Is tapioca starch the same as tapioca flour?

The quick answer for the question is tapioca starch the same as tapioca flour is yes.

Tapioca starch / flour is a very fine white starch made from the roots of cassava plant. It is ideal as a binder for gluten-free baking and as a thickener for sauces and soups.

Tapioca starch can also be used as a substitute for corn starch, replacing 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch. In baked goods, it usually needs to be combined with other alternative wheat/gluten-free flours, although sometimes it can also be used alone.

Have you ever thought about the difference between tapioca flour and tapioca starch? I guess many of you have this doubt, but in fact, basically you can use tapioca starch anywhere in the formula to see tapioca starch, because they are the same kind.

Tapioca starch

In the US, tapioca starch and tapioca flour are the same thing. Asian-type markets and products often mark it as tapioca starch, and companies like Bob's Red Mill tend to label it as tapioca flour, but the actual product is no different, tapioca starch and tapioca flour are same. In 2018, Bob's Red Mill updated their packaging, and now both names are on its product label.

Tapioca starch/flour comes from the roots of cassava plants. The extraction process of tapioca flour is: the cells of the root tubers of the tapioca plant contain starch grains. To extract the starch, the tapioca are crushed, the starch are released from the destroyed cells, then the crushed material is sent to centrifugal sieve through pump to extract starch and separate tapioca residues, then washed out the starch slurry, remove protein, fat by hydrocyclone, after dewatering and drying process, get the finished tapioca starch. You can click cassava starch production process to get more details information about its production.

Main tapioca starch production machine from Doing Company

Tapioca/starch adds structure to gluten-free baking. It also helps to make things chewy or crispy, especially in foods such as biscuits and cakes. When used in a formula, tapioca powder can make the food thick, so tapioca flour can also be used as a thickener in sauces and gravy. Tapioca flour is a blend of many pre-made and homemade gluten-free flours.

Tapioca starch derivatives are used in many recipes such as noodles, wine chewing gum, cocktail nuts, potato chips, hot dog sausages, bread creams and instant soups and sauces, gluten-free recipes. In pastries, such as sponge cakes, used to keep the cake moist and soft. It is also occasionally used to prepare pre-packaged ground cheese. Tapioca powder can be used to thicken muffins, cakes, pancakes, soups, sauces, gravy and puddings. It can also be added as a sweetener to bread made from rice and millet flour, or as a substitute for other thickeners such as corn starch.