Other Kinds of Flours

Many people are gluten intolerant or allergic to wheat - and most people who are, are not aware of it. Mysterious stomach problems and minor health ailments like sinus conditions, headaches, and skin problems can be caused by this. Wheat flour is so pervasive in our cooking culture, it is very hard to avoid it unless you go to a lot of effort. If you have these minor, but annoying, health issues, its worth taking a vacation from wheat to see if they improve. Regardless, our food culture is boringly fixated on wheat - there are lots of other flours out there.

Most people are familiar with corn meal and rye flour, but did you know that you can cook with chickpea, lentil, soy, rice, oat, sorghum, millet, quinoa, tapioca and amaranth flours? Other cultures use these flours every day. They have their own interesting flavors and uses. Here's a website with lots of information about alternative flours.

Use oat flour in pancakes and cookies. Chickpea and lentil flour make an especially good coating on fish and chicken. Rice flour makes cookies delicate and light.

In recipes that need gluten for chewiness - like breads, biscuits, and cookies - you will need to use oat flour or at least 1/2 the flour must be wheat.

A mixture of 1/3 chickpea, 1/3 rice, and 1/3 sorghum flour or 1/2 rice and 1/2 chickpea flour can be used in cornbread recipes to make a very pleasant quick bread.

Soy, chickpea, and rye flours are nutrient rich enough to belong in a low calorie diet. Rice and wheat flours should be limited.

Here's a nutritional comparison of some of these flours: