DIY Quinoa Flour

Once upon a time I indulged in a bag of quinoa flour. The 5 1/2 cup bag totaled just over $13. A staggering amount for a little bag of flour. None the less, I had my eyes set on a few recipes, and I couldn't resist trying a new ingredient. 

As far as I can remember, the recipes came out alright. But unfortunately, I had used less than half of the bag and was stuck with this "unique" flour that had an offensive raw odor [do you know the smell I'm talking about?]. Sometime later I polished off the bag by inventing a bread recipe (not such a hot idea if you don't know how to work with a new type of flour). 

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Fast forward to a month ago:

I was going through my daily blog roll, and I came across a recipe by Jessica from Chockohlawtay. The simple ingredient list, which didn't call for sugar or oil, intrigued me. I was bummed that I didn't have any quinoa flour laying around but decided to purchase a bag on my next Whole Foods trip. 

Except this time when I saw that $13 price tag, I did not want to lay down that cash. 

Time to improvise!

A quick internet search revealed that it is totally possible to make your own quinoa flour. Perfect!

Apparently there are two methods: 

1. Toasted seeds  2. Untoasted seeds

Toasting the seeds brings out the nuttiness and mellows the flavor. 

Making your own quinoa flour is easy! You just need a high power blender [I used my magic bullet with the flat blade] and a saute pan.

Quinoa Flour

Ingredients:

   Quinoa 

       Any amount is fine. The largest amount I've done is 2 cups, and I had to grind it in 2 batches. The 2 c. made about 2.5 c. of flour.

Directions:

   1. Place the desired amount of quinoa in a pan. Pick a pan that is large enough so that the quinoa covers the bottom evenly and it does not create too thick of a layer. This will provide for even toasting. 

   2. Turn the stove on medium heat and occasionally stir the quinoa. 

   3. You know the quinoa is done when you start to hear a consistent soft popping/crackling and the color deepens to a  golden. It is better to under toast the seeds vs. over-toasting. They should not be any darker than the picture above. 

   4. Once your quinoa is done toasting, let it cool completely.

   5. Once cooled, place in your blender and grind until it is flour!

I will have a recipe up soon to test involving this awesome homemade flour. 

In the meantime, enjoy these wonderful stats of your new grain free flour:

P.S. I picked up some black quinoa the other day. Apparently it is slightly sweeter than white quinoa. I can't wait to try making flour with it and to see the effects of such a dark rich color!