What is the best gluten-free cassava flour for baking? Is it a multi-purpose flour? Is it organic? Where can you buy cassava flour?
These are some of the important questions we faced in 2016 because of a health diagnosis we received for Ash. Thankfully, we found answers with this multi-purpose cassava flour after trying gluten-free flours from multiple companies.
So in this article, we’ll get into the nitty gritty of picking the best cassava flour, how it’s made, and how to use it. We’ll also share a recipe for one of our favorite cookies made with cassava flour.
Now, if you want the short answer, we believe the best gluten-free cassava flour out there is this one from Ottos Naturals.
In fact, it’s been the only cassava flour we’ve used since we discovered it in 2016, and can honestly say it’s the best cassava flour. Ottos also has an organic cassava flour that’s available to purchase. The packaging for it has a green “organic” label on it.
Our gluten-free cassava flour journey.
In 2016, after Ash’s diagnosis of Hashimoto’s disease and celiac disease, we switched our family to a grain-free lifestyle. We started looking to replace our regular gluten-free flour with a grain-free flour and that’s when we discovered cassava flour.
Our quest after buying and trying cassava flours from multiple companies led us to Ottos Naturals gluten-free cassava flour. We didn’t want to commit to buying a big bag of Ottos because of our previous experience with cassava flour purchases, even though we were eager to try it.
So instead, we purchased the smaller 1.5-pound cassava flour bag to try it out. If you have any experience in baking with flours that don’t contain gluten, you know it can end up a crumbly mess.
However, using Ottos cassava flour changed baking for us. It acts more like a gluten flour, helping things hold together better than any other gluten-free flour we’ve tried (and we’ve tried a lot of them).
As a former baker, Ash’s standards were pretty high to meet. She found amazing success in reducing inflammation in her body by reducing the grains without compromising on taste with Ottos Naturals cassava flour.
Ottos cassava flour trial was a success for our baking needs, so naturally, we ordered more and have since upgraded to getting the 15lb bag. Even better, this cassava flour is made by a family-owned business (Ottos Naturals) that is focused on providing products for grain-free baking families and communities.
What is cassava flour made from?
People make cassava flour from a starchy root vegetable called yuca, which is full of prebiotic goodness for your gut health, besides being completely gluten and grain-free.
Traditionally, the yuca is hand peeled and sundried. Sun-drying the yuca root ferments it, resulting in sour cassava flour and potential mold growth. The dried yuca root is then milled or ground into a powder form, which is popularly known as cassava flour.
When you are looking for cassava flour to buy, ensure you know the process that is used to make it because it will affect how the cassava flour tastes.
Why Ottos makes the best cassava flour.
With all the brands out there today, it’s hard to narrow down exactly which cassava flour is the best for gluten-free and grain-free baking needs. However, the process used to make the cassava flour, and whether or not the cassava root ferments, determines the end product tastes.
Ottos Naturals do NOT leave the yuca root to ferment. Instead, they thoroughly peel and then bake it to ensure no fermenting or molding takes place in Brazil, where they harvest it. Baking the yuca root means it won’t ferment.
The texture for Ottos multi-purpose cassava flour is just like regular wheat based white flour. The taste is also similar to regular flour but with the added benefit of being non-GMO, certified Paleo, gluten-free, grain-free, AIP, and nut-free.
These are the key reasons Ottos make the best cassava flour. In fact, it’s the highest quality of premium cassava flour that has been available to purchase since 2014.
Where can you buy cassava flour from Ottos?
There are two places to purchase Ottos cassava flour, with both providing different cassava flour bag sizes and packs to choose from. Ottos also gives you the choice to do a one time purchase, or sign up for a monthly subscription that comes with more savings ($$).
Option 1
Buy Ottos cassava flour directly from their website. We prefer this one and highly recommend it because shipping is fast, customer service is great, and on some occasions, they run price promotions that will help you save money.
In addition, buying direct helps you to know that you are getting 100% gluten-free cassava flour from the company. As of this writing, shipping is free for purchases over $25.
We’ve been using Ottos Naturals for almost ten years and always buy it in bulk, directly from their website. The 15lb bag is our go to.
Click here to buy directly from Ottos Naturals
Option 2
This option is to buy from the Ottos Amazon store listing. If you search for it on Amazon, please ensure you are buying from their Amazon store and not some “other store”, so that you receive their authentic, gluten-free cassava flour product.
Again, we highly recommend buying directly from the Ottos website to avoid getting the wrong cassava flour.
