Knowing how to make rice flour is a handy trick and only takes about 90 seconds! You can use it gluten free baking, making fried breaded foods crispy, and more.
What is rice flour used for?
My favorite use for rice flour is in making crispy, fried and breaded items Like General Tso's Chicken (that doesn't get soggy!) or homemade Onion Rings extra crispy. Using rice flour truly makes these foods stay crispy to the last bite.
It's also used widely in gluten free baking, or as a substitute for gluten free flour in a pinch. It's perfect for making light, air and crisp textures such as delectable homemade Graham Crackers.
Gluten free flours can be less than ideal to purchase on a budget. Luckily, they can be made very easily using just one ingredient-- you guessed it: rice!
How to make it
You'll also need:
- A high powered blender, food processor or bullet style blender (like a Nutri Bullet for example, among others)
- A sifter or mesh strainer to sift out any lumps
Make the rice flour in batches of 1 cup of rice.
Pour rice grains in to the blender or processor. Pulse a few times to get the grains broken up. Then run the blender on full power for 30-60 seconds until you've achieved a fine powder.
If the powder gets hot (from friction) allow it to cool for a few minutes before running again.
Feel the rice flour between your fingers, and if it the powder feels gritty, blend longer.
Sift it
Once the consistency feels uniformly fine between the fingers, pass it through a mesh strainer or sifter. This is for good measure, to remove any hard pieces of rice that would otherwise be detectable in your recipes.
The finished rice flour can be stored in the pantry for at least one year! Not bad for a few minutes of your time, is it? (Note: brown rice flour is usually safe to store for 6 months.)
Choosing rice variety for rice flour:
Short grain: Short grain rice, like Arborio, tend to be "stickier" when cooked, making them perfect for sushi and risotto. When made into flour, this rice flour is best for recipes like Asian dumplings.
Medium grain: Medium grain rice varieties, are a popular variety of all purpose rice that works for just about anything, including homemade rice flour. You see this typical, medium starch rice served with traditional American dishes like Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole.
Extra long grain: Long grain rice, like basmati, has a thin, long grain and the lowest starch content. These grains are loose when cooked, and the individual grains don't stick together much. It is absolutely divine with dishes like Indian Butter Chicken.
Brown rice: Brown rice flour can be substituted for white rice flour for added health benefits, in just about every recipe that calls for rice flour. Keep in mind that the taste will be slightly nutty, and the texture can be coarse if not fully blended into a powder.
FAQ's
Rice flour can be used in gluten free baking, crispy breading or coatings for deep fried foods, Asian dumplings and noodles, and as a gluten free thickener for soups and stews.
No. Rice powder is much coarser, and doesn't dissolve easily in water like rice flour.
Substitute rice flour for all purpose flour directly using the same measurements but add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum per 1 cup of rice flour in baked goods.
In general, white rice flour lasts for a minimum of 1 year in the pantry, while brown rice flour will last for up to 6 months.
Recipes using rice flour...
Rice Flour
Equipment
- high powered blender (like a Nutri Bullet, Vitamix or Ninja), food processor, or grain mill
- Sifter or fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
- 1-2 cups long grain white rice can use other varieties, see recipe notes
Instructions
- Measure dry rice (1 cup) into high powered blender, food processor, or food mill.
- Pulse a few times to break up the grains of rice, and then run on high speed until powder forms (about 1 minute) that is fine and not gritty when felt between the fingers. If you have to do this a second time, for an additional minute, let the rice flour cool down for a minute if it feels hot to the touch.
- Repeat with additional rice, if desired, in one cup increments.
- Tap the rice flour through a mesh strainer to remove any hard pieces of rice that did not become powdered.
- Store in a cool pantry in a closed container for 1 year to several years (for white rice flour) or 3-6 months (for brown rice flour).
C
Great! Clearly written & straightforward directions - thank you. I will definitely be attempting this in the next few days. 👍
I will gripe, however, at this recipes cuisine labelling as "American", while it has more likely been a staple of widespread Asian culinary arts *long* before the inception of modern America. Prior to relatively recent European influences on the continent, and the associated trade networks from that uninvited occupancy, it would stand to reason that corn or other natively growing grains, not rice, were predominantly produced for flour? I'm not a horticultural historian, but it does slightly rankle that anything that could be replicated in America is labelled "American"...
Erin
Hi! Thanks for your comment! It's actually just a "catch-all" cuisine label and has more to do either surfacing the diy recipe for voice search. I totally understand what you're saying, however this recipe is also typically served up due to searches geared towards gluten free flour making, but I did want to expand the content to remind people of other ways you could use this flour such as the deep fried recipes I've linked at the bottom, in addition to Asian dumplings.