Tip of the Week: Using Chickpea Flour
Despite the fact that it's Easter long weekend, this week means papers, papers, papers for me to write so instead of posting a recipe I wanted to give you a quick baking tip that I have found more and more vegans have been adopting recently: using chickpea flour!
Lately, I’ve been substituting about ¼ (or more, I've done up to half) of any flour in my cookierecipes with chickpea flour and it always ends up tasting amazing. It gives cookies a much richer, nuttier taster, and a warmer darker color. Because I tend to only use flours like whole wheat, spelt, etc. I find that you can substitute it one for one no problem.
Since I’m straying further and further away from really sweet desserts, I find that by providing a richer taste, chickpea flour makes baking less cloyingly sweet. I haven’t tried it on anything other than cookies at the moment though (like cakes, muffins, etc.) so if you have insight into that let me know!
On the nutrition side, using chickpea flour is also very good for you! As many of you may know, to get your complete proteins as a vegan (aka. all 8 essential amino acids which you need daily), you can't just eat beans or complex carbs on their own but have to pair them together. That's why so many plant-based South American diets always eat beans & rice, or beans & tortillas, etc... they knew their stuff before veganism was big! What better way to get a complete protein then by eating a cookie?
Chickpeas are also particular high in folic acid (important especially for us ladies!), and minerals including iron, magnesium,copper, and zinc. Who can beat that with plain old flour? Low on the glycemic index, it's good ingredient for people with diabetes, people seeking to lower their cholesterol, and obviously the gluten intolerant.
So try it out! I guarantee you it's yummy!
P.S. Check my reply to Michelle's comment to this post for a way you can put this to practice right away :)
Awesome post! Although i have never tried chick pea flour in baking, i do use it a lot in other recipes. Chick peas sure are yummy. I am going to try baking with it now after reading your inspirational post. I can't tolerate overly sweet desserts so this should be ideal for my tolerance.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear :) I just tried them again on these cookies (http://havecakewilltravel.com/2009/03/31/tahini-orange-cookies/) by Celine Steen with 1/2 chickpea flour, 1/2 spelt. (I didn't have any brown rice flour which is what she used) They'e amazing! And I've just acquired a new love for tahini, so it worked out great!
ReplyDeleteOh thank you for posting sharing the actual recipe link. You make me wanna pull out my utensils and apron except for the fact i don't have all the ingredients on hand. I think my kids will enjoy these cookies. I'm positive i should be able to pick up all these ingredients at my local Organic store.
ReplyDeleteChick peas are great! I like sauteing 'em in olive oil with white or red onions, green onions, pinch of salt and black pepper. If you wanna make 'em spicy, add a dash of chilli flakes or powder. I'm originally from South America so you are right on about the beans and rice etc...LOL