Thursday, January 06, 2011

Gluten-Free Flour Tip

I mentioned in my last post about using corn flour (Maseca-- in the Hispanic foods section) and corn starch as easily available & affordable GF flours.  For buckwheat, quinoa, gluten-free oat and millet flours, you don't need to spend a fortune buying all those little Bob's Red Mill bags; they're probably already rancid when you open them, anyway.  Instead, find a bulk source of grains (I get them at a food buying club; if there are health food stores near you, they probably have sources, or could even point you towards wholesalers in your area where restaurants buy their grains.  Another bulk source is Amazon, believe it or not!), buy a little coffee grinder ($25 or less), and dedicate it to grinding your own flour!  It's really that simple.  Dump in some grains or groats, pulse until fine, use immediately or freeze.  That's all. 

Think about it; even if you have a little trouble tracking down the grains, you will save a TON of money over buying pre-ground flours, and the taste & health benefits are worth it.

For quinoa, you will need to rinse the grain really well before grinding them, so allot time to let the grain air dry, or just rinse a big batch when you buy it, and let it air dry before you store it.

The only flour I've found difficult to grind this way is rice flour, so I pick that up at a local Asian market, or I just do without it.  Buckwheat flour, which I grind as I need it, really works wonderfully!

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