AMARANTH FLOUR

Amaranth flour is obtained from the tiny seeds of the purple-red spikes of a herbaceous plant native to Central and Southern America, it is not a cereal but rather a pseudocereal.

The seeds of the Amaranth is too small to separate its bran, it is whole ground and produces only a whole flour. Provides the same energy as whole grains, contains iron, calcium fiber and lipids in a dose significantly greater than full grain.

THE FARINA OF AMARANTO IN KITCHEN

It has a very complex, slightly sweet taste with earthy notes of corn, herb or spinach, maltose malt, seeds or nuts.

Not everyone loves its taste, to soften it is possible to denature the flour:

    • spread a small amount of flour on a baking sheet in a uniform layer
    • it is heated to 90 ° C for 3 hours

this procedure not only softens the flavor of the flour, but also improves its workability, making the doughs of fresh pasta, whipped and leavened less fragile and less worn to absorb excessively liquid.
It can replace the wheat flour 1: 1 or 100 grams of wheat flour corresponds to 88 grams of amaranth flour.
When converting a recipe made with wheat flour 00 it is best to mix it with other flours with a lower density. In the “chart of density of flour and starched” you find for each flour the ratio of wheat flour substitution.
In the preparation of baked goods, especially if leavened or whipped, you must have some extra precautions:

    • sift the flours before adding them to the other ingredients so as to incorporate air and make the lighter products
    • the dough must be softer
    • let the dough rest after adding the liquid ingredients to promote proper hydration of the flours and the humidity of the bakery products.
Not containing gluten that causes leavening and consistency to doughs, especially in leavened dough to replace the function of glutinous net. You can use these ingredients alternately:

    • flour of legumes in a percentage of from 25% to 50% of the weight of the amaranth flour
    • soy milk or nuts or oil seeds that can completely replace the portion of the water used in the dough leavened
    • egg white or whole egg that help to incorporate air and to tie.
    • other ingredients such as thickeners that replace the role of gluten should always be used in leavened, but there is only xanthan, but also the seeds chia, flax and psyllium used separately or in a mix, here found “how to imitate the function of gluten”.
Amaranth flour in the kitchen is also used for:

  • thicken sauces and creams
  • compact stuffed
  • prepare a hot chocolate.

Blog su WordPress.com.

Su ↑

%d blogger hanno fatto clic su Mi Piace per questo: