Flours
The bulk department at PCC has flours for all your baking needs: basics such as organic unbleached white flour, whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, and cornmeal; as well as more unusual varieties including those made from barley, brown rice, rye, spelt and buckwheat.
Look up specific varieties in our searchable bulk database. You'll also find pre-packaged sacks in the baking aisle.
Gluten-free flours: If you need or prefer to avoid wheat or all gluten, PCC has products that will allow you still to enjoy pasta, pizza, cakes, cookies and muffins without worry. We've got gluten-free mixes for everything from brownies to pizza dough to pancakes.
We also have an assortment of flours if you prefer to bake from scratch — try those made from quinoa, amaranth, garbanzos, millet, coconut, potato, sorghum, white and brown rice, or even almonds and hazelnuts. They'll add texture and variety to your favorite baking recipes, whether your diet is gluten-free or not!
Be sure to use our gluten-free database to look up products.
Here are a few unusual flours you can experiment with:
Amaranth flour
Amaranth flour is made from the seed of the Amaranth plant, which is a leafy vegetable. Amaranth seeds are very high in protein, which makes a nutritious flour for baking.
Barley flour
Barley only contains a small amount of gluten, so is rarely used alone to make bread, but blended with other flours, its nutty flavor adds dimension to cakes, biscuits, and pastries.
Brown rice flour
Packed with fiber, brown rice flour is not often used completely on its own because of its heavier nature. Try substituting it in recipes that taste good with a dense crumb, such as brownies.
Buckwheat flour
Despite its name, buckwheat is not a form of wheat, but actually a relative of rhubarb! The small seeds of the plant are ground to make flour. It has a strong nutty taste so is not generally used on its own in a recipe, but adds a nice taste to pancakes or other hearty baked goods.
Chickpea flour (also known as gram or garbanzo flour)
A flour ground from chickpeas that has a strong, nutty taste. It is not generally used on its own, and is better in savory baked goods rather than sweets.
Cornmeal
The staple ingredient in cornbread, or a nice "breading" for fish cakes or other foods you lightly fry.
Quinoa flour
Called the "mother seed" by the Incas, quinoa is an ancient grain whose seeds are ground into flour. It's delicious in many baked goods.
Rye flour
A dark, strongly-flavored flour used to make dense breads, rye has a low gluten content, but still is tasty in muffins and other light baked goods.
White rice flour
Although not as nutritious as whole-grain flours, white rice flour is gluten-free and ideal for recipes that require a light texture, such as cakes.