It is no exaggeration to say that I went into a kind of mourning when I discovered I could no longer eat gluten. I had a deep feeling of loss when it came to one of my favorite foods: bread. I was a bread snob. I searched out the best bakeries, and I baked my own. I had not gone so far as to name my sourdough starter, but I made sourdough loaves and obsessed over the crumb of each batch.

When I was first coping, I tried out the gluten-free breads available at the grocery store and found them pathetic. Usually they were filled with a long list of ingredients that I didn’t entirely understand but figured probably weren’t good for anybody.

Next, I took matters into my own hands (or kitchen, to be exact) and made myself some truly awful “bread.” Now I was really discouraged. But I didn’t give up.

The world of gluten-free bread is filled with numerous flours, none of which acts exactly like that lovely glutenous wheat flour. Typically, recipes require five or six different flours to make a wheat flour substitute. Not only was I overwhelmed, it turned out that my body didn’t react well to all those other grains. Just because a flour was gluten-free didn’t make it easy to digest — I’m looking at you, sorghum flour.

 

I’ll be honest: I have yet to bake myself a truly wonderful loaf of gluten-free bread from scratch. When I do, I promise to share my secrets. I’ve found hope, however, for those carb cravings.

Since those initial disappointing loaves from the grocery store, I have had some very good gluten-free breads from small bakeries that are fighting the good fight for those of us who can’t eat gluten.

I have also had great success with making my own flatbreads. I will not claim that even the best flatbread is equal to a fresh slice of sourdough. It’s a different thing. What I will say, however, is that flatbreads can deliciously satisfy that urge for a bready carb. They are excellent plain, filled, or topped like a pizza, and they are quickbreads, not raised ones, so are far simpler for a home cook who doesn’t want to deal with the vagaries of yeast and dough temperatures and long waits for yeast to go to work.

Before we get to the recipe, however, let’s demystify some of those gluten-free flours. You are probably wondering, “Can’t I just use one of those one-to-one gluten-free blends and substitute it for wheat flour?” Yes and no. Yes, they work, but I have found the results disappointing compared to recipes that are developed to be gluten-free from the start. Also, these blends often have additives and are heavy on starches that don’t have much nutritional value. I prefer whole-food flours because I know I am getting good nutrition from them.

That said, if you just want your favorite chocolate cake to be gluten-free, I won’t argue with using a King Arthur flour blend. In my own kitchen, however, these are the flours I use regularly, and they serve me very well:

Oat flour: You can make your own by grinding oats in a food processor, but the store-bought version is finer. Oat flour has a neutral flavor and is fiber and nutrient dense. I use it with white rice and millet flours to make an “all-purpose” blend for cookies and cakes. This blend is about 1/3 each oat, sweet white rice, and millet flours.

Sweet white rice flour: This is different from plain white rice flour and brown rice flour. They are not interchangeable. Yes, your cake will still rise if you substitute a different kind of rice flour, but it will be drier and not as soft. This flour is made from “sticky rice,” the kind used to make Japanese mochi. The stickiness helps batters hold together.

Almond flour: This is purely blanched and ground almonds (if made from unblanched nuts, it is referred to as almond meal). It also has a mild flavor and is good for cakes and muffins. A mix of ½ oat flour and ½ almond flour is my go-to blend for muffins.

Millet flour: This flour is high in protein and probably adds more flavor than the others. Some liken it to cornmeal, but it can be bitter, so it is never the primary flour in any of my recipes.

Once they are opened, I keep all these flours in the fridge. This is especially important for millet flour, which has a short shelf life. There are many other gluten-free flours out there — buckwheat, corn, cassava, chickpea, tapioca, and hazelnut, to name a few — but I find I don’t use them as regularly. Then there are things like xanthan gum, psyllium husks, and a variety of starches. They can all be helpful in certain situations, but I have found that my four favorite flours have served me very well most of the time.

For my flatbread recipe, I use half oat and half sweet white rice flour, but you can play around with the ratio or replace some with up to 1/3 cup millet flour if you like. I wouldn’t suggest almond flour for these because it will make the dough crumbly and the cooked breads less “bendy.” Save it for muffins.

These flatbreads are soft and pliable, with a slight tang from the yogurt. You’ll notice this recipe makes a small batch. That’s because these breads are best eaten very fresh. I like them warm off the skillet, but if you want to dress them up, try dipping them in hot soup or an herb-spiked olive oil. Or cut them into triangles and dip them in hummus, salsa, or avocado mash.

GLUTEN FREE FLATBREADS
Makes 2 large or 4 small flatbreads

½ cup oat flour
½ cup sweet white rice flour, plus extra for dusting
2 Tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot powder
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
½ cup plain yogurt (or dairy-free yogurt)
Ghee or butter for the pan

1. In a medium bowl stir together the flours, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Add the yogurt and stir until the dough is evenly moist. If the dough seems dry, add a couple of tablespoons of cool water.
2. Cover the bowl with a cloth or wrap and let the dough sit for 15 minutes. Don’t skip this step! It helps the dough hold together when you roll it out.
3. Divide the dough into four for smaller breads or two for larger ones. Lightly dust a sheet of parchment with rice flour. Add your dough, dusting the top with more rice flour before putting a second piece of parchment on top. Gently roll the dough into an oval about 1/8-inch thick. Keep rolled and ready flatbreads under a damp dish towel to prevent them from drying out as you repeat with the rest of the dough.
4. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add ghee or butter to coat the pan. Once it’s hot, place one flatbread at a time into the skillet and cook for about two minutes on each side until golden brown spots appear. Repeat with remaining flatbreads, keeping the cooked ones wrapped in a cloth so they stay warm and pliable.