recipes you will want to use slightly less rice flour than the amount of all purpose flour your recipe calls for.
Use about 7/8 of a cup of rice flour for each cup of all purpose flour your recipe calls for.
Related: Flour vs cornstarch
Can I substitute white rice flour for all-purpose flour
Yes, white rice flour can be used instead of all purpose flour in most recipes. When used as a thickener, it produces similar results as all purpose flour.
When used in baked goods, your final dish will have a denser texture due to the lack of gluten. But the flavor will be similar to when all purpose flour is used.
Glutinous rice flour vs all-purpose flour
As we learned above, all purpose flour produces a fuller texture when baked. Glutenous rice flour provides a denser and chewier finished product.
But both can be used for thickening and for making frying batter.
Bottom Line
All things being equal, all-purpose flour will produce a better texture in baked goods, but when it comes to gluten free flour alternatives, rice flour can’t be beat.
Both ingredients are great options for thickening and which one you use ultimately comes down to if you can have gluten in your recipe or not.