Frugal Feeds | All About Non-Grain Flours

Today we'll look at a bunch of options for adding taste, texture, nutrition and grain-free options to your baking and cooking.

Bean Flour is a flour produced from pulverized dried beans. Nutritious and versatile, it can be used in many dishes, not just for baking. For baking use up to 1/4 bean flour in place of the regular flour called for in your recipe. By adding bean flour to your grain recipes you are creating complete protein in your dishes.

Bean flour is an excellent thickener for sauces and also makes quick, creamy soups and dips. Use mild flavored beans like white beans, navy beans, and fava beans for baking, pancakes, waffles, muffins, etc. Use strong flavored beans like garbanzo, black bean, pinto bean, kidney bean, for quick soups and hearty sauces. Add bean flour to casseroles, meatloaves, patties, stews, cheese sauces. Make quick dips such as hummus, black bean dip, refried bean dip, etc. Make instant soup mixes for brown bag lunches with bean flour, boullion, dried vegetable flakes. Just add boiling water when ready to eat, stir it and let it sit for five minutes.

Commercially available bean flours include White, Garbanzo, Black and Fava Bean Flour. You can also create your own bean flours from any dried bean if you have a grain grinder and some bean and grain mills will grind them to order, just ask. With so many varieties of beans available it is possible to have a different bean every day of the month without repeat. Check out Purcell Mountain Farms  and Bob's Red Mill for products and ideas. Purcell Mountain Farms has 85 different varieties of beans available.

Cassava Flour is made from the root of the cassava plant. Also known as Tapioca Flour, Yuca Flour or Manioc Flour. It is a starchy, sweet addition to other flours in baked goods where you want a chewier texture but has no fiber nor nutrition, so only use if needed. Use where you would normally use corn starch. Tapioca flour makes your dish glossier than corn starch. It thickens quickly at low temperatures, so adjust your recipe accordingly. Unlike other starches, sauce and pudding recipes using it will remain stable when frozen.

Chestnut Flour keeps baked goods shelf stable for as long as two weeks. Low in fat it is a great replacement for other nuts and nut flours called for in your recipes. Originally used for polenta it is now used mostly for baking and desserts. Don't confuse it with Asian Water Chestnut Flour. Use one part chestnut flour to three parts flour called for in your recipe for a coarser, nuttier outcome. So if the recipe uses one cup regular flour use 1/4 cup chestnut flour and 3/4 cup regular flour.

Nut Flours are made from the remaining solids from oil pressing of nuts. Yields a drier, crumblier outcome to baked recipes. Cakes made with nut flours are tortes. Use one part nut flour to three parts flour called for in your recipe for a coarser, nuttier outcome. So if the recipe uses one cup regular flour use 1/4 cup chestnut flour and 3/4 cup regular flour.

Refer to the following chart for fat, fiber and calorie information per one ounce serving of nut meal. Your nut flour will likely have higher fiber and lower fat and calories if commercially made because commercially made nut flours are made from left over nut meal paste from when they make nut oil but if you make it from scratch you will be using whole nuts and make it into more of a paste than flour.


One Ounce of Nuts
                              protein (g)      fat (g)   carbohydrate (g)    calories
                                                                           [fiber]
Almond                        6            14              6       [4]               163
Brazil Nut                     4            18              3       [2]               186
Cashew                        5            12            12       [1]               157
Chestnut                       0              0            13       [2]                 56
Coconut                       2            18              7       [5]               187
Hazelnut                       4            18              5       [3]               178
Macadamia                  2            21              4       [2]               204
Peanut                          9           14               6       [2]              165
Pecan                           3           20               4       [3]              196
Pine Nut                       4           19               4       [1]              191
Pistachio                       6           13               8       [3]              159
Walnuts (black)            7           17               3       [2]              175
Walnuts (English)          4           18               4       [2]              185
Water Chestnut            2             1               23      [*]             103

                                (from the USDA Nutrient Database)
                                                                           *data not provided



Pea Flour is a flour produced from dried peas. When made from roasted peas it is called Peasemeal which is higher in useable protein. Pea flour is available in yellow or green pea. Pea flour can be used like bean flours and makes quick, easy soups in a matter of minutes. Simply place pea flour in a mug and add boiling liquid--water or stock, or simmered milk. Stir to free the lumps and let sit for three minutes. The more pea flour you add the thicker your recipe will be. For baking use pea flour in one to three ratio in place of the regular flour called for in your recipe. If the recipe calls for one cup of flour you can use 1/4 cup pea flour to 3/4 cup regular flour. By adding pea flour to your grain recipes you are creating complete protein in your dishes.



Potato Flour is also known as Chuño Flour and is not the same as potato starch. It is made from the whole potato, not just the starch. It is cooked, dried and then ground into flour. It can be a good thickener for dishes that simmer but once boiled it is unpalatable. In baking it can be used one to two in place of regular flour. If your recipe calls for 1 cup of flour you can replace 1/3 cup of flour with potato flour and 2/3 cup regular flour. It helps create a moist, dense crumb. Potato flour also makes nice dumplings and potato cakes. Very good in pancakes, waffles, and muffins. Add to soups, stews and casseroles.


Seed Flour is flour made from seeds. Use in the same way that you would use nut flours. Most seed flours are best thought of as flavor additions to your dishes. Use sparingly at first in baked goods. When toasted they make a nice topping to vegetable dishes.

Carob Seed (Also known as Locust Bean)
Chia Seed
Flaxseed
Hemp Seed 
Poppy Seed
Pumpkin Seed
Sesame Seed
Sunflower


Next up we will cover using non-grain flours and whole grain flours in some simple, quick recipes that you can throw together at very low cost.

Frugal Feeds | All About Grain Flours

Plain white flour is what we grew up with so it takes some time to learn all about the various flours out there. Once you get to know these flours you can add new tastes, textures, nutrients and necessary fiber to all of your baking and sauces.

Amaranth flour is a strong, sweet and nutty gluten free flour. It absorbs a lot of moisture so you'll want to use it in conjunction with milder, less moisture absorbing flours, and it isn't good to use with yeast. Use one part amaranth flour to three parts regular flours. So, if your recipe calls for one cup of flour you can use 1/4 cup amaranth and 3/4 cup of your usual flour.

Atole is also known as Blue Corn Flour. It is gluten free. Use it where you would usually use regular corn flour. Think about how the final product will be used because it can look more gray than blue, and yellow corn flour with blue corn flour makes your baked product look an odd green. Using a higher ratio of blue corn flour results in a deeper lavender color. It is a great sauce thickener. It is significantly more nutritious than the yellow variety.


Barley Flour is a sweet flour that makes breads that are more like cake and extra moist. Low in gluten it needs to be added to a flour with gluten for raised breads. Also available as Malted Barley Flour which is lightly sweet and prolongs the shelf life of your baked goods. Both are also a great thickener for your sauces. Use one part barley flour to four parts regular flour. So, if your recipe calls for one cup of flour you can use 3 1/2 tablespoons barley flour and 3/4 cup of your usual flour.

Brown Rice Flour is great, in small quantities, for adding crispness but needs to be mixed with a stickier flour. It is gluten free. Add a tablespoon to pizza dough, cracker dough, quickbreads, etc. as a thickener. Only buy small quantities or keep in an air tight jar in the fridge or it will go rancid. 

Buckwheat Flour is gluten free and is not a wheat product. It makes baked goods feel hearty while remaining fine crumbed. Buckwheat flour gives the highest level of protein in the grain flours. Use one part buckwheat flour to three parts regular flours. So, if your recipe calls for one cup of flour you can use 1/4 cup buckwheat and 3/4 cup of your usual flour.

Cake Flour is made from soft wheat flour that is low in gluten. It is not used for raised breads but for cakes and pastries. 

Corn Flour Can be processed gluten free. It is a great sauce thickener. Excellent in quick breads, like pancakes, waffles, muffins, etc or to make corn tortillas. Use it in place of corn meal in your corn bread recipe and the outcome will be closer to cake in texture. When finely ground and yellow it is Masa Harina. When coarsely ground it is Polenta. Also available as White Corn Flour which is milder tasting and white, also known as Masa Lista. Look for whole grain.

Gluten Flour is white wheat flour with added wheat protein concentrate. It makes dough rise higher. Use two tablespoons of gluten flour in place of two tablespoons of regular flour for every cup of flour called for in a recipe. Particularly useful for lightening whole grain breads.

Graham Flour is a coarsely ground whole wheat flour that gives heft, heartiness and texture to your baked goods. Use it where you would use whole wheat flour.

Kamut Flour is a rich, buttery flour with lots of protein and gluten. Adds a lovely color to the baked product. You want to mix it one part kamut flour to three parts regular flours. So, if your recipe calls for one cup of flour you can use 1/4 cup kamut and 3/4 cup of your usual flour.

Millet Flour is gluten free and adds beautiful color to your baked goods, extra nutrition and a light but unique nutty flavor. Nutritious and inexpensive it should be a part of every frugal cooks repertoire.  It creates a lightness in the baking goods so it is a great balance to heavier grain flours. Used alone it makes great flatbreads. Use millet flour to replace up to half of the regular flour in your recipe.

Oat Flour is a sweet flour that is great in plain and sweet baked goods as well as for thickening soups. Because of the antioxidants in oat flour it will prolong the shelf life of your baked goods. Use it to make non-dairy cream soups also. Add up to one half oat flour to one half regular flour.

Quinoa Flour is a lightly nutty, gluten free flour that goes well in sweet baked products and quick breads. Also one of the most nutritious grains out there. It lends a cake like quality to your breads. Add up to one half quinoa flour to one half regular flour.

Rye Flour has a strong flavor but makes baked goods more moist and dense. It doesn't rise well because it is low in gluten, so you'll want to add it to flours that have more gluten to make it lighter.You can use light rye if the flavor is too strong for you but the light rye is made by removing the nutritious germ and fibrous bran leaving you with little nutrition and fiber. Better to add small amounts to other nutritious but light flours.

Semolina Flour is the wheat flour that pasta is made from and is used for couscous.

Sorghum Flour is a gluten free, bland but sweet, light with a yellow color with bits of brown. It is generally ground coarser than white wheat flour. The outcome of your baked goods will be much drier than if you used plain white flour so you will want to add a moist flour or extra juice or oil to compensate. Use up to half sorghum in your recipe.

Spelt Flour is a great replacement for wheat in recipes. It has more protein and more moisture so you will want to reduce the liquid called for in a recipe by one quarter. If the recipe calls for one cup of milk, only add 3/4 cup of milk. Use to replace wheat in any recipe.

Stone Ground Flours are ground between huge stone disks. It creates a coarser, heavier and nuttier tasting.

Teff Flour makes nice quick breads but for yeast breads use one part teff flour to five parts wheat flour. So, if your recipe calls for one cup of flour you can use 3 1/2 tablespoons teff flour and 3/4 cup of your usual flour.

White Whole Wheat Flour is a new variety of whole wheat that is slightly sweet, light and lightly colored--although not bright white like bleached white flour. Look for hard white whole wheat for baking, and soft white whole wheat for pastry making.

Whole Wheat Flour means whole grain wheat. Look for stone ground whole wheat. It does not rise as easily as plain white flour so you may want to add a flour that helps lighten it.


These are your grain flours, next we'll look at non-grain flours.

Update about this blog.

I haven't updated this blog since last summer due to some family losses. I am now ready to blog again and I have some exciting new components that I will start adding in the next few weeks. We are still setting up the equipment, programs, etc., so come back and see us in a week or two. It's going to be fun!