User:Kittycataclysm/Sandbox/Flour

Kittycataclysm/Sandbox/Flour
Category	Basic foodstuffs

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An ingredient used in many foods, flour is a fine powder made from cereal grain or other starchy food sources. In English, the word "flour" used alone often refers to wheat flour, especially all-purpose flour.

Characteristics

Flour is always based on the presence of starches, which are complex carbohydrates.

Varieties

Flours from other cereals

• Corn flour is an ambiguous term that can mean cornstarch or finely ground cornmeal. Cornmeal which has been leached with lye is called corn masa (masa harina) and is used to make tamales and corn tortillas in Mexican cooking.

• Atta is a popular flour used in South Asian cuisines, and is made by grinding whole wheat.

• 100% rye flour is used to bake the traditional sourdough breads of Germany and Scandinavia.

• Rice flour is of great importance in South-east Asian cuisines.

• Sorghum flour (jowar) is used in many parts of Africa and South Asia.

• Spelt flour is an alternative to wheat flour. Note: although some people with wheat allergies can tolerate spelt, other wheat-allergic patients have adverse reactions to spelt flour as well. Spelt also has less gluten than wheat, but it is not gluten-free.

• Other grains (cereal and non-cereal) ground into flours include amaranth, barley, buckwheat, millet, oats, quinoa, teff, and triticale.

Flours Made of Legumes, Tubers, Pulses, Etc.

• Chickpea flour (besan) is of great importance in Indian cuisine. Some other legumes ground for flour include soybeans, mung beans, yellow peas, urad dal, and fava beans.

• Flour can also be made from various various roots and tubers, including arrowroot, cassava (manioc, tapioca), potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro root; and other non-grain foodstuffs.

Flours Made of Nuts

• Almond Flour Finely ground blanched almonds (much finer than almond meal) is a flour sometimes used in cooking.
• Coconut Flour Used often in gluten free cooking, coconut flour is considered a healthier alternative to wheat or grain flours.
• Flour may also be made from most nuts using a food processor, including Brazil nut, Cashew, Pistachios, Macadamias, Hazelnuts, etc.

Fruit Flours

• Banana Flour A seldom produced flour made from bananas, Banana flour contains resistant starch and is currently only produced by Mt Uncle in Australia, also the process in which they produce the product is not disclosed.