My favorite biscuits are Baking Powder Biscuits from Kraft (https://www.myfoodandfamily.com/recipe/051722/baking-powder-biscuits). Out of all of the recipes I have ever tried, these always turn out fantastic. So, I thought I would try to adapt that recipe for my sprouted grain flour. I think I have a winner!
Sprouted Grain Buttermilk Biscuits
8 – 10 biscuits2 cups sprouted grain flour (or whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup COLD butter, cut into cubes
1 cup buttermilk (for quick buttermilk, add roughly 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1 cup of milk)Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Add the cubed butter and cut it into the flour (you can use a fork or a pastry blender) until the butter is about the size of a dried pea. Add the buttermilk and mix until almost all of the flour in incorporated (do not mix too much or the biscuits will be dense).Sprinkle flour on your countertop and scoop out the biscuit dough. Gently fold the dough until it becomes more solid (roughly 20 times), only adding flour to prevent it sticking to your hands or countertop. Pat flat so the dough is at least 1/2 inch thick.If you want circles, cut with any item that is at least 2 inches round (a biscuit cutter, a drinking glass, an empty food can, etc.). If you want squares, just cut with a knife. Place biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet an bake for 8 to 12 minutes (until the edges start to brown). Let cool a few minutes, then split with a fork (use the tines of a fork to split the biscuit instead of a knife). Serve.
So, I randomly decided to try my hand at sprouted grain flour. I went to the bulk bins at Winco and see what I could find. They didn’t really have as many whole grains as I wanted, so I bought some barley, red Winter wheat, white wheat, and some raw sunflower seeds. I am going to say this right now: do not try to sprout shelled raw sunflower seeds! They got slimy, stinky, and NEVER really dried out.
In a quart jar, I put one cup of each, put my sprouting lids on the jars, rinsed, then filled them with water and let them soak overnight. I then drained out the liquid, rinsed them, and stored them upside down. Rinse and drain twice per day until the grains are sprouted as much as you want them to be.
Then, to dry them, I put parchment paper onto rimmed baking sheets, spread the grains out, and put these baking sheets in the over with only the light on. That produced enough heat to ensure the air was warm and dry enough to dehydrate the grains. Then, for about 48 hours, I stirred the grains around. The ones toward the outside of the baking sheets dry faster. Once they were completely dry, I put them in jars.
I tried to grind them into flour with my food processor first but all the grains did was spin around, so I tried my blender. That did a pretty good job! I first pulsed the grains on the “crush ice” setting, then just blended them on the lowest setting for 5 minutes. I had to strain it because the blender didn’t grind all of the grains and I didn’t want it chunky. It was at this point that I killed my blender. I ran it for 10 minutes and it overheated so bad that it wouldn’t start again.
I love this mill! I am so happy I went with this instead of a hand crank mill because I know how strenuous it can be to use my hand meat grinder. I can’t imagine how much more tiring it would be using a hand operated grain mill! I ran the grain through twice and BAM! I had really nice flour!
If you make too much flour, just store it in an air-tight container (if you won’t be using it again for a while, store it in the freezer). That’s it! We made flour! My next video is how to turn this into bread. 🙂
Boy, I’ve been slacking. I haven’t posted about how to make nut/seed flours! I don’t make them very often but with the next post I’m going to make, knowing how to do this will save you TONS of money. A while ago, I posted a recipe that called for almond flour on Facebook. One of the responses I got was, “Do you know how expensive that is?” Well, no. I had never bought any. So, I looked the next time I went to the store. Dear Lord! $9 for a bag that would be used with just two of the recipes I have collected over the years! Just buy the nuts and make your own!
It’s hard to deny the convenience of wheat flour. One bag and you’ve got a million recipes at your fingertips. Venture even slightly into gluten-free recipes, and your grocery shopping list could double in length with various flours and starches. It gets especially frustrating when a recipe calls for just 1/4 cup of two or three different flours. Suddenly you’re investing in a $5 to $10 bag of millet flour or gluten-free oat flour that will sit, virtually untouched, for months and months. To avoid this issue, and to simplify my pantry, I learned how to make gluten-free flours at home in a pinch.
