the gluten-free flour we use has no corn and no potato.
short answer: we bake gluten-free on namaste perfect flour blend. sorghum, brown rice, tapioca and arrowroot starch, white rice, and a gum. no corn. no potato. that is rarer than it sounds, because nearly every gluten-free flour on the shelf leans on one or both, and neither one is a major allergen so nobody has to put it where you can find it.
the two starches hiding in almost every gluten-free flour
pick up the two best-known 1:1 gluten-free flours and read the back.
bob's red mill 1-to-1: sweet white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum.
king arthur measure for measure: rice flour, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, cellulose, xanthan gum.
both good products. both built on potato. and across the wider category, the other default is cornstarch, which turns up in blends, in fillings, in glazes, and under names like maltodextrin that do not read as corn at all.
there is no conspiracy here. corn and potato starch are cheap, they are consistent, and they do the job gluten used to do. if you are formulating a flour to behave like wheat, they are the obvious answer.
why it matters that neither one is a major allergen
the nine major allergens under us law are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. every packaged food in the country has to declare those nine clearly, in plain words, where you can see them.
corn is not on that list. potato is not on that list.
so a corn-allergic shopper gets no bold "contains" line, no highlighted warning, nothing. they get an ingredient panel and the job of knowing that maltodextrin, dextrose, citric acid, modified food starch and "natural flavor" can all come from corn. it is genuinely exhausting, and it is why corn allergy is one of the most poorly served needs in the whole gluten-free aisle.
potato is the same story from a different direction: people avoiding nightshades, whether for an intolerance or a condition they are managing with their doctor, find potato starch in the majority of gluten-free baking and very little written about it.
we are not claiming either group is bigger than the celiac population. we are saying they have fewer options, and that the reason is a labelling rule rather than anything about the food.
what is actually in the flour we use
namaste perfect flour blend. the full ingredient list, which is short enough to print:
sorghum flour, brown rice flour, starches (tapioca and/or arrowroot), white rice flour, gums (guar and/or xanthan).
that is the whole thing. the starch job that cornstarch or potato starch normally does is handled by tapioca and arrowroot instead. both come from tropical roots, neither is a major allergen, and neither is corn or nightshade.
namaste also states the blend is free from wheat, gluten, dairy, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, shellfish, sulfites, sesame, celery, lupin, crustaceans and mustard, and that they mill it in their own dedicated allergen-free facility.
it is not the cheapest flour we could buy. it is the one that does not quietly close a door on somebody.
the part we have to say plainly
namaste's facility is dedicated. ours is not.
we mill wheat flour in our kitchen most days, for the rest of the bakery. we also keep cornstarch on the shelf, because it is in a couple of other recipes. so corn and wheat are both present in our building even though neither is in the gluten-free flour.
that means the honest version of this claim is precise rather than sweeping. the flour we buy has no corn and no potato in it, and it comes from a dedicated facility. the kitchen we bake it in is shared. both of those are true at the same time, and you deserve to hear the second one from us rather than discover it later.
if you are celiac, or if your corn allergy is the kind that reacts to trace amounts, ask us before you order. tell us what you are avoiding and we will tell you honestly what we do and do not control that week. sometimes the honest answer is that a dedicated bakery is the better call, and we will say so.
what we bake with it
the (GF) cloud nine roll is the flagship: a soft, pull-apart cinnamon roll, fully plant-based, made without any of the nine major allergens in the recipe, and now with a flour that also skips corn and potato.
the rest of the bakery spans protein, fiber, gluten-free and sugar-free, so the items genuinely differ from one another. check the claim on the item you want rather than assuming a whole lane. that is the same reason we will not put a blanket gluten-free label on the bakery: it would not be true of everything we make, and a claim that is only mostly true is worse than none.
the wider picture, including the twin cities options that beat us on certain things, is in gluten-free and vegan bakery in minneapolis. or go straight to the store.
FAQ
What gluten-free flour does tandoco use?
Namaste Foods Perfect Flour Blend. Its ingredients are sorghum flour, brown rice flour, starches (tapioca and/or arrowroot), white rice flour, and gums (guar and/or xanthan). There is no corn and no potato in it, and Namaste mills it in their own dedicated allergen-free facility.
Is your gluten-free flour corn free?
Yes. The blend contains no corn in any form: no cornstarch, no corn flour, no maltodextrin. That is unusual, because cornstarch is one of the two default starches in gluten-free baking. Note separately that tandoco does keep cornstarch in the kitchen for other recipes, so corn is present in the building even though it is not in the flour.
Is your gluten-free flour potato free?
Yes. Potato starch is the other default starch in gluten-free blends, and both of the best-known 1:1 flours use it. The Namaste blend uses tapioca and arrowroot instead, so it works for people avoiding nightshades.
Are corn and potato major allergens?
No. The nine major allergens under US law are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. Corn and potato are not on that list, which is exactly why they are so common in gluten-free baking and why nobody is required to make them easy to spot. For the people who react to them, that is the whole problem.
Is tandoco safe for celiac disease?
tandoco is not a dedicated gluten-free facility. The kitchen mills wheat flour most days, so cross-contact is a real risk and tandoco will not claim otherwise. The flour arrives from a dedicated facility; the building it is baked in is shared. Anyone managing celiac disease should ask about the specific item and current protocols, and may prefer a dedicated gluten-free bakery.
What do you bake with this flour?
The (GF) cloud nine roll is the flagship: a soft, pull-apart cinnamon roll that is fully plant-based and made without any of the nine major allergens in the recipe. Check each product page for its own claim, because tandoco is a wellness bakery spanning protein, fiber, gluten-free and sugar-free lanes and the items differ.