What is the difference between "stabilized" brown rice flour and, say, Bob's Red Mill brand? Nuances in the ingredients for GF baking, coupled with inconsistencies in labeling, have made it hard for a newbie GF baker! I'm so glad to have my friends at King Arthur jumping in to the ring!
Sarah, brown rice flour is naturally less gritty than white, giving a better result. But since it's also ground from the whole rice kernel, complete with germ, it can have a tendency to go rancid (off flavors) quickly. A certain type of heating process stabilizes that germ, thus extending the shelf life of the flour for many months beyond what it would ordinarily be. So stabilized brown rice flour (which is more expensive) tastes better and has a better shelf life. We did lots of experimenting with this, and often received regular brown rice flour from vendors that had already started to go rancid, its shelf life is so very short (and even freezing barely slows it down); so we decided we'd better go the more expensive, better-tasting route with our brown rice flour. Hope this helps - PJH
March 2, 2010 at 10:34pm