Flour for Baking

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Hi All,

I set a challenge for myself each week to replace one pantry/fridge item with something that is a more wholesome and healthy option.  I got a bit overwhelmed when I first got my thermie and thought doing just one a week might help.

My ingredient I am trying to "improve" on this week is flour for baking (basic cakes, biscuits etc).  At the moment I'm just using bleached plain and SR flour and occasionally wholemeal flour when a recipe calls for it specifically.  I'm certain I can greatly improve on this, but am a bit clueless as to what I should be trying.  I'm just wondering what other people use?  Do people mill their own flour for baking in their tmx?

I know Cyndi O'Meara uses organic unbleached flour in some of her recipes and have thought of trying this.  I've also heard that spelt flour can be good.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Chelsea 

[squirrel]

Hi Chelsea,

Yes.. Cyndi in her book has a suggested mix of flours that are wheat free you can use for multi-purpose use and then using the Thermomix if you can get a hold of Organic Spelt or Organic Wheat, you can mill to flour for breads.  I like the idea of trying to get nourishment from as many flour sources, without an over reliance on wheat - as Cyndi and other wholefood cooks suggest.   


Squirrel

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Thanks Squirrel.

I only have (on loan) the Healthy Eating with Cyndi O'Meara - combined changing habits and thermomix book.  Is the book you refer to the Changing Habits Changing Lives book or perhaps the cookbook?  I'm thinking I should invest in those, but will have to save some pennies first. 

Chelsea.

[squirrel]

I use the substitute flour recipe from page 11 of Cyndi's Cookbook.  I do have the other book as well - but I have loaned it out at the moment - so not sure if it in there too.

The Substitute Flour recipe she lists is:

1 cup Maize flour
2 cups Brown Rice Flour
1 cup Besan Flour
1 cup organic soy flour
2 cups potato flour
2 cups Arrowroot flour

This makes 2KG. 

Squirrel

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Thanks Squirrel.
I will give this mix a go.  Fingers crossed I can find all of these flours locally.
Chelsea 

[brazen20au]

besan flour is also known as chickpea flour
arrowroot flour is also known as tapioca flour (here in australia at least) and is much cheaper to buy as tapioca ("arrowroot" is just tapioca, no idea why but anyway...) you'll find it in the asian section (usually at the bottom of the shelf)
maize flour - if you can't find it just buy polenta and mill it
you can make your own brown rice flour easily
potato flour and soy flour are in the health food section

[Thermomixer]

arrowroot flour is also known as tapioca flour (here in australia at least) and is much cheaper to buy as tapioca ("arrowroot" is just tapioca, no idea why but anyway...) you'll find it in the asian section (usually at the bottom of the shelf)
 

It is a bit like some companies calling wheat flour "cornflour".  But they really are from two different plants - tapioca is from cassava and arrowroot from arrowroot.

[JaneeZee]

Thanks for that Thermomixer, I had wondered if there was any difference.  Your knowledge never ceases to amaze me!!

[Thermomixer]

When you get as old as me JZ ..... and eat as much as I have .... and go to as many cooking classes ....and talk to annoy as many chefs as I have ...  then it should be easy, but hopefully you won't end up looking like me. 

Need to get onto the raw foods.

[brazen20au]

yes, one of the coeliac groups i'm in was bamboozled by the whole tapioca / arrowroot thing so we googled. they SHOULD be 2 totally different things but aren't (at least in the generic supermarket)

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Thanks so much.  It would have taken me ages to find all of the flours without that info.  Now I'm assuming that this flour mix can be used in recipes to substitute plain flour - is that right??

Chelsea 

[brazen20au]

yes though GF flour doens't behave exactly like regular flour, so expect slightly different results most of the time

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

yes though GF flour doens't behave exactly like regular flour, so expect slightly different results most of the time

Sounds intriguing!  Thanks Karen.
Chelsea