What Is White Rice Flour?

• While regular, off-the-shelf "all-purpose" flour typically derives from wheat or other cereal grains, white rice flour -- as its name implies -- comes from the grounds of long- or medium-grain rice. White rice flours labeled as “sweet rice flour” or “mochiko” derive from short-grain glutinous rice, the type of rice commonly dubbed “sticky rice.” Sweet rice flour has a much higher starch content than regular white rice flour or brown rice flour, which, or course, comes from brown rice.

The Rice Flour Difference

• Unlike wheat- or cereal-based all-purpose flour, white rice flour, brown rice flour and sweet rice flour are all gluten-free. Like all-purpose flour, white rice flour has thickening properties. Compared to all-purpose flour, however, white rice flour typically lends muffins a lighter, milder flavor, though it may also result in a slightly grittier texture. Stone-ground white rice flour helps alleviate this problem. Sweet rice flour -- which is better suited to stickier dishes such as mochi and noodles than it is to muffins -- lends recipes a mild, milky flavor. Muffins prepared with brown rice flour feature a heartier, subtly nutty flavor.

Subbing It Out

• For gluten-free muffin baking, stock your kitchen with a flour substitute by mixing 1 pound of white rice flour with 1/2 cup of tapioca flour. When thoroughly whisked together, this serves as an all-purpose or wheat flour substitute at a 1-to-1 ratio. You can also turn to off-the-shelf gluten-free rice flour blends. These blends typically contain a combination of rice flour, tapioca starch and potato starch, allowing you to substitute them for all-purpose flour at a 1-to-1 ratio.

Baking Suggestions

• Rice flour lends itself particularly well to certain muffin recipes. The lighter flavor of rice flour works nicely with fruit- and vegetable-based muffin flavors such as pumpkin muffins, blueberry muffins and apricot muffins. In addition to muffins, rice flour works well in cookies, breads, baked bars, dumplings and even as a coating for white meats such as fish and chicken.