Chickpea Flour Burger Buns
Servings: 6
Chickpea Flour Pizza Crust
What I love most about this gluten-free pizza crust recipe is just how easy it is. Once you’ve mixed the ingredients together and spread the batter on a baking tray, you just leave it to bake for a few minutes et voila – it’s ready for you to add your toppings.
It’s very difficult to go wrong with this recipe, but my main piece of advice would be to ensure that you add the water SLOWLY as you mix the batter. You want to do this to avoid getting lumps in the mixture, as these will be harder to get out the more liquid you add.
Also, try as much as you can to spread the batter out in an even layer on the baking sheet, so you get an even pizza crust that isn’t wafer thin on one side and really thick on the other!
Feel free to add whichever toppings you prefer to the pizza – mine are just a guide. In addition to the ingredients mentioned below, I also really love using artichokes, olives and peppers.
Great Substitute For Wheat Flour
Chickpea flour is an excellent substitute for wheat flour.
It has a better nutrient profile than refined flour, as it provides more vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein but fewer calories and carbs.
Because it doesnt contain wheat, its also appropriate for people with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or wheat allergy. Still, if youre worried about cross-contamination, look for certified gluten-free varieties.
Furthermore, it behaves similarly to refined flour in fried and baked foods.
Its a dense flour that somewhat mimics the action of gluten in wheat flour when cooked by adding structure and chewiness .
In an attempt to formulate a new gluten-free bread, researchers found that a combination of three parts chickpea flour and one part potato or cassava starch was ideal. Still, using only chickpea flour produced an acceptable product as well .
Plus, replacing only 30% of wheat flour in a cookie recipe with chickpea flour boosted the nutrient and protein contents of the cookies while maintaining a pleasant taste and appearance .
Summary Chickpea flour is a great substitute for wheat flour, as it acts similarly during cooking. Its a great alternative for people with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or wheat allergy.
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Chickpea Flour Banana Bread Muffins
Servings: 12
Instructions:
Chickpea flour may not be the first thing you reach for when whipping up a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies, but it could become a staple in your gluten free pantry if you know how to use it. Perfect for light batters, quick breads, and sauces, chickpea flour is a versatile gluten free flour youll learn to love.
A New Multifunctional Chickpea Flour Is Being Billed As A Major Breakthrough For Gluten
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Celiac.com 03/09/2018 – Imagine a gluten-free flour that can do all the things regular flour can do. Well, a food research team has created a highly functional, neutral-tasting chickpea flour that mimics wheat flour, but also behaves like modified starch in some applications.
The product is called “Artesa,” and it has a very fine, flour-like particle size, a white color, good oil and water binding properties for products such as soup, sauces and gravies, and formulating characteristics, including elasticity and stretch that mirrors wheat gluten without added milk or egg protein, modified starch or gums.
Celiac.com Sponsor :The product also happens to be high in fiber and resistant starch, low in fat and has a low glycemic index. It contains more protein than rice, potato, tapioca, corn and sorghum. Chickpeas are also non-allergenic and non-GMO.
If Artesa works as advertised, their new flour could significantly improve the organoleptic and nutritional profile of gluten-free pastas, baked goods, and desserts – without the use of gums and starches, claim its developers. That means it can be used to create products that require a flour-like quality to them, such as cakes, breads, pasta and the like.
It may also work well as a fat and dairy replacement in soups, sauces and dressings, and to add protein and resistant starch to pizzas, beverages, baked goods and pastas.
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The Recipes How To Use Chickpea Flour
Cooks use chickpea flour creatively in recipes for everything from cookies to pancakes. Here is a small sample of the more traditional uses for chickpea flour that focus on its unique taste and properties.
- Vegetable Fritters are a favourite East Indian appetizer and side dish in my house
- Double Chocolate Banana Bread is delicious and has no bean taste, an excellent high fibre snack for kids
- Socca is like a blank canvas. This pizza interpretation of socca from Sasha over at Eat Love Eats sounds delicious, Tandoori Sweet Potato Socca Pizzas.
- Gordon over at Gluten Free Daddy posted this collection of 25 recipes made with chickpea flour Garbanzo Bean Flour recipes.
- Falafel balls are traditionally made with chickpeas and chickpea flour. If you havent tried them you must!
- For more than the everyday cook would ever need to know, I stumbled upon this excellent post by Neetu over at Simple Gluten Free Kitchen, titledTypes of Chickpeas & Flours.
It Makes Perfect Gluten
The apples of my chickpea flour-loving eyes are flatbreads and crêpe-like pancakes that I eat like wraps or tortillas. For the simplest version, I whisk together equal parts chickpea flour and water with a pinch of salt until it’s the consistency of loose pancake batter. Then I simply cook it like I would a crêpe. Sometimes I whisk in a bit of yogurt or olive oil, but really, chickpea flour and water is all that’s needed.
I keep a jar of this mixture in my fridge so I can make a thin pancake on the fly whenever I need a snack . I love to eat sautéed greens or mushrooms with a chickpea wrap, or scrambled eggs and avocado. And sometimes I pretend they actually are crêpes, and eat them folded around butter and jam or cheese and ham.
For a sturdier flatbread, I swirl a generous pour of the same mixture in hot olive oil in my largest cast iron skillet and roast it in a very hot oven then cut it into halves or wedges. Then I serve it with something saucy, like a buttery burst tomato sauce.
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Chickpea Flour Likely Has A Moderate Water Footprint
Does chickpea flour have a high or low water footprint? Chickpea flour likely has a moderate water footprint compared to other foods.
