I am in the midst of whipping up two gluten-free desserts for a party tomorrow, and (not for the first time) was thinking about how gluten-free baking is more complex in part because you have a longer list of ingredients—you often have three flours plus some kind of a binder in place of wheat flour. This led me to wonder exactly how many non-wheat flours I have on hand. I did a quick survey of my pantry, and it turns out I have 15.
I’ve got:
- brown rice flour
- white rice flour
- tapioca flour
- sweet rice flour
- arrowroot powder
- potato starch
- corn starch
- coconut flour
- almond flour
- quinoa flour
- chickpea flour
- lentil flour
- buckwheat flour
- millet flour and
- sorghum flour.
That number of flours seems slightly crazy, on the face of it. However, there are many on the list I wouldn’t want to be without. Others I am planning on experimenting with and finding the perfect use for. I think I will hold 15 as my upper limit, though. Sixteen flours would clearly be over the top.
A Flour By Any Other Name 
Oops! Forgot my masa harina, or corn flour. I do have sixteen, after all.