Gluten Free Flour Blends

One of the most overwhelming things about going gluten free is the sticker shock of gluten free mixes and gluten free flours. I remember feeling ill about buying mixes early on that did not taste as good as they ought for the price! The flours are pricey too, but much more cost effective than the mixes. The other obvious solution is to not bake...just kidding. I have not however, baked a lot in the past. I make pancakes or waffles a couple times a month and no one ever complains when I manage to pound out a loaf of bread or a batch of cookies, but it is not a daily or even weekly thing. We mostly just eat meals that are not centered around flour, and usually we don't feel like we are missing out.

I have found myself baking more now that I have a three year old. With parties to go to and events that involve desserts, I bake. We also have started entertaining more. While I have no problem with a dinner that does not involve bread, the hostess in me is sure that everyone else will wonder what is wrong with me if I don't serve hot baked goods!

I realized that I spend just under 4 bucks per pound for my favorite flour blend - ouch. A pound of flour does not go that far. So, I started hunting for ways to cut the cost. Working with my local co-op (the Eagle Rock Food Cooperative) I was able to purchase flour in bulk and saved about 66% over retail. My cost for the batch of flour I will put together this week is $1.36 per pound. I split the order with a friend and we will both end up with 25 pounds of flour. This is great because I won't have to worry too much about spoilage. 50 pounds seemed a little daunting to me - I know I can use 25 pounds long before it might go bad.

My point here is that it pays to shop around. We did a lot of online shopping to see what we could save on amazon, different online stores, as well as direct from Bob's Red Mill. I am proud to announce that my local co-op they was the best deal hands down on every flour. Many times members get great bulk deals, ours is cost plus 10%.

So -- stop into your local co-op, jump online and do a little investigative shopping. You may be surprised by how much you can save!

BTW - when we mix up all this flour, we are going to work on a GF version of Tiffany's super healthy cookies. Your kids will happily gobble up flax seed, applesauce, nuts, and healthy grains.....he he he! I will post all the details as soon as I have them.