Currently in the world of baking there is a trend to use non-traditional flours. In actuality these are the forgotten flours of the baking arts. These are the flours used by our ancestors to make some of the first breads. These flours have been left in the dust by wheat flours, but wheat flours’ dominance in the marketplace are beginning to wane as we see both home based bakers and large companies working with non-traditional flours.
Some examples of non-traditional flours are:
- Millet
- Oat
- Barley
- Buckwheat
- Amaranth
- Spelt
- Quinoa
- Teff
- Kamut
The main reasons that people bring non-traditional flours into their recipes are:
- Flavor: White wheat flour only has so much flavor. Non-traditional flours pack a bigger flavor punch.
- Gluten Free Baking: There is a fair amount of the population that cannot process gluten (a condition known as Celiac’s Disease) and many non-traditional flours posses either no gluten at all, or a small enough amount of gluten that they can be tolerated by most Celiacs.
- Differentiation of product: While bakers are trending towards baking with more than just wheat flours it is by no means mainstream, so using a non-traditional flour helps to set your baked good apart in the marketplace.
- Health Concerns: Everyone knows that whole grains are healthier than refined white flour and non-traditional flours are almost exclusively milled from the entire grain not just the endosperm (that is the white part of the grain that becomes white flour).
However, there are some facts to keep in mind before you decide to simply switch from white wheat flour to either whole-wheat flour or non-traditional flour:
- Consumers are habituated to the taste and texture of products baked almost exclusively with white wheat flours. Now whole grain flours are more flavorful and most people will respond positively to the increase in flavor, but there can be textural issues because whole grain flours tend to yield denser final products. As a baker you need to find the right balance between whole-wheat flour, non-traditional flours, and white flour in your recipes.
- Non-traditional flours are generally more expensive and harder to find. Most health and natural food stores carry a wide selection of non-traditional flours but they can be difficult to find in bulk, which means they can be more expensive than white wheat flour. This is the main reason for making non-traditional flours a part of your recipe but not the main flour.
Baking with non-traditional flours can bring forth more flavorful and texturally interesting products that are differentiated in the marketplace, but learning to work these flours into your recipes can take time and patience. Every recipe is different as is every flour, so do your research and learn the flavor profile and baking properties of the flour(s) you want to work with. With some experimentation you can be creating baked goods with exceptional flavor and texture featuring non-traditional flours.
About Braden Cadenelli
Braden is a graduate of the prestigious New England Culinary Institute with degrees in the Baking and Pastry as well as Culinary Arts. He has worked in top pastry kitchens and bakeries creating everything from cookies to wedding cakes. His creations have graced the plates of governors and owners of professional sports teams. Braden welcomes any and all questions and feedback. Contact Braden at Braden.Cadenelli@gmail.com and follow the Philadelphia Dessert Examiner at http://www.examiner.com/x-44207-Philadelphia-Dessert-Examiner
