Potato flour is a type of flour made from whole potatoes that are cooked, dried, and grounded into fine powder. It is best known for holding water, which makes it a good thickening agent, and for producing moist yeast bread.
It is also used to coat foods before frying to create a crispy texture and prevent them from being sticky.
If one doesn’t have access to potato flour, they can use many other ingredients. This article will explore some common substitutes for rice flour
Best Substitutes for Potato Flour
In this section, we are going to list ten substitutes for potato flour. Most of these have the same benefits as potato flour but some have even more. Try these ingredients if potato flour is not an option for you.
Potato Flakes
Potato flakes can be used as an exact substitute for potato flour, in the same measurements.
These flakes are essentially potato flour that hasn’t been ground fine enough to be considered flour. But, it’s the same ingredient, processed in the same manner.
If you’re dissolving or mixing the flakes into a batter or dough, you can use the flakes as is.
Corn starch
Corn starch is gluten-free, and one can use it in most of the same recipes. For example, corn starch is an effective thickener.
It is a good option when breading deep-fried foods as well. It can be used to make fried foods crunchy, just like rice flour.
Coating your food items with flour before you fry them helps retain juicy moisture inside a crisp outer crust.
Cornstarch will act much the same way as potato flour or potato starch for this type of application.
Tapioca Flour
Tapioca Flour is a great substitute for potato flour if your goal is thickening a sauce, gravy, or a pie filling. Tapioca starch is essentially flavorless.
Therefore, It won’t bring the earthy potato flavors to your dish, and won’t add any odd tastes to it.
It's pure white in color, so it won't change the color of your sauce/ gravy and it dissolves very well. It will create a nice smooth, yet thick consistency.
You will need about 1.5–2 teaspoons of tapioca flour for every 1 teaspoon of potato flour called for in the recipe.
Arrowroot
Arrowroot is a type of starch derived from rhizomes of various plants found in tropical regions.
It is used to make various dishes like biscuits, puddings, jellies, cakes, and sauces. Many kitchens across the globe use arrowroot to make fruit gels and ice creams.
It can be used as a substitute for potato starch because of its thickening properties. However, it’s much more stable through the freezing process and it actively prevents ice crystals from forming.
Even if you have potato flour, if you’re planning on freezing your dish, arrowroot is the best solution.
All-Purpose Flour
All-purpose flour is milled from hard red wheat or a blend of hard and soft wheat, typically 8:2 ratio.
It is suitable for all types of baked goods such as bread, biscuits, pizza, cookies, muffins, etc. It is also used in thickening gravies and sauces.
Due to bran removal and loss of nutrients, all-purpose flour is usually enriched with vitamins and minerals. Potato flour is added to bread to bake a moist loaf with a crisp crust and a long shelf life.
If you don’t have any potato flour on hand you can easily substitute all-purpose flour for your bread baking.
But you’ll want to add your water carefully as all-purpose flour doesn’t absorb as much moisture as potato flour.
Quinoa flour
Quinoa flour is a good alternative for potato flour when looking for gluten-free baked goods. Its high protein content makes it a good substitution for baking.
It does not retain moisture like potato flour and works best if used in combination with another all-purpose flour.
Quinoa flour is not the easiest flour to find, but organic quinoa flour works beautifully in nearly any baked good.
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes can be used to thicken a stew or soup when run out of potato flour.
Mashed potatoes have naturally more moisture than potato flour since they haven’t been dried.
But this isn’t a problem in most stews or simmer sauces, which tend to have plenty of moisture.
However, you'll have to use more mashed potatoes than you would use potato flour since flour is a concentrated form.
The mashed potatoes will thicken without drying out the dish.
Rice flour
Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour that is made from finely milled rice. It is made using the husk of rice or paddy, which is removed to obtain raw rice. This is then ground to make flour.
It’s also used as a thickening agent in recipes that are refrigerated or frozen since it inhibits liquid separation. It is a very good alternative to cakes and biscuits. It is also gluten-free and can be used to make bread.
You can use this type of flour to make rice noodles, pancakes, or to thicken soups and stews.
Wheat flour
Wheat flour can play the same role in most recipes as potato flour, but with a few adjustments.
One of potato flour’s big selling points is that it is a good absorbent. Wheat flour won’t do that, but it will rise and bake fine by adjusting the baking time.
Wheat flour won't give you a distinctive potato flavor.
The moisture may also be lacking since wheat flour doesn't hold onto water the way that potato flour would. Your baked goods won't be as moist as they would have been with potato flour.
FAQs
Potato flour, ground from peeled, dried potatoes, is a simple way for bakers to create a moist yeast bread. The starch in potatoes attracts and holds water, and helps to increase the moisture content in baked goods.
Potato flour is good, but wheat bread provides more iron and magnesium, benefiting your blood and nerve function.
You have a few starches to choose from besides potato—cornstarch, tapioca, and arrowroot—and they are pretty much interchangeable when you are baking with them.
Sometimes even dried potato flakes can be a substitute for potato starch—yes, the kind in the box that you use when you want instant mashed potatoes.
Bottom Line
Potato starch has virtually no protein, fiber, or flavor. It is used as a binding agent, and in baked goods to help retain moisture and create a soft texture.
Potato flour is more than 80% starch. Hence, if you don’t want to use potato flour, many other substances can be used that will have similar benefits.
Flour from corn, tapioca, arrowroot, tapioca, quinoa, rice, wheat, and potato flakes and mashed potatoes make great substitutes for potato flour.