Reviews you can trust.
See why.Whole-Grain Gluten-Free Flour Blends
We wanted to find a store-bought whole-grain flour blend that we could recommend as a suitable alternative to the ATK Whole-Grain Gluten-Free Flour Blend, but unfortunately we didn’t find any.
What You Need To Know
We wanted to find a store-bought whole-grain flour blend that we could recommend as a suitable alternative to the ATK Whole-Grain Gluten-Free Flour Blend, but unfortunately we didn’t find any. In fact, there are very few whole-grain blends on the market at all, never mind a brand that is widely available in supermarkets. We tracked down five whole-grain blends (mostly online) and gave them each a turn in Whole-Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies and Whole-Grain Blueberry Muffins.
We could not find a store-bought whole-grain flour blend that delivered the same earthy, “wheaty” flavor as our blend. We don’t recommend using any store-bought blends in recipes that call for our whole-grain blend.
Although all of the blends produced edible cookies and muffins (some more edible than others), none of them came close to delivering the deep, hearty, “wheaty” flavor of the ATK blend. The chart includes the five blends we tested, along with our tasting notes; note that they are listed alphabetically, not in order of preference.
Everything We Tested
Not Recommended
Our tasters were partial to the complex “nutty” and “oatmeal”-like flavors of this blend, particularly when baked into chocolate chip cookies. However, the coarse ground flaxseeds added to the mix left tasters picking their teeth long after they were done enjoying the cookies. Putting the blend to the test in our muffins resulted in “squat” blueberry muffins with a texture that tasters called “spongy,” “tough,” and “rubbery.”
The high level of millet flour (the number one ingredient in this blend) left a bitter aftertaste and produced “dense” cookies and “dry” muffins. Many tasters complained about an “odd bitterness” that masked the flavor of the baked goods, while others noted that the blend was distinctively whole-grain in flavor. The blueberry muffins fared better than the cookies, as the cookies tended to be “hard” and “crumbly.”
This flour mix had a very assertive grain flavor in muffins and cookies, which tasters found to be off-putting. In cookies tasters labeled the blend as being “bitter” and “bean-y,” while the muffins were “earthy” and had an “unpleasant grain flavor.” In terms of texture, both baked goods were notably “dry,” “crunchy,” and “dense.” Tasters noticed baked goods had a tendency to stick to their teeth after chewing.
This blend was deemed to have a superior but neutral flavor. The muffins were praised as having a “nice crumb,” while the cookies had “great chew” and a “crisp edge.” Although tasters enjoyed the texture and consistency of the baked goods, the blend lost points because it was “not very wheaty.”
Muffins and cookies made with this blend had a “dense” texture, as the baked goods “didn’t spread.” The consistency wasn’t unwelcome in cookies, which tasters called “chewy.” The muffins, however, were “dry” and “crumbly.”
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing.