What can I substitute for rice flour? Can I replace it with wheat flour?

Content

1 Rice flour and its characteristics
2 Can rice flour be substituted with wheat flour?
3 Alternative types of flour
4 Flour for diabetics
5 Can rice flour be substituted in mochi?
6 Rice Flour Recipe (Flour for Mochi, Dango, Tteokbokki)

Rice flour is an ingredient found in many modern recipes. Beginning cooks often wonder what they can substitute for rice flour in a particular dish, and whether it can be substituted for wheat flour at all.

Rice flour and its characteristics

Rice flour is a dietary, gluten-free product obtained by finely grinding rice grains. Rice flour is inextricably linked with Japanese culinary traditions, just like the famous kimchi cabbage.

Depending on the characteristics of the raw materials, a distinction is made between:

white flour (from polished white rice grains);
brown (from brown rice varieties).

To understand why this ingredient has become so popular in recent years, we suggest taking a closer look at how rice flour differs from wheat flour (obtained by grinding wheat grains).

Most people prefer to use rice flour in baking and various other recipes due to the following properties of the product:

the absence of gluten, which makes rice flour an ideal product for healthy recipes, as well as dishes for people with gluten intolerance;
starch content is about 80%, which ensures the elasticity of the dough and the formation of a crispy crust;
absence of foreign taste and aroma;
high content of beneficial vitamins and microelements;
low calorie content (260 kcal per 100 g, compared to 380 kcal in wheat), which makes the product ideal for people losing weight on a diet;
hypoallergenic.

Rice flour has proven itself to be excellent in casseroles, cheesecakes, pancakes, fritters, and also in the preparation of various desserts, including the famous Japanese cakes Mochi (Mote, Mochi) and Dango, and the Korean dish Tteokbokki.

Important! Rice flour has a very high GI (95), so dishes made with rice flour are prohibited for diabetics.

Can rice flour be substituted with wheat flour?

When considering whether rice flour can be substituted for regular flour, it's important to consider that the product differs significantly in at least two important respects:

Gluten free makes it almost impossible to prepare yeast dough using only rice flour (rice dough turns out heavy and tough, while wheat dough turns out loose and fluffy).
High hygroscopicity (ability to absorb more moisture) sometimes results in rice flour-based dishes becoming dry.

Can rice flour be replaced with wheat flour?

If you want to try replacing rice flour with regular flour in a recipe, use a ratio of 5:4 (if the recipe calls for 120 g of rice flour, you need to use 150 g of wheat flour).

It is also worth understanding that there will be a difference in:

the texture of the dough itself (the dough will be more porous);
consistency (the dough will be softer and more fluid);
the taste of the dish (wheat flour has a characteristic flavor that not everyone likes in desserts);
calorie content (this option is definitely not suitable for a weight loss period).

Alternative types of flour

Today, culinary professionals use flours from various grains, including nut flours. Many recipes allow for substitutions between flours, but sometimes differences in their physical and chemical properties play a significant role, making it impossible to create the same dish using a different flour.

To understand the differences between the most popular types of flour, let's create a comparison table:

Flour	GI	Caloric content	Gluten	Squirrels	Fats	Carbohydrates
Rice	95	260 kcal	—	6	1.5	85
Wheat	45	302-380 kcal	+	11-13	1.4-1.5	58-70
Rye	45	295 kcal	+	12	2	35
Oatmeal	45	375 kcal	+/-	12	6	60
Barley	25	300 kcal	+	9	1	60
Buckwheat	40	350 kcal	—	13.8	1	72
Linen	35	272 kcal	—	36	10	5
Pea	35	296 kcal	—	1.9	20	65
Corn	70	325 kcal	—	7	2	76
Coconut	35	456 kcal	—	20	15	60
Almond	25	590 kcal	—	53	21	6
Amaranth	25	374 kcal	—	4	20	65
Chickpea	35	337 kcal	—	2.9	10.9	66
Spelt	45	361 kcal	+ (little)	2.4	17	67.9
Sunflower	35	494 kcal	—	29.6	39.1	18.4
Soy	25	298 kcal	—	8	49	22
Spelt	45	318 kcal	+	1.5	12.9	63.3

For more information on the differences between each type of flour and where it is used, watch this video:

Flour for diabetics

As you can see from the table above, people with diabetes should not eat foods made from rice, wheat, corn, or spelt flour, which have a high glycemic index and can cause a sharp spike in blood sugar.

For more detailed information on how to replace rice flour in diabetic dishes, watch this video:

Can rice flour be substituted in mochi?

Important! Glutinous rice flour is a key ingredient in recipes for all types of well-known Japanese pastries, so don't look for a substitute for rice flour in mochi; any other type of flour won't work (for example, in the recipe for the famous mochi, the Japanese dish dango, and also topkokki).