I have to admit in advance that I had huge hopes for Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour. For one, Chef Lena Kwak had been nominated for the Martha Stewart Made in America Entrepreneural Awards and two, everyone that comes through Whole Foods raves about Thomas Haas using this flour in his foods, including Thomas Haas himself. So perhaps my expectations were a little too high and my review is a little harsh but, I didn't like it.
That's my initial impression about using Cup 4 Cup flour.
My first recipe with the 19.99 dollar bag of flour was our Monday morning pancakes. Off the bat it wasn't like my regular pancake batter which isn't necessarily bad. It just brought to my attention the amount of xanthum gum that was mixed in with the other ingredients to make the flour compared to the amount that I would normally add to my pancake mix with my own premade flour combo. Normally I can go cup for cup with my own premade combination of brown rice flour, arrowroot and potato starch with a teaspoon of xanthum gum and have pancake batter like Aunt Jemima's. Long story short, it did not go Cup 4 Cup in my opinion because the batter was closer to dough. The pancakes did still turn out like much thicker and fluffier pancakes and they were yummy. If I had never cooked gluten free before and Cup 4 Cup was my first flour mix I would never have known any difference, assumed that gluten free flours are thicker and still would have had a delicious pancake breakfast. With that in mind, I could go either way but since my own premade flour combo is dairy free (Cup 4 Cup contains milk powder in the mix), I definitely prefer my own over the Cup 4 Cup.
I then put it to my ultimate test of flour and used it in a pie crust. I have only one gluten free pie crust that I trust which is the Glutino Gluten Free Pantry Pie Crust which is reliable and easy to make. Not necessarily perfect. To me perfection in a pie crust would be it rolling like a pie crust and allowing me to cut and shape like a pie crust and not having a dough that needs to be pushed around in order to cover the plate. So Glutino is the closest, and also the flakiest most pastry like that I've had but still not perfect. Therefore my search continued and was my reason for trying Cup 4 Cup, in hopes of finding the best ingredients and overall pie crust recipe that I can make from scratch. Seemingly my search continues since Cup 4 Cup failed my pie crust as well.
For one, it didn't harden in an hour in the fridge. It came out floppy and soft yet fun to play with but unable to be rolled, lifted and transfered to the pie plate. It was puffy, sticky and thick. This then transfered into the cooked product. The crust was also thick and not flaky and hardened quickly making the staying power short. After a day or so, I ended up picking off the top crust and just eating the inside and bottom of the crust.
Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed with my Cup 4 Cup experience. But of course, I questioned my experience. How can a product that has seen such success be so off put by me? I googled further reviews into Cup 4 Cup and found mixed reviews. Others who were more experienced with gluten free baking also found the flour puffy and thick from the xanthum gum mixed in. Others loved it, in fact I saw a perfectly normal looking pie that had been baked with the Cup 4 Cup. I had to really search for another pie review though. Most people that loved the flour, loved it for cakes and cupcakes. I think that if I were to purchase this flour again, I would keep it for those particular types of recipes instead. The one review that stuck with me most was the overall review from Gluten Free Girl. She was very gracious about the milk powder inside the mix where I had been overly critical. I'm glad I caught the point that I too was 'grumbling' about additional allergens in the product. No, it isn't perfect for everyone but it is wonderful to have all these options for gluten free baking and cooking where none existed only a few years ago. Thanks Shauna for making such a great point about the product.
And like Shauna, I will most likely opt for my own flour mixes as I have been doing. I would consider trying Cup 4 Cup again, but the price is high and I don't like flops at such an expense. It is well worth trying if you are just new to gluten free living because it will most likely simplify life, where life had not been so simple a few years ago and specialty flours like this were available only online and in select stores. Gluten free baking has never been easier and I respect that Cup 4 Cup is an offering that is going to be the saviour in some poor Celiac's diet. XO.
