I Tried Quinoa Flour!!!

Ok, so if you are one who has been following some of my posts and have read the one on Gluten-Free Flours, you will remember that I talked about seeing Quinoa Flour in the store, but hadn't tried it yet.

I tried it this week...  and here is my story.

In its raw state it has a similar texture to buckwheat flour when rubbing between your fingers, seemed about the same density, and very close in color.  The smell was not quite as strong as buckwheat, it did however have a light quinoa smell (of course, that makes sense.).

So, because it costs a little over $7 per pound here, I decided to buy just a pound and try it.  I contemplated for a few days on what I would make with this expensive ingredient.  It would have to be something that I could make with 100% quinoa flour, no other flour mixed in, to see the full results of this, and since I only had a pound it would have to be a small batch of something.  Also, it would have to be an item that, if ended up having a strong flavor, could be slathered with something to cover up any possible offensive flavor, like butter, cream cheese, frosting or a sauce.... because at that price, it was not going to be thrown away!  And I was going to have to wait to make something until I was absolutely sure on what item it would be, there were going to be no regrets with $7 at stake here!

So, yesterday, upon getting out of bed, realized (and yes, this is how my thought process went at the time)...  "I have nothing for breakfast this morning (with five hungry kids, my step-kids being here too)... gotta make something...  What is it gonna be?? What do I have?  No chocolate chips...  no baking cocoa...  no blueberries in the freezer...  Maybe I could do some sort of muffins, that don't include any of those things... nah, just muffins the other day...  Ooo apples, I have four apples!  Apple muffins??  No, just did those...  oh yeah..  Hhhhmmm, what could I put apples in for breakfast?  Oh, a coffee cake would be nice... and I will have to make a "regular" apple coffee cake, for those who are not gluten-free because the gluten-free stuff is so expensive... wait... expensive???  Hey! *light bulb moment* I will use the quinoa flour for this!  This cake has that warm vanilla sauce that I can drizzle over it, which will be great if it doesn't come out as good as I am hoping..."  And that is what I did.

I made a small batch that used all but about 3/4 of the quinoa flour that I had, just enough to mix in with the buckwheat flour in another recipe experiment later on.  The batter was a good consistency, but the flavor had a somewhat strong quinoa aftertaste.  I love quinoa, but wasn't sure that I would like it in cake form.  However, this recipe did have enough apples and sugar to probably override some of it.  Maybe cooking it would subdue the flavor some.  The cake rose nicely when baking, and held its rise while cooling.  Could this be?  It was amazing!  Sometimes the gluten-free products either won't rise because the flour is too heavy OR they may rise a little bit in the oven, but then fall a little bit as they cool and become heavy.  As I said in the "gluten-free flours" post, so far the best results have come from the buckwheat and corn flour (masa harina) combination - although not a good answer for anyone who has to avoid corn, my son luckily can have corn, so it has been good for what I have been making.  The real proof would be in the texture and flavor, of the marvelous wonder.  Cutting it, it felt very soft and tender, and, noticing a few crumbs sticking to the knife.. still moist??  Hhhmmm, so NOT like most of the other gluten-free products.  The cake was still quite warm as I was cutting it and removing it from the pan, so it was very tender.  Once the cake was plated, it looked so close to a "regular" coffee cake, and smelled delicious.  The taste was awesome!  It only had just a slight quinoa aftertaste, but it was so light and fluffy, tender and delicious.  Even at room temperature this cake stays soft and moist... WOW.

I wish that I could afford this flour to use it for everything!  I did do a little bit of price research online, and Amazon.com sells it, averaging anywhere from $4.50-$9.50 per pound, this wasn't including shipping from what I could see... sometimes you can get free shipping and if that is the case some of the brands would be a decent deal,  but I will have to continue my research on this.  I will most likely get more (small amounts at monthly intervals probably) and see how it works with other recipes.  For now this will be my "special treat" flour, or maybe my "really good gluten-free cake" flour or...  ok, I'll just stop there.

For the recipe please see post named:  "Apple Coffee Cake w/Warm Vanilla Sauce" (Coming Soon...)

