Almost everyone is familiar with brown rice flour and it is a very healthy ingredient that you can use in thickening sauces, frying, and baking. There are several times when you will be short of the brown type of rice flour and perhaps, you urgently need it, you could try and find an alternative for it.
There are several substitutes for the brown type of rice flour that are also gluten-free. It could be cornstarch in thickening gravies and sauces or sorghum flour in baking. You could also use potato starch or cornstarch as a replacement when using the brown type of rice flour to frying food.
This post is to help you check out the best replacement for brown type of rice flour and everything you should know about brown type of rice flour itself.
What is Brown Rice Flour and how is it Used?
It is considered gluten-free and an alternative to wheat flour. The brown type of rice flour is made up of whole-grain brown rice and it is regarded as stone-ground flour. Its nutrition constituents are better when you compare it with wheat flour. The brown type of rice flour is very rich in γ-Oryzanol, iron, vitamin B, and fiber. γ-Oryzanol is a lipid compound that is gotten from brown rice bran and it has several health benefits such as a decrease in the levels of body cholesterol. You can distinguish brown type of rice flour from other starches and flours through its distinct flavor that is slightly nutty. The color of brown type of rice flour is creamy white because it is milled with rice bran. You can also easily distinguish it from the common rice flour because the regular one has a color termed ‘paperwhite’.
You can use brown rice flour for different purposes varying from frying, baking, and to thicken sauces and gravies. Other flour types can also be used as an alternative for brown flours, likewise, you could use brown rice flours as a substitute for those other flours too. The brown type of rice flour can also be blended with some other varieties of other flours depending on your choice.
Are Brown Rice Flour and White Rice Flour Interchangeable?
White rice flour and the brown type can be interchangeably used but not in the exact amount, it is dependent on what you wish to make. The taste is different in that white rice flour has a flavor that is very mild, the brown type of rice flour tastes nutty. They also have different textures such that white rice flour is lighter with the brown being much denser.
The brown type of rice flour tends to be thicker and requires more liquid when you are baking, you will have to add extra the white type of rice flour if you are using it as an alternative for the brown type if you want to get the required consistency baking result.
The Best Brown Rice Substitute for Thickening Sauces
Use the all-purpose flour as a substitute for brown type of rice flour as a thickener for gravies and sauces if you do not mind having taking gluten. There are not too many options when you want to search for the best alternatives for the brown type of rice flour to thicken gravies and sauces. White rice flour works perfectly for this and in so many cases, it is recommended as better than the brown type of rice flour for thickening your gravies and sauces because white rice flour is more gentle on the smooth sauce textures while brown type of rice flour contains more granular that can interfere when added in a very large amount to the textures of sauces.
Cornstarch is the best alternatives you can see around for the brown type of rice flour to thicken your sauces and gravies. Cornstarch is gluten-free and will most times produce the exact result when you add to your sauce or gravy. You should note that the techniques used in thickening differ when using cornstarch as compared to rice flour.
If you want to use rice flour to thicken your sauces, you can simply sprinkle the rice flour on the sauce before you mix, but for cornstarch, you are required to have a mixture of one tablespoon of water with cornstarch that will make semi-liquid that you can add to your sauce.
Cornstarch takes a bit longer time to have an effect by changing the sauce consistency, while the brown type of rice flour works somewhat immediately, cornstarch requires some time to take effect. You will have to leave it on the heat of low or medium until the starchy flavor accompanied by cornstarch disappears.
Substitutes for Brown Rice Flour for Frying
To fry, there are several alternatives to brown type of rice flour that you can easily use. Before that, however, you should consider paying your attention to get a substitute that will be as light for coating as brown type of rice flour. Calories are fewer in your final products when using rice flour to coat food for deep frying because it will not absorb a lot of oil. There are only two conditions to have at the back of your mind when you want to select a replacement for brown type of rice flour used for coating foods that you want to fry, check them below:
- You should search for a substitute that has a flavor that is neutral because it will be a bit difficult to get a product that has the distinct nutty flavor of brown type of rice flour.
- You should look for a substitute that is gluten-free because using the normal flour that has gluten will not give you the same result as using brown type of rice flour. The normal flour tends to make the coating of the fried product quite heavy which is not the same with brown type of rice flour that is very light on coating.
The Best Substitute for Brown Rice Flour for Frying
If you do not wish to use the normal the white type of rice flour as a replacement for your brown type of rice flour when you want to fry, the best bet is starch, particularly cornstarch and potato starch. Both starches do not offer as much nutritional constituent as the brown type of rice flour, but they will outperform it by giving the fried food the needed crispy coating. The starches work exactly like brown type of rice flour in that they do not assimilate too much of oil used in frying. They are both also gluten-free just like the brown type of rice flour, this makes them perfect replacements.
Substitutes for Brown Rice Flour for Baking
If you are looking for alternatives for brown type of rice flour, you might want to consider selecting those products that are gluten-free just like brown type of rice flour which is majorly used when baking.
Alternatives products that are gluten-free just like brown rice flour include:
- Tapioca flour
- Certified gluten-free Oat flour
- Arrowroot flour
- Coconut flour
- Amaranth flour
- Almond flour
Any of the above gluten-free products can be swapped with brown type of rice flour in a proportion of 1:1.
The Best Substitute for Brown Rice Flour for Baking
Consider sorghum flour as the best substitute for the brown type of rice flour because of several reasons. The first thing is that sorghum flour just like the brown type of rice flour is gluten-free, it is very easy to estimate the proportion or ratio needed, with about a ratio of 1:1.
Why is Sorghum Flour Good for Baking?
Sorghum flour is also considered good as an alternative to wheat flour and not only brown type of rice flour because it is generally used for baking due to its benefits. It could be better than wheat flour because wheat flour is not considered gluten-free though a lot of people consider wheat flour and sorghum flour to have similar tastes. In case you are looking to bake a recipe of wheat flour that is gluten-free, you should use sorghum flour for the best result.
- Sorghum flour contains a lot of nutrients, in fact, it is very rich in products like antioxidants and it helps to reduce risks of diabetes and heart problems and also has some good properties that help to reduce the levels of high cholesterol. Sorghum flour has a high level of vitamin B3, fiber source, and several minerals including potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and calcium.
- Sorghum flour can be easily found in the store, unlike the brown type of rice flour that you will have to make at home if you need to use it. You can buy sorghum easily for use at the store. This makes your search for alternatives to brown type of rice flour very easy.
- Sorghum flour has improved structure thanks to its sufficiency in fibers and protein that give enough stability that helps hold structures of baked goods. Sorghum flour is very good at baking bread and muffins.
How to Make Brown Rice Flour at Home
All you need to get brown type of rice flour at home is to get a high powered blender and only one ingredient- brown rice. Pour the desired quantity of your brown rice inside the blender and turn the blender to the highest possible power. Be patient until everything turns to flour constituents. You could decide to make more and store it in your pantry with a container if you use the gluten-free brown type of rice flour as often as possible.
