Blending flours and recipe techniques

[s'nic]

I've stumbled over this site a few times, and thought I'd share these links
These pages are written from a gluten-free perspective but since low carb options are generally going to be gluten free some of this could be useful to low / reduced carb home bakers who are looking at the different flours available.

She discusses qualities of different flours and blending flours to get the result you want, eg blending a denser flour with a lighter flour. Improving rise, moisture and texture of baked goods; and additions to replace the gluten present in regular flour.

The Ultimate Guide to Gluten-Free Cakes

This Ultimate Guide to Gluten-Free Cakes will help you understand how to create tasty and simple gluten-free cakes using my baking tips and recipes.

fromthelarder.co.uk

The Ultimate Guide To Nut Flours

A guide to nut flours which are are extremely versatile gluten-free flours and help to produce beautifully moist and flavourful cakes.

fromthelarder.co.uk

Note that her flourless recipes may include an ingredient such as oat, cornmeal or polenta, so flourless may not indicate low carb ingredients.

 

[Inka]

The best gluten-free site (and books) I’ve found is The Loopy Whisk. The recipes aren’t aiming to be low carb so the carbs vary, but the scientific explanations she gives are second to none:

https://theloopywhisk.com/

She also has a couple of books out which explain the ingredients in detail, why they’re there, substitutions, etc, etc.

https://theloopywhisk.com/baked-to-perfection-gluten-free-cookbook/

https://theloopywhisk.com/elements-of-baking-cookbook/

 

[s'nic]

The best gluten-free site (and books) I’ve found is The Loopy Whisk. The recipes aren’t aiming to be low carb so the carbs vary, but the scientific explanations she gives are second to none:

https://theloopywhisk.com/

She also has a couple of books out which explain the ingredients in detail, why they’re there, substitutions, etc, etc.

https://theloopywhisk.com/baked-to-perfection-gluten-free-cookbook/

https://theloopywhisk.com/elements-of-baking-cookbook/

Thanks, I'll give them a look later. I'm definitely on the lookout for flours to blend, and improvement techniques for non-standard flour baking.
Ideally I want low carb and low fat, but I think that falls in the chickens teeth category 🙄
So I'm currently thinking of reduced carb and reduced fat .. maybe a flour blend including both oat flour and almond flour. The almond flour is lower saturated fat, so that's a good start.

 

[silver minion]

Thanks to both @s'nic and @Inka for the links. I am looking forward to trying some new baking recipes during the cold winter nights. Might even share a few with hubby sitting in front of a nice warm fire and a hot cuppa

 

[s'nic]

When searching for recipes I often include the word healthy to try exclude keto results (due to a tendency towards high protein and high fats). Perhaps as a consequence I trip over fake slimming world recipes quite often and have come to the conclusion that they are a great resource purely because they strip a recipe to it's bare bones.

Once you have a minimalist fake slimming world recipe in front of you it's super easy to switch ingredients for the fat content you want and the flours you want. Taking a look at a 'standard' or 'classic' version of the recipe can guide you in additions / flavourings.

@silver minion I was doing a search on oat & almond pancakes, and thought they may be something that would interest you.
I think this would be a good base recipe to edit. Pancakes from this recipe can be frozen, and they make the great suggestion of placing them between baking paper for easy separation when frozen.
American Style Oat Pancakes
Lemon Blueberry Oat Pancakes I used to buy lemon and raisin pancakes, I can adapt this recipe to make some of my own

Looking at a few oat & almond recipes I can think of 2 immediate and easy edits
1) 33% wholewheat flour, 33% oats, 33% almond flour/ground almonds (lower fat, probably similar carb to all oats (not done the math tho))
2) 50% oats, 50% almond flour/ground almonds (higher fat than option 1, but lower carb)

 

[silver minion]

When searching for recipes I often include the word healthy to try exclude keto results (due to a tendency towards high protein and high fats). Perhaps as a consequence I trip over fake slimming world recipes quite often and have come to the conclusion that they are a great resource purely because they strip a recipe to it's bare bones.

Once you have a minimalist fake slimming world recipe in front of you it's super easy to switch ingredients for the fat content you want and the flours you want. Taking a look at a 'standard' or 'classic' version of the recipe can guide you in additions / flavourings.

@silver minion I was doing a search on oat & almond pancakes, and thought they may be something that would interest you.
I think this would be a good base recipe to edit. Pancakes from this recipe can be frozen, and they make the great suggestion of placing them between baking paper for easy separation when frozen.
American Style Oat Pancakes
Lemon Blueberry Oat Pancakes I used to buy lemon and raisin pancakes, I can adapt this recipe to make some of my own

Looking at a few oat & almond recipes I can think of 2 immediate and easy edits
1) 33% wholewheat flour, 33% oats, 33% almond flour/ground almonds (lower fat, probably similar carb to all oats (not done the math tho))
2) 50% oats, 50% almond flour/ground almonds (higher fat than option 1, but lower carb)

Thanks for the mention. I am definitely a pancake fiend. I think I have all the ingredients so I will give it a go and let you know how they turn out. BTW what do you mean by "freezing" pre- diagnosis I never had any leftover to freeze. ( Sooooo naughty)

 

[s'nic]

Thanks for the mention. I am definitely a pancake fiend. I think I have all the ingredients so I will give it a go and let you know how they turn out. BTW what do you mean by "freezing" pre- diagnosis I never had any leftover to freeze. ( Sooooo naughty)

Totally with you on that one
But when you make a weeks supply for an average family of four, munch your way through them and experience pancake overload - that's when you can freeze the 3 leftover pancakes

 

[silentsquirrel]

When searching for recipes I often include the word healthy to try exclude keto results (due to a tendency towards high protein and high fats). Perhaps as a consequence I trip over fake slimming world recipes quite often and have come to the conclusion that they are a great resource purely because they strip a recipe to it's bare bones.

Once you have a minimalist fake slimming world recipe in front of you it's super easy to switch ingredients for the fat content you want and the flours you want. Taking a look at a 'standard' or 'classic' version of the recipe can guide you in additions / flavourings.

@silver minion I was doing a search on oat & almond pancakes, and thought they may be something that would interest you.
I think this would be a good base recipe to edit. Pancakes from this recipe can be frozen, and they make the great suggestion of placing them between baking paper for easy separation when frozen.
American Style Oat Pancakes
Lemon Blueberry Oat Pancakes I used to buy lemon and raisin pancakes, I can adapt this recipe to make some of my own

Looking at a few oat & almond recipes I can think of 2 immediate and easy edits
1) 33% wholewheat flour, 33% oats, 33% almond flour/ground almonds (lower fat, probably similar carb to all oats (not done the math tho))
2) 50% oats, 50% almond flour/ground almonds (higher fat than option 1, but lower carb)

Nuts are higher fat than flour, but a low proportion of that is sat. fat, so I happily swap flour for oats/flaxseeds/ground almonds or walnuts, for the extra fibre and protein. Very good for crumble topping. I might try pancakes.

 

[silver minion]

Totally with you on that one
But when you make a weeks supply for an average family of four, munch your way through them and experience pancake overload - that's when you can freeze the 3 leftover pancakes

Well there is a saying in our family. "How many pancakes can Fran eat? Nobody knows as we always run out before I have reached my limit " Even my husband said what's leftover pancakes?