Healthy Habits

Alternative Flours

Try versatile and nutritious gluten-free flours in treats and more that everyone can enjoy

BY SARA HAFFTEN

Baking and cooking together is a beloved tradition enjoyed by many families around the holidays. If anyone on your guest list follows a gluten-free diet due to celiac disease, or has food allergies or intolerances, this holiday season, try baking with alternative flours to have delicious goodies around everyone can enjoy.

“Alternative flour is a real powerhouse in the kitchen,” writes Kim Lutz in her book, “The Alternative Flour Cookbook.” These flours are readily available and offer a variety of advantages for the home cook. They add both complex flavors and nutrients, including protein, fiber and minerals like iron and calcium. Alternative flours are also versatile, making it easy to create wheat-free quiches, frittatas, cakes, bread and more.

Real Food reached out to Lutz to learn more about these flours and she shared her thoughts via email. (Answers edited for space and clarity.)

What are your top alternative flours available at grocery stores? Almond, oat, chickpea and spelt.

How do you cook with these? Almond, chickpea and oat flour are gluten-free. For best results, use recipes that were developed using these flours, rather than substituting for all-purpose flour. You can make a gluten-free flour that can be substituted one-for-one for all-purpose flour by combining equal parts oat flour and chickpea flour.

Spelt flour (not gluten-free) is related to wheat flour and can be an equal substitute in any of your favorite recipes. What should be considered when first trying alternative flours? Although oats are naturally gluten-free, if you follow a gluten-free diet for medical reasons, ensure that your oat flour is certified gluten-free. This means that the flour did not come into contact with gluten-containing grains during the harvesting, processing or packaging.

To mill or not to mill? And how do you prep and store alternative flours? I prefer to buy commercially milled flours rather than milling my own at home. The main reason being that the texture of commercially milled flour is consistently fine, which is exactly what you want for nicely textured baked goods during the holiday season. It is easy to find organic milled flour at your local grocery store as well. Also, it can be expensive to buy a grain mill, not to mention the problem of storing it. If you have unused flour in need of storage, keep it in a sealed container in a cool, dark place, where it will keep for up to six months. If you buy flour in bulk and need to store a portion of it for a longer period, simply seal it securely and keep it in the freezer for up to a year or more.

What alternative flours are best for what uses? Almond flour lends itself to delicious, delicate cookies. It can also be used to make instant almond milk, blended into flavorful almond butters, and integrated into nutty granola. It can be transformed into savory vegan, dairy-free cheeses, as well.

Chickpea flour can be combined with oat flour for a versatile gluten-free all-purpose flour replacement. It also adds texture and structure to vegan main dishes like seitan and quiche. Chickpea flour also works well for vegan omelets and breakfast sandwiches.

Oat flour has a delicious flavor and adds a moist texture to baked goods. Because its protein structure has binding properties similar to wheat flour, you can bake with it without needing an additional binder like xanthan gum.

If you do need a binding agent for holiday baking, what do you recommend? Because gluten (the protein in wheat, barley, rye, and spelt) binds molecules

“Whole-grain spelt flour gives breads and cakes a better texture and flavor than whole-wheat flour. Also note: No amount of gluten is safe for people with Celiac. White spelt is a one-for-one substitute for white all-purpose flour and can really step in if wheat flour bothers your belly.”

— KIM LUTZ

together, resulting in baked goods with a pleasant texture, gluten-free bakers rely on other methods to obtain that cohesion. I depend on the binding properties of the protein in oats for baking gluten-free. Many other bakers, however, rely on an additional binder, such as xanthan gum. A common food additive used to thicken and stabilize recipes and packaged foods, xanthan gum is produced when sugar, in the form of glucose, sucrose or lactose, is fermented by bacteria and then dehydrated and made into a powder. When the product is rehydrated in a recipe for bread, for example, it replicates the binding activity of gluten.

Any other alternative flour tips? When you are getting started with alternative flours, begin with recipes that were created for their specific properties. And remember, don’t taste the batter when you are baking with chickpea flour—it doesn’t taste good until it is cooked. n

RECIPE FROM “THE ALTERNATIVE FLOUR COOKBOOK” BY KIM LUTZ © 2021 REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM STERLING PUBLISHING.

Snowball Cookies

MAKES 20 COOKIES

Whether you call these cookies Snowballs, Mexican Wedding Cakes or Russian Tea Cakes, they are probably my favorite cookie. By using almond flour instead of chopped or finely ground nuts, which you’ll find in traditional recipes, you get an even distribution of nutty flavor throughout the cookie along with plenty of buttery smoothness. These cookies are a little crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and just perfect overall. —Kim Lutz

½ cup vegan butter (stick, not tub) ¾ cup powdered sugar, divided 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups oat flour (gluten free, if necessary) ¾ cup almond flour ¼ teaspoon salt

1. Add the vegan butter to a stand mixer or use an electric mixer and beat for 1 to 2 minutes until the butter is soft. Add ½ cup of the powdered sugar to the butter until it is creamy and light. 2. Add the vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture and beat it in with a spoon. 3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oat flour, almond flour and salt. 4. Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. The dough should hold together when squeezed between your fingers. 5. Cover the dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to one day. 6. Heat the oven to 400°F. 7. Roll the dough into 1½-inch balls and place them about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper for an easier cleanup). 8. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until they’re golden. 9. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and let them cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes. 10. Place the remaining powdered sugar in a bowl. Roll the warm cookies in the powdered sugar. Let the cookies cool completely, and then roll them in the powdered sugar again to give them a generous coat.