# Using gluten free flour to make soft cakes



## aaron_mky (Jun 18, 2015)

Hi All

I have been making chiffon cakes for the past few years and experimenting with different types of flour. In the UK our flour is quite strong so we do not have low gluten/protein type such as cake flour or bleached white flour (aka hong kong flour)

I have tried making my own cake flour by adding corn flour and self raising flour together but again corn flour does have a high protein level.

Anyway, my main question is if I buy gluten free flour, would this make my chiffon cake super super soft, or does the cake require some type of gluten/protein for structure?

Thank you all

Aaron


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## bakechef (Jun 21, 2015)

I would definitely say that you need some gluten for structure.  You could probably use plain flour and make sure that you mix just until combined so that you don't develop the gluten.  Then just fold in the egg white mixture.  

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## Breathing Couch (Jun 21, 2015)

I do some GF baking and only use specific GF recipes.


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## dcSaute (Jun 21, 2015)

here's an extract from my notes that may help

In Britain, many flours go by names different than those from America. Some American flours and British equivalents include:

    * Cake and pastry flour = soft flour
    * All-purpose flour = plain flour
    * Bread flour = strong flour, hard flour
    * Self-rising flour = self-raising flour
    * Whole-wheat flour = wholemeal flour

In some markets, the different available flour varieties are labeled according to the ash mass ("mineral content") that remains after a sample was incinerated in a laboratory oven (typically at 550 °C or 900 °C, see international standards ISO 2171 and ICC 104/1). 

Ash     Protein     Wheat flour type
                .......................US                     .............German     ....French
~0.4%     ~9% ...    pastry flour......          405.....     45
~0.55%     ~11%     all-purpose flour     550 ...    55
~0.8%     ~14%     ..high gluten flour     812 ...    80
~1%     ~15%     .....first clear flour.     1050...     110
>1.5%     ~13%     ..white whole wheat     1600...     150


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