This study characterized and compared 13 gluten-free (GF) flours (rice, brown rice, maize, oat, millet, teff, amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, chickpea, gram, tiger nut, and plantain) for their nutritional and functional properties. For all GF flours investigated, starch was the major component, except for gram, chickpea, and tiger nut flours with lower starch content (<45%), but higher fiber content (8.8–35.4%). The higher amount of calcium, magnesium, zinc, potassium, phosphorus, similar values for iron and lower content of sodium in gram, makes this flour a good alternative to chickpea or other GF flour to develop healthier food products. Amaranth flour had a high protein digestibility, while tiger nut and millet flours were less digestible. Gram, chickpea, quinoa, buckwheat, and oat flours fulfilled amino acids recommendation for daily adult intake showing no limiting amino acid. Total polyphenolic content and antioxidant capacity showed higher values for buckwheat, followed by quinoa and maize flours. Gram, chickpea, maize, and quinoa flours are good candidates to improve health conditions due to lower saturated fatty acid content. The findings of this study provide useful insights into GF flours and may contribute to the development of novel gluten-free products like bread, cookies, or pasta.

Hydrocolloids are important ingredients controlling the quality characteristics of the final bakery products. Hydrocolloids are frequently used in gluten-free (GF) recipes, mimicking some rheological properties of gluten, improving dough properties, delaying starch retrogradation and improving bread texture, appearance and stability. Hydrocolloids addition increases viscosity and incorporation of air into the GF dough/batter. Besides their advantages for the technological properties of the GF bread, hydrocolloids addition may impact the glycemic index (GI) of the final product, thus answering the demand of people requiring products with low GI. This review deals with the application of hydrocolloids in GF bread and pasta with a focus on their effect on dough rheology, bread hardness, specific volume, staling and GI.