Thread: how can i make my own quinoa, amaranth and millet flours?

i've started baking a lot since i found some recipes ds and dd (sometimes) will actually eat, but those flours are expensive! even at our least-expensive HFS, the bag of BRM quinoa flour is something like $5.60.

so, i got it into my head that i could buy the quinoa/millet/amaranth and grind it up into flour myself, as it's cheaper (obviously) to buy the bulk-bagged stuff from that HFS.

has anyone done this? would i cook it first and then grind it up? would my food processor work? which type of blade? i know i would definitely have to rinse the quinoa, at least, first.

thanks for any help!
alycia

Get a grain mill and grind them just like wheat. I just ordered a new one from www.pleasanthillgrains.com yesterday afternoon and it has already shipped. LMK if you have a KA mixer and are interested in my KA grinder. It is in good condition, used only on GF grains but I needed something to do grits also.

You only need to rinse the quinoa if, when you rinse to cook now, you get a lot of black stuff off of it. Most commercial quinoa is rinsed already now. I do not need to rinse mine at all prior to cooking. If you do need to rinse it, it must dry completely before grinding. Do not cook first, but you could toast it in the oven. Personally, I have not had luck with a food processor and grains, only nuts.

Amaranth flour is very heavy so only small amounts can be used for baking. For me, it is only $.05 a lb more to buy millet flour than millet. The cost difference for quinoa and especially amaranth is substantial. I was paying $8.99 for 22 oz of amaranth flour. I can buy the grain for about $1.20 lb, organic. The flour was not organic. I use millet flour daily and the others weekly.

michelle, thanks! a few more questions...

1. would a coffee grinder work, too (in small batches)? i just bought one to grind up nuts and seeds to hide in ds's oatmeal.

2. when you say you cook w/ millet every day-- is this b/c millet flour is the most versatile of the gluten-free grains? like, the "wheat flour" of gluten-free flours, would you say? (obvously i'm hoping your answer is positive, here, as i'm just learning the "qualities" of the various flours!)

3. when recipes call for various flours-- quinoa, amaranth, etc.-- is it ok to just sub millet flour? so far i've found that quinoa flour imparts a slightly bitter taste to our quinoa waffles, for example, unless i super-sweeten something i've baked w/ quinoa, like the quinoa applesauce bread ds and dd like has both applesauce and apple juice concentrate in it! i made amaranth apple muffins, and they're also slightly bitter, but i don't know if that's b/c i had no apple juice left so i subbed apple cherry juice...

thanks for any pointers!
alycia

You might want to just work with quinoa's bitterness, and treat it as a savory: peppers, cheese, things like that. Comino, chili powder, black beans, tomatoes, work well with it. Oh yeah, muffins stuffed with cream cheese.

Some things are naturally sweet, like barley, and some aren't- why fight it?

ari

hmmm... interesting.... i wish i was a more experienced baker/cook!

alycia

Originally Posted by michmom

michelle, thanks! a few more questions...

1. would a coffee grinder work, too (in small batches)? i just bought one to grind up nuts and seeds to hide in ds's oatmeal.

I have no experience with a coffee grinder but for flax seed and coffee. I can buy nut meal much cheaper than the nuts so I do not even know about that.

2. when you say you cook w/ millet every day-- is this b/c millet flour is the most versatile of the gluten-free grains? like, the "wheat flour" of gluten-free flours, would you say? (obvously i'm hoping your answer is positive, here, as i'm just learning the "qualities" of the various flours!)

Millet is cheap, like rice flour. I use rice flour daily also. Since I can get both flours cheaply and I have to mill the quinoa and amaranth, I use less of them. I am hoping I will be using more with my new grain mill. With my KA one, you do smaller amounts at one time. Actually, the most versatile GF flour is sorghum. It has good flavor, a lot like wheat but it does absorb a lot of water and it is expensive (less than buying amaranth flour but I haven't been able to find sorghum to mill myself and I can't find the flour organic.) I use a lot of millet flour, brown rice flour and arrowroot starch. It bakes better than corn or potato starch but they both do fine. I just prefer the arrowroot. I think for a starch, it is supposed to be a little better for you than other starches. But, I may be remembering wrong.

3. when recipes call for various flours-- quinoa, amaranth, etc.-- is it ok to just sub millet flour? so far i've found that quinoa flour imparts a slightly bitter taste to our quinoa waffles, for example, unless i super-sweeten something i've baked w/ quinoa, like the quinoa applesauce bread ds and dd like has both applesauce and apple juice concentrate in it! i made amaranth apple muffins, and they're also slightly bitter, but i don't know if that's b/c i had no apple juice left so i subbed apple cherry juice...

thanks for any pointers!
alycia

You can sub any GF flour for any other gf flour, especially once you learn a particular flour's properties. As I mentioned, sorghum absorbs more water than any other. Millet tends to absorb more water than amaranth or quinoa. So, your recipe's liquid content may need to change. I have not found quinoa or amaranth flour to be bitter. Too much baking powder can impart a bitter flavor. Amaranth flour is very "earthy" to me. But, I like it. Quinoa is more "earthy" than other GF flours (other than amaranth) to me but I have not found it to be bitter. But, I have only milled my own. We eat whole quinoa sweet, to replace oatmeal (which by the way is not safe for a GF or wheat-free diet, it is very cross-contaminated, any brand, even McCann's. One of the celiac associations did a comparison. I will try to find the link.) We also use amaranth as a oatmeal replacement but also as a rice replacement at supper time.

There are several good recipes in the special needs forum in a recipe sticky. The two best books I have found on the subject, as far as cookbooks, are Cooking Gluten-free by Karen Robertson and Special Diets for Special Kids. Roben Ryberg has some good recipes too but I have always had to modify hers to get them to work for my family. Karen Robertson's book is out of print and usually very expensive if you find a copy. The recipes are different and the baked goods are divine. My dad loves brownies and says hers are the best of any, gf or not. I do not even use the raspberry sauce. Special Diets for Special kids are also dairy free which we are. I have copied what we use out of it and am selling my copy. The information on autism and GFCF diets needs to be passed on. That is not why we are on the diet.

I am rambling. Keep asking questions. That is how we learn. I love baking and cooking for my family. I used to hate it. But, watching them thrive despite health issues is wonderful. The only treatment for gluten intolerance is avoidance. Cancer is very high in celiac patients. The gene Samantha has is being looked at to see if it is actually celiac or just gluten intolerance. But, how do we know if "just" gluten intolerance doesn't raise your cancer chances? Or osteoporosis chances? or Diabetes? Again rambling.

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You can use a coffee grinder for small batches, probably with mixed results. I think oiler grains [loosely used word here] will be less happy in a coffee mill or blender, and will be happier in something like a KA attachment or something you could do peanut butter in.

And there are a couple flour [loosely used] mills that are nearly always well reviewed, but darned if I remember which one[s] it is now. I'd know if it I saw it though,not that it helps you lol. I want to say it's the one that reminds me of an enormous coffee grinder, the one we had to hand crank that my grandma had only giant. So manual not electric?

Imo a lot of new flours is trial and error, just remember to write everything down or you'll end up like me and not remember how and the heck you made those wonderful pancakes. [insert bag head smilie here]