Beneficial alternatives to Wheat Flour
Instead of talking about gluten-free flours we like to introduce beneficial alternatives to wheat flour.
Transitioning to a gluten-free lifestyle can be daunting, especially if you have no experience or knowledge of gluten-free living. It can be difficult to figure out what you should buy, what you can make, what you have to order, and on top of that, it can be really expensive.
I have lived a gluten-free lifestyle for several years now and have some insight as to what works for my family, and I would like to share some of my findings.
The first major thing to change when going gluten-free is flour. Most of the flour used in the United States is wheat flour–which is exactly what gluten intolerant people cannot have. This wheat flour can be found in bread, crackers, soups, sauces, pizza, protein shakes, cookies, pastries, and many more food items that you may not even know have flour in them!
So to help with the transition, we have included a list of some of our favorite foods that can be made into flour to replace the wheat flour in your diet.
Enjoy!
|
Flour |
description |
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Almond |
(Prunus amygdalus) Sweet edible nut ground may be used alone or in combination with other flours. |
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Amaranth Flour |
(Amarnathaceae) Made from the seed of the amaranth plant. It is high in protein making it a nutritious alternative. It is also known as African spinach, Chinese spinach, Indian spinach, elephant’s ear. |
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Arrowroot Flour or Pia |
(Maranta aruninacea) Flour is ground from the root of the plant and is very useful as a thickener. It does not contribute flavor. The fine powder becomes clear when it is cooked. It can substitute for corn starch. In Hawaii, Pia is best known for its fine nutritious starch, which is extracted from the round tuber, the underground root |
|
Jerusalem Artichoke |
(Cynara scolymus) Dried and ground into flour, it can be combined with rice flour for production of baked foods. |
|
Brown Rice Flour |
(Oryza sativa) Flour is milled from unpolished brown rice, so it has higher fiber content than white rice flour. It has a grainy texture and a slightly nutty taste. Due to its heavier nature, it is often used in combination with other ingredients. |
|
Buckwheat Flour |
(Fagopyrum esculetum) Flour is made from the small seeds of the plant. It has a strong nutty taste, so it needs to be combined with other ingredients to avoid it from being overpowering. It is also known as beech wheat, kasha or sarracen corn. |
|
Chestnut |
(Castanea dentate) Smooth-shelled, sweet, edible nut can be milled into flour. Does not bind well. |
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Chickpea Flour |
(Cicer arietinum) Flour has a strong nutty taste. It can be used on its own. It is also known as gram, besam or garbanzo flour. |
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Corn Meal |
(Zea mays) Ground from corn, meal is heavier than corn flour. |
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Flaxseed |
(Linum usitatissimum) Seed of ancient medicinal herbs can be ground into a meal or used in whole seed form. |
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Kudzu |
(Pueraria lobata) Roots of a leguminous Asian plant yield a starchy powdered thickener. Leaves and stems are also edible. |
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Legumes, Leguminous Plants |
This family includes peanuts, lentils, peas, soybeans, channa and chickpeas. These can be ground into flour and combined with different ingredients. |
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Potato Flour |
(Solanum tuberosum) Root vegetable yields a heavy flour with strong potato flavor |
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Potato Starch |
(Solanum tuberosum) Fine white powder has a light potato flavor that is generally undetectable in the final product |
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Quinoa Flour |
(Chenopodium quinoa) Plant belongs to the spinach and beet family. It has been used as a cereal in South American traditional products for more than 5,000 years. It is a good source of protein. |
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Sago |
(Cycas revoluta) Starch is extracted from tropical plants and pressed into flour. Can be used as a thickener. |
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Sesame |
(Sesamum indicum) Seeds can be ground into flour. |
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Sorghum Flour |
(Sorghum sp.) Flour is ground from the sorghum grain. Sorghum is an important staple in Africa and India and is generally used to make flatbreads. |
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Sweet Potato or ‘Uala |
The tuber is a carbohydrate. A good source of Vitamin A, calcium and phosphorus |
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Tapioca Flour |
(Manihot esculenta) Light, soft, fine white flour is made from the root of the cassava plant. |
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Taro Flour |
(Colocasia esculenta) Flour is processed from a starchy tropical root that is the only crop in the world with a ban against it being genetically modified. Good source of fiber, iron, vitamin B6, and vitamin E. the least allergenic of majority of food crops.
*Ancestral Taro Powder from Voyaging Foods is a certified gluten-free beneficial starch from Hawaiian varieties. |
|
White Rice Flour |
(Oryza sativa) Milled from polished white rice, it has a very bland flavor and light texture. |
*Ancestral Taro Powder
*adapted from from BakingBusiness.com; the grain-based foods information site.