The Fresh Loaf

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Working with Lupin Flakes and Lupin Flour

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Working with Lupin Flakes and Lupin Flour

Still doing some test baking of the Sweet Lupin product kindly supplied by David from The Lupin Co here in Western Australia,

 During the 1960’s a very clever man named Dr John Gladstone from University of Western Australia (UWA), developed one of the first commercial lupin varieties especially for the Australian environment.

This breakthrough changed the agricultural landscape in Western Australia by allowing infertile sandy soils to be farmed in a brand new sustainable way. Lupins act as a natural fertiliser, introducing nitrogen into the soil, therefore reducing the need for chemical fertilisers.

This is why the lupins are one of Australia’s most important crops. Western Australia now grows 85% of the entire world’s entire sweet lupin supply, making them a truly iconic Aussie legume!

 

Lupin Plantation Australia

i have been playing around with ratios of the LUPIN Flour and LUPIN Flakes in the dough  initially i was using  a higher percentage of flour to flakes  as some work had already been done for David by a baker in South Australia and so i emulated that work to get a feel for the LUPIN inclusion into the dough as well as to taste the end product. Since then i have been trying quite a few combinations each time getting pleasing results . i enlisted a couple of bread taste testers, and also asked fellow Aussie Gavin in Victoria if he would like to come and play  and also enlisted Debra Wink to have a go too.

With LUPIN being 40% protein ( not in the form of gluten) as it is gluten free, 3 times more protein than Quinoa, 37% Dietary Fibre,  3 times more than oats ,  3 times more potassium than bananas and 3 times more iron than Kale . 4% Carbs and Fructose free, 

Why wouldn't you want to include it in your diet!

i have used the flakes and flour at 12.5% each inclusion into the dough and managed to get a good looking and tasting loaf i have found that scalding the Lupin with all the water at boiling point  which after a quick stir and set aside to cool resembles cous cous . i weigh up the rest of my ingredients at this time and keep watching the temperature coming down and add the lupin when it reaches the required temp for the mix to achieve its Desired Dough Temp at the completion of the mix. The water component is 80%.  

 i mix pretty much to the same degree as i do for a normal dough  and have been doing a short bulk fermentation of 1 hour   as determined by the amount of yeast . i also add an Australian Bread improver @ 0.5%  which is the recommended amount for a timed dough. The dough has no trouble doubling in size  and handles quite well after degassing and handing up  it is given a 10 minute bench rest and then its shaped to the desired shape. The dough does feel a bit different in that its not quite as stretchy or extensible and i have been aware that it does want to unravel at the seam if proofing in a Bannetton  not a huge problem as the dough gets rolled out onto the flap if its become undone. the alternative is to proof seam down  either in a bannetton or on a couch.

The dough holds it shape well and doubles  i have been cornflour washing and applying seeds and scoring at 3/4 proof , and then by the time i've placed my steaming towel into the bottom of the oven  and got it ready its time to pop it in the oven The bake times are on par with a normal dough  and does have a different baking aroma still very pleasant but different.

My last few bakes i've actually gone big on the L flakes and small on the L flour  being 20% and 5% which is the other way round from my starting point. and really pleased with the results

One of my testers has said that she feels far more satisfied  from eating this bread and another said she would have trouble going back to her everyday bread..

 i will add more and the pictures to this post in the next 24 hours as i need to be somewhere else right now.

regards Derek

Comments

clazar123's picture
clazar123

Keep it coming. This is a very interesting thread to follow.

EDIT ADDED:

First of all, I want to thank you for the wonderful write-ups on this lupin journey. So interesting.

I have been trying to source sweet lupin flour in the US and found some likely candidates on Amazon. I guess lupin products are quite a fad now as it fits into a keto diet so all of the products are pricey but I would still like to try it in my bread. My concern is that in some of the product descriptions, they are advising users that lupin flour can taste bitter. I have not seen you use that word,ever,in all your descriptions.  What has your experience been in this regard?

There are multiple products available on Amazon and some are labelled "Lupin Flour" and some "sweet Lupin flour". Are they the same? Did they ever make flour from non-sweet lupin beans? 

I am especially confused as the product I am looking at HERE says on the package it is made from sweet lupin beans but in the product description, it warns of the natural bitterness in the product. What advice would you have for me? 

THis is all part of the fun and challenge of an international experience. A great reason to love this forum in a world gone nuts. 

Caroline

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Hi Caroline this information comes from David the Lupin Co  man

 

There are 4 ‘new world’ lupin species. 1. Lupinus Albus - better known as Lupini beans and for the need to soak these in a salty brine to make soluble the bitter Alkaloids (think bitter coffee) which are slowly released. A following roasting does help to release even more alkaloids. Alkaloids are toxic and will cause major health issues if eaten in quantity. 2. Lupinus Mutabilis - characteristic is the South America’s in the higher reaches of the Andes. Also a very, very high alkaloid laden species which needs wet processing to remove the Alkaloids. 3. Lupinus Luteus, better known for a beautiful yellow flower and is difficult to grow without significant insecticide as this species does not yield well and is prone to insect damage and resultant quality of the mature lupin seeds. 4. Lupinus Angustifolius is better known as the Australian Sweet Lupin. Introduced to Western Australia from the Mediterranean in the mid 1960’s to some regions of the wheat belt as a possible solution for improving our infertile and sandy soils. Since then the government Dept of Agriculture owned the classical breeding programme with a part focus on reduced Alkaloid levels - hence the name ‘Australian Sweet Lupin’ because it is non-bitter like the cousin species. We now focus our breeding programme in even lower Alkaloid levels to enable a significant difference between non-bitter Australian lupins and lupins for other parts of the globe. Hope this helps explain the difference and reason for the bitterness in some other lupin products. David can be contacted   for any information with regards to Lupins      thelupinco.com.au.
gavinc's picture
gavinc

The lupin flour continues to please. My wife insists that the sourdough with 10% lupin flour makes into our regular bake as she likes it the best of all. This one was made today. The lupin shows through in colour and taste. Delightful.

Cheers,

Gavin