How To Make Quinoa Flour At Home And Where You Can Use It

You can prepare quinoa flour by grinding quinoa seeds to a fine consistency. The texture and feel of the powder are comparable to all-purpose wheat flour.

From bread to muffins to desserts – quinoa flour can be utilised in a broad range of baking recipes. It also serves the purpose of a thickening agent in soups and stews. In smoothies and shakes, it provides an instant protein boost.

Making Quinoa Flour at Home

Yes, we know quinoa flour is readily available in most supermarkets. But if you’re experimenting with quinoa flour for the first time, you may not wish to buy an entire packet. It is rather easy to grind quinoa seeds in a clean coffee or spice grinder. Of course, needless to add, it’s undemanding on the pocket as well.

• Rinse quinoa seeds thoroughly for at least one minute through a fine mesh sieve. This rinse ensures removal of traces of saponins.
• Shake off the water and spread the seeds on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake the seeds at a temperature of 350F for 12 to 15 minutes. At the end of the baking process, the seeds should be dry, golden, and fragrant.
• After cooling the seeds, grind a ¼ cup of quinoa seeds in the grinder until you obtain an even and smooth consistency. The quantity will yield 1/3 cup of quinoa flour.

Points to Remember:

• The coffee/spice grinder is the only device that yields perfect results. Food processors generate coarse flour.
• At a time, put only ¼ cup of quinoa seeds in the grinder. Overloading the device will inhibit the grinder from producing a fine grind.
• You can store quinoa flour in the refrigerator in an airtight container for six months. If you choose to freeze the same, it remains fresh for a year.

Using Quinoa Flour in Delicious Recipes

Quinoa flour is gluten-free and fuss-free! It can be incorporated into any gluten-free baking recipe to create food items compatible with high protein or low carbohydrate diets. Thanks to its natural crunchy and sweet flavour, it augments the taste of baked goods.

If you’re a first-timer, you might prefer considering recipes wherein other flavours stand bolder than quinoa. Your palate may take some time to adapt to the distinctive earthy taste of quinoa. So commence with methods having a mix of quinoa flour with cocoa powder, dark molasses or strong spices.

1. Breakfast Oatmeal Quinoa Blueberry Muffins

This recipe makes delicious, moist muffins. Feel free to swap the blueberry with other varieties of berries or add a handful of raisins to heighten the flavour.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups largely flaked oats
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup melted butter or canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup gluten-free oat flour
3/4 cup quinoa flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Procedure:

1. Stir the oats, buttermilk, and milk together in a large bowl. Allow it to sit for at least an hour. You could also refrigerate the mix overnight.
2. Now add the egg, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla into the oat mixture. Keep stirring until combined well.
3. In another smaller bowl, take the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir well. Add the mixture to the oat mixture and combine well. Add the berries and blend.
4. Pour the batter into paper lined muffin tins. Fill them only ¾ full.
5. Bake the muffins in the oven at 350F for about 30 minutes.
6. This quantity will give you almost two dozen of muffins!

2. Gluten Free Quinoa Pancakes

There’s no reason a pancake needs to be high in gluten. Here’s how you can enjoy light, fluffy, gluten-free quinoa pancakes.

Ingredients:

1 cup gluten-free flour blend
1 cup quinoa flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp canola or flax oil
fresh or frozen berries or sliced bananas (optional)

Procedure:

1. Take a large bowl. Stir together the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
2. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and oil together.
3. Combine the two mixtures.
4. Take a heavy skillet. Preheat over medium flame. Drizzle with little oil.
5. Pour the batter into the skillet. You could scatter the surface with berries or banana slices.
6. Cook until you notice bubbles breaking on the surface. Flip it and cook until golden brown on the other side as well.
7. Serve hot with maple syrup. This recipe will give you about ten pancakes.

3. Pumpkin Banana Quinoa Bread

This recipe is perfect for a snack. Your little one may love it in the tiffin box as well.

Ingredients:

2 very ripe bananas
1/2-1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp canola, olive or flax oil
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour (take half all-purpose, half quinoa flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
a handful of chopped walnuts, chocolate chips, raisins, coconut, fresh or frozen blueberries

Procedure:

1. Take a large bowl. Put the bananas, pumpkin, sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Mash all the ingredients with a potato masher until you achieve a consistency similar to cottage cheese.
2. Now add the flour, baking soda, salt, and toppings of your choice as mentioned in the list above. Stir well until blended.
3. Butter the loaf pan. Spread the batter and bake for 50 minutes at a temperature of 350F.
4. Your bread is ready when golden and cracked on top.

Conclusion:

Quinoa is a superfood indeed! It lends a nutty flavour to your food while adding high nutritional content. Give quinoa flour a try!