What is the water footprint of chickpea flour? It takes 4,177 liters of water to produce 1 kilogram of chickpeas or garbanzo beans / 501 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of chickpeas or garbanzo beans.
Did you know that water is a finite, non-renewable resource? Once its gone, its gone!
We must do what we can to conserve fresh water and a major way to reduce needless water consumption is to change the way we eat. Thats not to say we need to reduce our water intake.quite the opposite. Its important for our health to drink lots of water and eat foods that hydrate. The kind of water conservation were talking about here is behind the scenes.
How much water does it take to produce an apple? A serving of rice? A steak dinner?
We need to be aware of something referred to as a water footprint. That is, the amount of fresh water utilized in the production or supply of goods we consume. As it turns out it takes significantly more water to yield foods that come from animals than foods that come from plants. Imagine how much water a cow needs to consume to generate a piece of beef. Not only how much water a single cow drinks, rather all the water that went into producing the crops that the cow ate.
Check It Out! – Find out how much water your food consumes with this: Water Footprints of Foods and Ingredients List
How To Make Chickpea Flour
Another option for getting your hands on chickpea flour is making it yourself.
Chickpeas are available pretty much everywhere. And that is all you need to make chickpea flour. So, as long as you have a food processor , you can make chickpea flour.
To make your own chickpea flour,
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Uses For Chickpea Flour:
- An egg substitute to make vegan omelets and quiches.
- A high protein gluten-free bread replacement.
- Mix with other gluten-free flour to increase the protein and help your baked goods bake up more similar to wheat products.
- Use in sweet or savory baked goods.
- Mix with equal parts water, it can be used as an egg replacer in your recipes. .
Curried Sweet Potato Chickpea Patties from Cupful of Kale
Make Your Own Chickpea Flour
One way to sort out the confusion relating to which kind of chickpea flour you’re using is to grind it yourself from whatever type of chickpea you choose. Obviously, ordinary dried garbanzo beans are much more widely available, but if you have access to an Indian grocery store near you, you will probably be able to get your hands on some of the less common types of chickpeas. Again, look for products with names such as split chickpeas, chana dal, split bengal gram or split desi chickpeas.
Or you can simply grind your own regular chickpeas to make your own chickpea flour.
Basically, once you’ve obtained your chickpeas, it’s a simple matter of grinding them in a high-speed blender , which will grind two cups of dried chickpeas into a powder in about 45 seconds.
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Where Can You Buy Chickpea Flour
You can typically find chickpea flour at Whole Foods or even online.
The good news is that chickpea flour isnt difficult to make yourself, its just ground up dried chickpeas that are pulsed into a fine powder with the hard pieces sifted out. Ive havent tried the DIY version yet, but want to. Basically youll just need to make sure you can get it into a fine enough flour with your blender.
Health Benefits Of Chickpeas
As you learned, chickpea flour is simply ground chickpeas. So, the question is: are chickpeas healthy?
Well, yes. Chickpeas are a critical component in plant-based diets because of their relatively high protein content. They are also packed with other vitamins and minerals. According to Medical News Today, chickpeas are rich in folate, fiber, phosphorus, and iron to name a few.
The high protein and fiber content means that chickpeas will help you feel full. Plus, they help keep your blood sugar in check after eating. Chickpeas also have certain characteristics that may help defend against heart disease and cancer.
To learn more about the healthiness of chickpeas, you can check out this article on the 11 benefits of chickpeas.
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Dishes To Try Chickpea Flour In
With its nutty flavor and dense texture, chickpea flour makes a great addition to many different recipes. Try it in any of the following ways:
- Use it as a breading for salmon or chicken before baking or frying.
- Use it to give additional flavor to brown rice bread.
- Make savory pancakes or crepes from it.
- Add it as a thickener to gravy.
- Add it to pizza dough.
May Reduce The Formation Of Harmful Compounds In Processed Foods
Chickpeas contain beneficial antioxidants called polyphenols .
Antioxidants are compounds that fight against unstable molecules called free radicals in your body, which are thought to contribute to the development of various diseases .
Plant polyphenols specifically have been shown to decrease free radicals in food and reverse some of the damage they can cause in your body .
In addition, chickpea flour is being studied for its ability to reduce the acrylamide content of processed foods.
Acrylamide is an unstable byproduct of food processing. It can be found in high levels in flour- and potato-based snacks .
Its a potentially cancer-causing substance and has been linked to problems with reproduction, nerve and muscle function, as well as enzyme and hormone activity .
In one study comparing several types of flours, chickpea flour produced one of the lowest amounts of acrylamide when heated .
Researchers also found that using chickpea batter on potato chips decreased acrylamide formation, compared to potato chips that had been treated with antioxidants from oregano and cranberry .
Finally, another study observed that shortbread cookies made with a blend of wheat and chickpea flour had 86% less acrylamide than the same cookies made with only wheat flour .
Summary Chickpeas contain antioxidants and may help fight free radicals. Using chickpea flour in processed foods seems to reduce their content of harmful acrylamide.
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Where To Buy Chickpea Flour
Chickpea flour can be found in many grocery stores, or at any of the following resources:
- Bob’s Red Mill – Bob’s Red Mill offers stone ground garbanzo bean flour along with substitution tips.
- Ajika Besan – Ajika Besan offers a less expensive version of ground chickpeas.
- Farina – This is a light, golden blend of chickpea flour ground in Italy.
- Bazar of India – The packaging from Bazar of India will help keep their flour fresh longer. It ships directly from California.
