I use rice flour to make Dutch Crunch Rolls.

DUTCH CRUNCH BREAD (AKA TIJGERBROOD)

Bread:
2-1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet or 1/4 oz.)
1/4 cup warm water (105-110 F.)
1 cup warm milk (105-110° F.) (nonfat is fine)
1 Tblsp. sugar
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp. salt
2-1/2 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:
1 Tblsp. active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105-110F)
1 Tblsp. sugar
1 Tblsp. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup white rice flour (not sweet rice flour)

In the bowl of an electric mixer (you can mix this by hand!), combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for about 5 minutes. Add in vegetable oil, salt and about 2 cups of flour. Using the dough hook attachment, mix at medium speed until the dough comes together. Add remaining flour a tablespoon or two at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly greased by and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal portions. Shape each into a ball (demonstrated here) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.
Combine all topping ingredients in a medium bowl and mix very well. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Once the rolls have risen a bit and the topping is ready, spread a generous layer on the rolls, trying to use all the topping in a thick coat on the top and sides. Let rise for another 20 minutes.
Bake at 375° F. for 25-30 minutes, until well browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack before eating. Store in an airtight container, if necessary.

From The Bread Bible.

I use rice flour for gluten-free baking, but it's also quite good to add to cookies you want to be crunchier. Substitute 10-20% rice flour for wheat flour in a recipe.

It's always best to mill your own flour so you have it as fresh as possible and you can easily mill your own rice flour in a Coffee/Spice Mill. Milling rice is also a good way to clean your Coffee/Spice Mill.

For baked goods use short- or medium-grain rice for making flour as long-grain rice only works well for using as a breading/dredging flour or a thickener - or if a recipe specifies long-grain rice flour. Short- or medium-grain rice work for all-purposes - they work in baked goods as well as breading/dredging flour or thickener.

There's little difference in performance and color between white and brown rice flour. White rice is a little whiter and has a smoother texture, and less flavor. White and brown rice are easily used interchangeably in any recipe.

I grind rice in a grain mill for a smaller grind than what you can get in a Coffee/Spice Mill.

For 1-cup rice flour, grind a scant 3/4-c. (3/4 c. minus 1-T.) short-grain rice or 3/4 c. long-grain rice.

White rice flour will keep longer than brown rice flour because once the bran on brown rice is broken during the milling, the oils quickly oxidize and go rancid from exposure to the air.

As for Wondra, which I think of as the sauce and gravy flour (and completely unnecessary for making a sauce or gravy), doesn't make it's way into my home because I don't use bleached flours of any kind.

Wondra has been formulated to be added to hot or cold liquids and is not as acidic as National Brand all-purpose, Southern all-purpose, or cake flours; and cake flour actually has less protein than Wondra. I mill wholegrain cake flour by using a mixture of soft white wheat and oats or spelt in a 3:1 ratio. Sift out the bran and I have a low-protein flour I could use to make even a delicate chiffon cake.

-Grainlady

I've used rice flour in shortbread - found it at a natural food co-op. The Wondra flour I used for years in a very tender roll recipe. Also used it for making gravy as it doesn't lump up at all. I don't make as much gravy as I used to.....more's the pity.

I use rice flour in mostly gluten free baking. Haven't done that for a while and these days I add a bit of rice flour into muffins to create a lighter texture. For some reasons kids love my muffins with a bit of rice flour... maybe it reminds them of cupcakes? LOL

I have never use Wondra myself so can't make any comments on that one.

Grainlady, will ground rice flour stay good for long? My Cuisinart coffee grinder is not very good in grinding grains so I must use the stone mill. If I pull out my stone mill I want to make more than just 1/2 C. :-) By the way, I've heard grinding rice with the stone mill is a good way to clean the stones too.

Al

I've also used rice flour in shortbread but didn't care for the gritty/grainy texture it gave.

I don't have Wondra but Grandma always used it for gravy and to thicken things like stew.