Gluten-Free Flours

Buckwheat Flour

Kasha

Buckwheat Flour

Even though the name includes the word "wheat" it is not a type of wheat at all.  It is actually a seed that is in the rhubarb family.  In seed form it is referred to as "kasha" and you can find it toasted or raw, it can be cooked in boiling water and eaten as a side dish, like you would a pilaf.  I have tried this and really like it as a savory dish, not so much as a cereal.  My son did not like it at all!  In flour form it has a wonderful texture, very soft like a light or white whole wheat flour, when you touch it.  It bakes up lighter than any of the rice, potato or tapioca flours that I have tried.  Also at room temperature, the baked product is softer than when using the rice flours, which are heavy and dry at room temp.  This is one of my favorites to work with so far!  There is a light variety and a dark variety, at this point I mostly use the light since it has a milder flavor than the dark, it is more appealing to my son.  Buckwheat flour in general has a much stronger flavor than regular white all-purpose flours.  I compare it to a strong whole wheat flavor, that does come through as an undertone in many of the baked items.  My opinion is that I would rather have a little bit of the flavor with a much better textured item in relation to other gluten-free flours, that may be mostly flavorless, but produce very heavy baked items.


Masa Harina

Masa Harina (corn flour)

A delicious flour made from corn!  It is the same flour that is used to make corn tortillas.  If you have ever heard that corn has gluten in it, that is correct, however, to my understanding, it is a different type of gluten so most people who only have wheat gluten allergies can have corn gluten.  I know of a few people who have to avoid corn gluten as well as wheat gluten.  Many of the recipes posted in this blog contain a combination of buckwheat flour and masa harina.  If you are not able to have corn gluten, please do not use the masa, simply use all buckwheat.  It works just as well.  I use the masa combined with the buckwheat because the masa has a slightly sweeter flavor than the buckwheat so it seems to balance the stronger flavor of the buckwheat well.  I would not advise using all masa in a baked item without combining it with another flour.  The baked item will tend to be heavier, although it will retain some moisture.

Garbanzo Bean Flour
What I like about this flour:  It is very high in protein - a super plus when feeding an ADHD child :o), and it is great for savory applications such as pizza crust, the flavor goes especially well with it.  I would not recommend this flour for baked items simply because of the strong "beany" flavor.  Although I love garbanzo beans in general and also hummus, this flour is just a little too overwhelming in the flavor department for most of my baking.  However, I am going to try it for brownies at some point, I have heard that it works pretty good for that, but have been apprehensive about it due to the intense flavor of it.  I hate throwing out food - and wonder if that would be the outcome. I will keep you posted as I find out!

Quinoa in grain form

Quinoa Flour
Ok, so I am dying to try this flour!  I just saw it in the natural food store the other day, but didn't have enough funds that particular day.  It is a little more expensive than the buckwheat and the masa harina, but I LOVE quinoa grain itself cooked like a pilaf or made into a salad.  The quinoa grain, white or red variety, is said to be a "superfood", in that it contains complete protein, so it can substitute for meats.  Would love to hear comments from anyone who has tried this flour.  I am going to try it out soon and will post my results!

Rice, Potato, Tapioca Flours
I have found that these flours work well when combined with other flours or in a baking mix.  I don't care for the results of baked goods made with just one of these or a combination of just these three.  The flavor is ok, but the texture tends to be grainy, and the final product, when cooled to room temperature becomes very heavy and dense.  At that point, it is only good to eat if reheated, but even still, it's not quite the same as fresh.

Gluten-Free Baking Mixes and All-Purpose Flours
I do not use very many baking mixes simply because I usually have so many ingredients on hand doing everything from scratch.  Also many of them have the xanthan gum (or other gums) that I try not to use very often.  I have used "Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix" because a friend gave me a bag of it to try.  It contains rice flours, tapioca and potato starches, almond meal, buttermilk, xanthan gum, and leavening such as baking powder/soda.  This is not a mix that is acceptable for people with tree nut allergies or dairy allergies.  I did try it, and I admit that it worked pretty good.  I tried out the chocolate chip cookies that were on the back of the bag, and it was a decent product.  Still, for the price, I can make a larger variety of items out of the buckwheat and masa combination.  It would be worth the price for a special recipe that worked the best with only that mix it, or for a treat on a special occasion.

For the all-purpose flours, I have tried the "Gluten-Free King Arthur Multi-Purpose Flour" and the "Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour".  I am a King Arthur fan when it comes to their regular wheat flours, but not so with the gluten-free.  I found it to be WAY over priced, first of all, and the quality of the baked items was not so great that I was willing to keep paying the almost $8 for 24oz.  It is mainly comprised of the rice flours with potato and tapioca starches, so at room temp most baked items were very dense and solid.  The "Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour" was not a success in my book either, however I do know of a few people who use this for most of their gluten-free baking.  I found it to be overly strong tasting and still did not find that the texture was as mouth appealing as the masa or buckwheat.  This flour contains mainly potato starch, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, garbanzo bean flour and fava bean flour.  I think maybe it is the bean flours that I don't care for in this one too.  Although, like I said before, I love beans in general, but am not having good success with flavor in using their flours in sweet baked goods.

