Why Choose Alternative Flours?

Wheat flour has been the most used flour throughout much of the world for many centuries. There are many more plants that can be utilised as flour, some of which are commonly known, such as corn, rice, rye, coconut, almond and tapioca. Other traditional flours are produced only in their country of origin. Then there are the flours which are emerging due to the demand for products which meet people’s dietary needs but also to maximise the byproducts of the food industry and reduce food waste.

Celiac, ketogenic, or low carb, paleo and homegrown are all diets which have a strong emphasis on using alternative flours but for differing reasons.

Celiac avoids grains and flours which contain gluten, so no wheat, barley, rye, couscous, and semolina.

Ketogenic and low carb diets mostly avoid foods which contain carbohydrates and therefore sugars, this eliminates all grains which includes rice and oats, some seeds like quinoa, sorghum, amaranth, millet and corn, potato and other starchy root crops, and fruits which are high in sugars.

Paleo is the hunter and gatherer diet, which avoids ‘cultivated’ foods such as grains and legumes, but also all processed foods.

Then we have homegrown, where the focus is to eat mostly what you grow yourself. Some flour crops are easier to grow than others in the home garden, but in general to provide your flour needs for a year can take up a lot of room. Having a diverse range of flour crops and recipes in which to use them can spread the growing season and help maximise the use of your space. When used in baking some of these flours can go a long way especially when combined with eggs. An example is courgette or marrow flour where a cake or flat breads can be baked using only ¼ to ½ cup of flour. Making flour from the residues left over from preserving or processing is another way to maximise your crops.

Rather than growing a mass monocrop to cover your flour requirements for the year, the harvesting and processing of a range of crops can be spread throughout the year. Knowing what crops can be used and how to prepare them can offer a higher level of food security. This should be of interest to anyone who has experienced the fragility of our food chains and how quickly life can change.

Another thing to consider is traditional pretreatments such as soaking, sprouting, fermenting or nixtamalization. These are often used to make grains or seeds more readily digestible. Many foods contain antinutrients so these practices are used to reduce the impact the antinutrients have on our digestive system. Learning what antinutrients affect you can have a huge impact on your health and way of eating.

As we are low carb and aware of the impacts many foods have on us, I would have to say my favourite flour for baking is marrow flour, it is easy to grow, you always end up with a glut, and it’s easy enough to process if you have a good dehydrating system. As we are off grid this puts our solar dehydrator to good use over summer. It is also a low impact food that does not affect our digestive systems negatively.

Here is an excerpt from our handbook,

HOMEGROWN, HOMEMADE ALTERNATIVE FLOURS

Courgette or Marrow

Cucurbita pepo

A mild flavoured flour that is a great way to use up excess courgettes or marrows. Thinly slice or grate the courgette. If grating the excess moisture can be squeezed out to speed up drying time. Spread on trays and dehydrate until very dry, then grind into flour. Because of their high moisture content one large marrow will only yield about half a cup of flour. However, as it has high absorbency qualities similar to coconut flour, only a small amount of flour is needed per recipe.

Use: Breads, crepes, and baking. Can be used on its own. Gluten free.

Nutritional content: Carbohydrates 60%, protein 24%, fat 3%, high in vitamin A. Good source of vitamin C, K, B1, B6, B9, manganese, potassium, magnesium, copper and phosphorus.

Cultivation: An easy to grow summer crop, prefers fertile well drained soil.

If you would like to learn more about alternative flours,

our HOMEGROWN, HOMEMADE ALTERNATIVE FLOURS book is available HERE.

Berry and Marrow flour cake with berry icing

Low carb bread and buns