potato. not a grain, but definitely a flour.

July 6, 2010

Ahhh, summertime. We’re smack in the middle of the best of what the season has to offer — Fourth of July barbeques, lazy afternoon picnics, trips to the beach — and here at The Lab, all of that all-American dining makes us think of potato salad. Lots of creamy, white, studded-with-celery-and-black-olives potato salad. But let’s move beyond the obvious. The potato is one impressive tuber when you examine it through the lens of gluten-free baking. Pretty soon you’ll be able to see how we incorporate freshly mashed taters into our donut recipe (you’ll be glad to know the cookbook is due out later this month so you don’t have to hear us say “…when the cookbook is out…” any more), how potato flakes beef up savory waffles, how potato flour and starch create a reliable bind in baked goods, how cakes develop a degree of tenderness when potato flour or starch are just one small component of the recipe.

To start us off right, let’s spend this first post of potato month looking at the difference between potato flour and potato starch. Unlike tapioca flour and tapioca starch, they are not interchangeable ingredients. Rather:

Potato Flour
Ground from cooked, dehydrated potatoes. This flour should not be confused with potato starch flour. Potato flour has a strong potato flavor and is a heavy flour that produces a dense, moist crumb. Most commonly used in combination with other flours, like rice flour. When it is called for in a recipe it can often be replaced with potato buds or mashed potatoes. Bulk buying is not recommended as it does not have a long shelf life.

Potato Starch Flour
This is a fine, white flour made from potato starch, and has a light potato flavor which is undetectable when used in recipes. It’s one of the few alternative flours that keeps very well, provided it is stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. Great as a thickening agent in gravies, puddings and sauces and soups. Mix it with water before adding to a recipe and use about half the amount you would use of wheat flour.

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So stay tuned. Apart from the goodies you’ll find in our pending cookbook, we’ll have lots of yummy tips to share with you this month about the potato. In the meantime, go finish off that leftover potato salad from your Fourth of July party.

Filed under: flour of the month