February 27, 2009 - 7:51pm
Bean Flour
has anyone added bean flour to bread? I have heard of this to increase proten but I cant seem to find anything on it.
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has anyone added bean flour to bread? I have heard of this to increase proten but I cant seem to find anything on it.
I could've sworn there was something about bean flour here, but I can't find anything good with the search function either. I do know of a couple related recipes, though. Zorra posted a recipe using chickpea flour, and I coincidentally baked today a loaf with a high percentage of lentil flour. Lentil flour turned out to be delicious, I can tell you that.
Chick pea flour is a great bread flour enhancer and also makes nice non-dairy, no-eggs pancakes. I mix chick pea flour and water at the thickness of regular pancake batter and let set overnight. Next morning I fry the pancakes in a lightly oiled skillet or non-stick frying pan. They are yummy with a dollop of Turkish youghurt and some blueberry jam.
Yes I have used bean flour many years ago and many times. I use to add a little of this and a little of that. Goodness now I imagine it's a miracle that my bread ever turned out good. I use to by all my bean flour from Bob's Red Mill. That had a lot of info on bean flour, receipes, nutritional info and how to mix them. They use to hand out these great flyers. They were small them and I can't imagine they wouldn't have them now.
One of my favorite flours was pea. It is so white and I always was amazed that such white flour came from such a green seed. Pea flour mixes so easily into bread flour you hardly know it's there.
I hope you have a lot of fun. I did.
Mariah
using sprouted dry beans, the nutrient value is higher if the beans are allowed to sprout or ferment. Then cook, mash and add. It is certainly easier than grinding beans into flour.
Mini
Mini,
I read somewhere that it's better to peel the beans first or risk developing an insatiable thirst for dark rum. Is that true? :>)
Eric
but I found Campari first. My reaction was somewhat delayed so I can't be sure of a connection; a probable cause & effect relationship.
On the other hand, if I had to peel all those beans (the pods were gone, where is anyone's guess) by hand, I would drink the rum first! Dark or light wouldn't make any difference.
The Bean Raisin bread was such a success, I've been asked to make more! Gosh and my beans were sometimes chunky! (I remember squishing a few whole ones with my fingers while shaping the dough.) The raisins might like a little rum or it could be served up with a dab of cinnamon rum butter.... for those whom the unpeeled bean syndrome can quickly manifest itself.
Mini
I am in the process of making a type of ezekiel bread which includes beans. It certainly makes the dough gummy but I am hoping with the right hydration and overnight soak it will serve our purposes for the complete protein bread. Right now it's still in the refining process. I just grind my beans with the other 3-4 grains I'm mixing.
As I recall, one of the main reasons Calvel wrote Taste of Bread was to argue that bean flour had ruined French bread. Can't remember details now.
I looked that up, and from what I gathered, mills in france were adding small portions (1% or so) of fava bean flour to their flours as a dough enhancer. It became a problem because, when combined with heavy use of machinery to mix, it produced over-oxidized dough.
I don't know why bean flour would lead to increased oxidation, but I doubt it has an effect on the home baker; from what I've read it's very hard to over-oxidize without professional spiral mixers.
I have a book, 'Country Beans' (by Rita Bingham) which is an excellent collection of various uses and recipes centered on beans, and includes bean flours. I refer to it often. The copy I have was a 2005 printing - I just searched it and found countless sources for it. I do recommend it for the variety of information it provides.
I'm baking regularly a Chickpea Bread from Tyrol. It's flavored with anise, and very tasty.
Karin
Recipe & instructions are at http://home.earthlink.net/~myjunketc/mySoyHoneyLoafBread.htm