How easy is it to use Ottos gluten-free cassava flour for baking?
Ottos is the best cassava flour because it’s also super easy to swap out in recipes.
If you’re weighing with a scale, 120 grams of regular wheat flour is the same for 120 grams of Ottos. If you’re using a measuring cup, 1 cup of regular flour is equal to ¾ cup of Ottos cassava flour, making it the best cassava flour for allergy free baking.
Below is an image from Ottos showing the above gluten-free cassava flour conversion information.
We’ve also found success in playing with recipes and mixing some nut flour with Ottos gluten-free cassava flour for different things, like the cookie recipe we’re sharing next.
Our grain-free molasses crinkles recipe.
One family recipe I carried with me was what we called Molasses Crinkles. A perfect cookie for holiday baking with our family.
We experimented with the recipe by using Ottos cassava flour and we were not disappointed. The kids even fought over who got to lick the spoons or bowls. Did we mention this recipe is egg-free too? And it STILL holds together because of this cassava magic goodness!
Note: We designed this recipe based on our family’s dietary needs, and you can substitute many of the ingredients for your preferred options, such as regular cane sugar for maple sugar.
Temperature: 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
⇒ ½ cup Maple sugar (not syrup).
⇒ ½ cup Maple syrup.
⇒ ¼ cup Blackstrap Molasses.
⇒ ¾ cup Palm shortening (or room temp butter).
⇒ 1 Tbs gelatin powder OR 1 egg for vegetarian option.
⇒ 1 ¼ cup (180 grams) of Ottos Naturals Cassava Flour.
⇒ ¾ cup of almond flour (tigernut flour would work for AIP and nut-free baking as it’s actually a seed, not a nut).
⇒ 1 tsp Cinnamon.
⇒ 1 tsp Ginger.
⇒ ½ tsp Ground cloves.
⇒ 2 ½ tsp Baking soda.
⇒ ½ tsp Salt.
Directions:
1. Mix the sugars, shortening, and molasses together in a mixer.
2. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl.
3. Then add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and combine. If the dough is a little crumbly, add a TBS of water at a time until it comes together. The dough will be sticky.
4. Pour onto plastic wrap and form into one dough ball. Cover completely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 mins, but an hour is better.
5. Roll into walnut sized dough balls and place on cookie sheet with space.
Optional: roll the dough balls in extra sugar before placing on the baking tray.
6. Bake 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. If needed, you can gently press down with a spatula or fork. Give them about 10 minutes to set before you move to a cooling rack.
Optional: We dust with powdered sugar, so they look even prettier!
Now, if you’re looking for more recipes with cassava flour, click here to discover more on Ottos website. There are many cassava flour recipes to choose from, with filters to narrow down what you are looking for.
However, if you rather add some convenience to your life, they have delicious grain-free cookie and brownie mixes that you can buy as well. Both are allergen free and have all the added benefits of being made with the best cassava flour.
Now:
Below are a few questions about cassava flour (and their answers) that people have asked us over the years.
Is cassava flour gluten-free?
Yes, cassava flour is gluten free because it’s made from the root of the yuca plant, which grows in the soil and never comes into contact with wheat. Unless, of course, it’s grown in the same soil as wheat. But that rarely happens.
So just as potatoes are gluten-free, the yuca roots are also gluten-free.
How to store cassava flour?
The best way to store cassava flour is in a dry container that is sealed to prevent anything from getting into it.
Is cassava the same as yuca?
Yes. They both refer to the same plant. In Africa, it’s called cassava. In Spain and Latin America, it’s called yuca.
What can you use cassava flour for?
You can use cassava flour for baking anything: cookies, brownies, pretzels, wraps, banana bread, pizza crust, crackers, muffins, biscuits, etc.
You can also use it to make foods like pancakes, tortilla, waffles, fufu, banku, AIP meals, etc. Marcus uses it with this corn flour mix to make banku, a traditional Ghanian food.
Final thoughts
If you want to try cassava flour as a grain free option because of dietary needs, allergies, gluten-free baking, and more, definitely check out Ottos cassava flour. It’s a 100% gluten-free cassava flour that is also nut-free, grain-free, GMO-free, and Paleo-friendly.
Click here to order Ottos cassava flour
We hope you found this article helpful.
P.S. Our family, even though we’ve reintroduced grains into our diet, still uses Ottos cassava flour as a staple in our household. We use it to make everything from tortillas, cakes, cookies, pasta, muffins, bread, pizza crust, pie crust—you name it!
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