Tapioca and Potato Starch Flours

[Guest guest]

What are tapioca flour and potato starch flours and where do I buy them? I

have a box of " potato starch " at home. Is this the same thing? I'm new to this

and completely clueless.

 

steph

[Guest guest]

> What are tapioca flour and potato starch flours and where do I buy

them? I have a box of " potato starch " at home. Is this the same

thing? I'm new to this and completely clueless.

> steph

 

Hi Steph,

 

I know how you feel! I've only been cooking gluten-free for abit

over a year. Tapioca flour and potato flour and potato starch are

all different things. They can be purchased from most health food

stores. I also find them at local grocery stores that sell Bob's Red

Mill products.

 

Potato flour and potato starch are two different things (potatoes

processed in different ways).

 

HTH,

LaDonna

[Guest guest]

The company En-R-G (?) has both flours. They are great to use. Both GF and there

are also recipes on the box.

 

Can be used instead of cornstarch or flour for thickening.

 

Leilani

 

 

 

 

 

New DSL Internet Access from SBC &

 

 

[Guest guest]

>What are tapioca flour and potato starch flours and where do

I buy them? I

>have a box of " potato starch " at home. Is this the same

thing? I'm new to this

>and completely clueless. steph

If it says " potato starch " , then it is the right stuff! :-)

Just be careful that it actually says 'starch'. If it says

" potato flour " , it's a different product, much heavier. Some gf

recipes specify potato flour, but only very few that I have seen.

I get tapioca starch usually in the Chinese food section of

the grocery store. I get mine in a paper packet covered in

plastic wrap, 99 cents for 15 oz. Same thing applies to tapioca

STARCH rather than flour.

The potato starch adds lightness to gf baking, and the

tapioca starch adds body. The combination of rice, potato and

tapioca make a good, basic all-purpose sort of product. My

muffins and cakes turn out nice and light and high, just like

wheat-based products... a bit chewier maybe. :-)

I haven't found a good low-fat vegan gf bread recipe yet

though. Mostly, I just make flat-breads on a non-stick pan... 1

cup of gf whole-grain flour like buckwheat or teff mixed with

water enough to pour, heat the pan and pour about 1/4 cup of the

runny batter onto the pan, and cook until brown on the bottom

side, flip and brown. They don't rise at all... they are like

soft tortillas... but they are very tasty and can be used for gf

vegan burgers, or anywhere one would use bread. If one added

yeast to the batter, the tortillas might rise on the pan like

pita bread.

Deborah

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Steph

 

Potato flour and potato starch are not the same thing. Potato flour is much

heavier and is made in a different process than the starch. While potato starch

is usually available in the grocery store, potato flour more often than not

isn't. If you are fortunate enough to live near a larger jewish population,

your grocery may indeed carry it though as jewish cooking uses potato flour

alot.

 

Tapioca starch and tapioca flour, however, are the same thing. Confusing, isn't

it. This is made from the sap of the cassava plant and is usually available in

the chinese cooking section of most stores as it is used alot in chinese cooking

for thickening sauces.

 

I buy potato flour and tapioca starch from my local asian store because they are

cheaper though.

 

If you prefer, many companies offer these products on-line and at varying

prices. Since they are often expensive, it's best to shop around. At the

grocery, it costs me 99 cents for a pound of tapioca starch - and I am in Canada

so your price could be less depending on where you are.

 

HTH

 

BL