The Equipment Yes, a flour mill will give you the most powdery result, and allow you to pulverize even the toughest grains and legumes, but that requires an investment of kitchen space and money. Instead, you can use a spice / coffee grinder, the grinder attachment with a personal-size blender (just $20 to $30 if you don’t have one!), a food processor, or even a high power blender. I find that the grinder route actually works best, but ideally you want to use one that has at least 200 watts of power. Some are on the wimpier side at just 150 watts – they will grind the “easiest” options below, but may struggle beyond that. Best “Grains” for the At-Home Job You might notice from my pantry picture (below) that I do still stock some pre-ground flours and starches. Not all grains and legumes are easy to “flour” at home. For that reason, I have this little guide of easiest, pretty easy, definitely doable, for convenience and too tricky as categories.
Oats Before
Flour After
EASIEST These can be made with even the wimpiest of spice grinders; I always recommend making them at home.
Oat Flour – Whole or quick gluten-free oats can be pulverized in just 30 to 60 seconds into very powdery flour. Cashew Flour – You may not hear of this one much in gluten-free recipes, though it is a staple for dairy-free recipes, but cashews are a beautifully soft nut that grinds up nicely. It doesn’t work as well in baking as almond flour, but still has its place. You may need to sift out some little nut butts, but typically 60 seconds of grinding does the job. Sun-Flour – Sunflower seeds also grind seamlessly. Like cashews, they work well in recipes but shouldn’t be relied upon when baking. I use them more for coatings or things like hearty cookies with other grain flours. Again, 60 seconds in the grinder usually gives you a slightly coarse but lightly ground seed flour.
PRETTY EASY The following can turn into nut or seed butter if you grind them for too long (stick to just 1 to 2 minutes, giving them a stir or shake 30 seconds in to avoid clumping on the sides. Grind just until they turn into coarse flour and not a second longer. To give you a few second window of opportunity, freeze the nuts before grinding. Almond Flour – You can go for fancier nut flour by using blanched almonds, but everyone here voted for the muffins made with unblanched, home-ground almonds over the store-bought blanched stuff – no joke! Hazelnut Flour – Hazelnuts offer a different flavor profile, but with similar results to almond flour.
DEFINITELY DOABLE You’ll definitely need those 200 or 250 watts plus for these coarse grains, but even my little spice grinder was able to tackle millet and quinoa. I sometimes buy buckwheat flour still, but most of my friends grind it at home. You may need those full 3 minutes of high power grinding to get a fine result. Keep in mind that millet, quinoa, and rice flours can all be slightly sandy, even when store-bought.
Millet to flour after 2 minutes in my little $10 spice grinder
Millet Flour – The little grains actually pulverize well, and as a flour is a great ingredient for whole grain breads – though you only need a little. Buckwheat Flour – Nutty, awesome, a must try. Quinoa Flour – Similar to millet, but slightly bitter. Rice Flour (White or Brown) – I’ve found this to be the toughest of grains, and have to let my little grinder rest a little, but it still works.
FOR CONVENIENCE For toastier or crunchier needs, I grind grainy cereals and skip the flours altogether! You can even crush them in a baggie with a meat mallet if you don’t feel like cleaning an appliance. Whole Grain Cereal – As you’ll notice, I always stock a whole grain gluten-free cereal (Buckwheat & Hemp Erewhon Cereal is my latest kick). It is versatile for grinding to make an easy coating, no other flours required! Corn Flakes or Crispy Rice Cereal – Another great one for coatings, but can also be ground for using as some of the flour in recipes like muffins.
TOO TRICKY Some flours and starches are simply too hard to tackle or require extra processing that isn’t easy to do at home. Chickpea Flour – Nearly broke our grinder trying to do this one. A flour mill should be able to tackle it though. Coconut flour – Coconut requires de-fatting to turn into flour. Starches – These are a different animal, but also fairly inexpensive to purchase. This includes corn, potato, arrowroot (pricier), and tapioca starches.
Why Grind your own Gluten-Free Flours?
Buying the whole grains and nuts is much less expensive.
Whole grains and nuts won’t go rancid as quickly as their flours.
Whole grains and nuts are much more versatile – you can cook them as a side dish, use them whole in recipes, or grind them into flour.
It helps to simplify your pantry! You will have one item instead of two in your cupboard and on your shopping list.
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