Annie

Pat, the roll topping looks great. And BTW, wanted to mention that the pulled pork recipe is now officially one of my all-time favorite meat recipes. I ate the leftovers until I should have been sick of it, but wasn't!

Grainlady, thank you for the info; did not know not to use long grain rice when milling the flour for use in baking.

Al, I'm going to add the rice flour to different things as I make them. I used it for half the flour in the corn fritters I made last night and we thought they were particularly tasty.

Judi

Teresa, yes, it's sad not to have gravy. :( I am very attached to mine, but don't have it so often anymore either. I've never used Wondra as a thickener; only for breading (and it's excellently crispy!), but since I have it, I may use it to thicken our next pot of stew -- Yay, Gravy!!

Judi

I use rice flour and rice bran in making flatbread (crackers) - it helps to make them very crispy. Rice flour will definitely change the texture of what you add it to.

Lars' Flatbread

Ingredients

1-1/3 cups water (lukewarm)
2 tbsp dried malt extract (or 1 tbsp sugar)
1 tbsp instant dry yeast (or one package)
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup rice bran
1/2 cup rice flour
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil (canola or grape seed)
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame seed oil
2 tsp salt
3 to 3-1/2 cups unbleached flour

Toppings:
1 egg + 1 tbsp water (for brushing on top of dough)
garlic powder
onion granules
caraway seeds
poppy seeds
sesame seeds

Pour lukewarm water into a mixer bowl and add malt extract. If you use liquid extract, you will have to double the amount and use less water. Whisk in yeast until all is dissolved. Then stir in oat bran, rice bran, and rice flour.

Allow this mixture to rest for half an hour or more, and then add the oils. You can add less oil if you want a harder cracker. Then add 2 to 2-1/2 cups flour that has been sifted with the salt, and put the bowl in the machine with the dough hook. Mix at high speed (with the splash guard on) until blended. Then add flour in small increments until the dough makes a ball that is not too sticky. Finish kneading by hand, or simply place in a bowl that is lightly greased with olive oil, and allow to rise for a couple of hours, or leave it in the refrigerator covered overnight. I let my dough rise twice.

Preheat oven to 375°. Pinch balls of dough about 2-1/2 to 3" diameter and roll the dough on a floured surface into a rectangular shape as thin as possible. Prick the dough all over with a fork or docker and brush lightly with egg wash. Dust very lightly with garlic powder and onion granules. Sprinkle caraway seeds (if desired), about two per square inch. You dont need many of these, and it is easy for them to be overpowering. Then sprinkle poppy seeds evenly over, as desired and finish with the sesame seeds. Its better not to overdo the seed toppings (especially the caraway), but I havent had a problem with the poppy seeds so far.

Pat the seeds into the dough with your fingers and then cut the dough into squares using a pizza cutter or ravioli cutter.

Transfer the dough, using a metal spatula, onto an ungreased baking sheet, and bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes, or until toasty in appearance. You will need to watch them closely towards the end, as they will burn easily, once they are done. I use a toaster oven for most of them, but sometimes I bake them in the regular oven until almost done and then finish the untoasted ones in a toaster oven at a lower temperature about 350° for 2-5 minutes. You can always toast underdone ones later.

I based this recipe on some flatbread that I bought in Sonoma. The package listed all the ingredients, and so all I had to do was to figure out the proportions - I may have made some additions of my own as well. I can buy some similar flatbread here, but it is not nearly as good as what I make or as what I got in Sonoma.

Lars

I have used Wondra to make sugar cookies but mostly I use it to thicken gravies.

I love rice flour. I love that gritty texture. I make Annie's Scottish shortbrad recipe quite often, and I always use rice flour. I buy it bulk at an Amish store near my home.

Wondra can be used to rescue a sauce or gravy that is in progress but too thin. Wondra can be added without creating lumps. It has less thickening power than AP flour, in my experience anyway, so you need to use more than you would expect.

Rice flour is good for preventing high hydration (wet) bread doughs from sticking to the table, a banneton or a peel in the final rise.

Jim