Egg Substitutes

Egg Substitute Powders

When I first found out that my son was allergic to eggs, I immediately went out and purchased the "ENER-G" brand egg replacer to use in baked products.  It works ok, but the ingredients include cellulose gum and carbohydrate gum.  I am actually trying to avoid using any of the "gums", xanthan gum included, due to the findings that it may cause problems in the digestive track over a long period of consumption.  From my understanding some people never experience adverse reactions to it, and some do.  At this point I figured it is safer for my son not to have to deal with another possible health issue.  I do use an all-purpose baking mix such as "Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix" (can be purchased on Amazon.com if you can't find it in a local store) very ocassionally and it does contain the xanthan gum.  So I am not saying that I am boycotting the stuff, just being careful of the amount that we consume.

Ground Flax Seed
The best one I have found so far is ground flax seed.  Mixing one tablespoon of the ground flax seed with three tablespoons of warm water and letting it sit for a few minutes will result in a very eggy textured mixture.  This amount is equivalent to one large egg in the use of baking.  You can also use the ground flax seed to replace xanthan gum that is in recipes if you choose to.  Usually if a recipe calls for one teaspoon of xanthan gum, one tablespoon of the dry ground flax seed will work.  If you are working with a recipe that has eggs and xanthan gum in it, simply omit the xanthan gum and just make the substitution for the eggs...  it should work beautifully!  And what's more is it is an extremely healthy addition to the recipe, where as the powdered egg substitute is mostly starches and gums...  very little nutritional benefit.  With this flax mixture you can mix a bigger batch of it (1 cup ground flax seed and 3 cups warm water, it's always a 1:3 ratio), let it sit until it looks gooey like an egg consistency and keep it in an airtight container in your refrigerator.  It will be ready to use when you need it for up to a month.  Simply use 1/4 c. of this mixture for every egg that you are substituting.  In most recipes where I have used this substitute the end product comes out very close to a product that has eggs in it.  I have also experienced that you will have a better result from this substitute if it is from the big batch method and has been in your refrigerator for at least a day or longer.

Fruit Purees
Sometimes, in addition to the flax seed substitute I will use one to two tablespoons of applesauce or prune puree to add moisture to a recipe.  I do not use them for the complete substitution, because they do not have the binding qualities that eggs and flax have, but they work amazingly well for adding moisture.  You may have used the purees before for substituting fats or a portion of the fat in a recipe in baked items, I still occasionally do this from time to time as well, depending on the recipe. 

Chia Seeds
I have not actually tried the chia seeds yet, but have heard greatness of them!  From my understanding they work the best if they are ground into a fine powder and then used in the same ratio as the ground flax seeds:  one tablespoon seed powder to three tablespoons warm water, let sit for a few minutes until the mixture is thick and gooey, equals one egg.  When I finally get around to trying these I will let you all know what I think, but would love to hear comments from anyone who has tried them.  The people who I have heard of trying them all love them!  And yes, these are the same seeds used in the famous chia pets...  who knew...?

These are all substitutes for baking, you cannot make scrambled eggs out of any of these... LOL... that is what my son asked when he first saw the box that said "egg substitute", and he was so disappointed! :o)  There may be more substitutes than these that I am not aware of yet.  If you have tried anything other than these, it would be fun to hear about it!  Please comment!

WELCOME!

Welcome to Living Free!

This is a blog to help anyone out there who may be struggling with specialty diets.  It is a challenge to change the way you eat and figure out food substitutions or answer the question: "what do I eat now?"  My son has several food allergies:  all wheat products, gluten, eggs, peanuts, yogurt, and oats, so we are experiencing this challenge first hand.  We found out about his food allergies just six months ago at ten years old, and he was so worried about what he couldn't have.  So we talked about all the things he could have and what an adventure it will be to try so many new foods and to feel better on top of it!  So we went shopping together to look at the new options and we read recipes together to see what we wanted to try next.  We have learned many new things and I have developed many new recipes and figured out some great substitutions.  I have seen my son become a new person with a new outlook on life!  It is simply amazing!

On top of all of this I have met so many people who are struggling, or know someone who is struggling, with a change in eating habits whether by necessity or by choice, and I want to share what I have learned.  I want you to be able to experience the same change in life that my son has, so, this blog is meant to help you and become a resource for you.  Here you will find recipes and substitution ideas for many allergy situations as well as vegetarian/vegan options and any other resources that I find that help us, I want to pass that along to you!  I am still learning and desire to post as I learn and as I make new things, I will share.  I hope that you will intern also share your thoughts and ideas on things that you try and figure out as well. 

So in light of living free of your allergens:  Enjoy reading, learning, cooking, and most of all EATING!