I don't have to pay a lot for white flour but a 5 pound bag of whole
wheat flour costs 3 or 4 dollars at supermarkets near me that have it
and none of them have rye flour. There are also a few other kinds of
flour at even higher rates at a large supermarket whose name I won't
disclose but which I like to refer to as "Yuppie Heaven". I'd like to
find alternatives that are cheaper and which offer more diversity.

One possibility is to order flour on the web. I only found one place that
does that so far and it specializes in Indian products. Another possibility
is to grind my own flour in some way. Here are a few examples that come to
mind:
(1) N.Thornton recommended rice flour for certain purposes. Can I make my own
rice flour by the following procedure? Take a coffee grinder (e.g. those
little Braun devices for grinding coffee beans) and first grind a little
bread in it to clean any coffee residue from it. Then fill it with
ordinary grains of rice and grind them to a powder.
(2) Similarly, I could grind barley, although I would probably want to wash
the talc off them and dry them first.
(3) I vaguely remember that one can make flour out of acorns, but one needs
to do something first to leach some unpleasant chemical out of them.
(4) I suppose one can do the same with chestnuts, but I'm not sure that all
varieties of chestnuts one finds on the ground are suitable. I have an
even vaguer recollection of there being two main kinds of chestnut in
France and that they are not both suitable, but my memory could be
misleading me on that point.
(5) According to the book, Unmentionable Cuisine, one can grind up dried
grasshoppers and locusts to make a kind of flour. I don't know how one
uses that kind of flour differently from flour made from grains.
(6) In a similar spirit, I've heard of fish flour. I've seen dried fish
on sale in the supermarket, probably cod. I don't know if one simply
grinds it up or if there is something else one has to do first. I think
I've also seen dried shrimp and maybe one can grind it to. I think that
the batter is deep fried and used in some Chinese restaurants to make a
kind of chip for a snack.
(7) There are all kinds of dried foods. Can one grind up practically any of
them to make a kind of flour? Dried mushrooms, dried squid, dried beans,
etc. or is there some quality that a powder has to have to count as a
"flour"?

Ignorantly,
Allan Adler


************************************************** **************************
* *
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT Artificial *
* Intelligence Lab. My actions and comments do not reflect *
* in any way on MIT. Moreover, I am nowhere near the Boston *
* metropolitan area. *
* *
************************************************** **************************

try www.kingarthurflour.com


"Allan Adler" > wrote in message
...
>
> I don't have to pay a lot for white flour but a 5 pound bag of whole
> wheat flour costs 3 or 4 dollars at supermarkets near me that have it
> and none of them have rye flour. There are also a few other kinds of
> flour at even higher rates at a large supermarket whose name I won't
> disclose but which I like to refer to as "Yuppie Heaven". I'd like to
> find alternatives that are cheaper and which offer more diversity.
>
> One possibility is to order flour on the web. I only found one place that
> does that so far and it specializes in Indian products. Another
possibility
> is to grind my own flour in some way. Here are a few examples that come to
> mind:
> (1) N.Thornton recommended rice flour for certain purposes. Can I make my
own
> rice flour by the following procedure? Take a coffee grinder (e.g.
those
> little Braun devices for grinding coffee beans) and first grind a
little
> bread in it to clean any coffee residue from it. Then fill it with
> ordinary grains of rice and grind them to a powder.
> (2) Similarly, I could grind barley, although I would probably want to
wash
> the talc off them and dry them first.
> (3) I vaguely remember that one can make flour out of acorns, but one
needs
> to do something first to leach some unpleasant chemical out of them.
> (4) I suppose one can do the same with chestnuts, but I'm not sure that
all
> varieties of chestnuts one finds on the ground are suitable. I have an
> even vaguer recollection of there being two main kinds of chestnut in
> France and that they are not both suitable, but my memory could be
> misleading me on that point.
> (5) According to the book, Unmentionable Cuisine, one can grind up dried
> grasshoppers and locusts to make a kind of flour. I don't know how one
> uses that kind of flour differently from flour made from grains.
> (6) In a similar spirit, I've heard of fish flour. I've seen dried fish
> on sale in the supermarket, probably cod. I don't know if one simply
> grinds it up or if there is something else one has to do first. I
think
> I've also seen dried shrimp and maybe one can grind it to. I think
that
> the batter is deep fried and used in some Chinese restaurants to make
a
> kind of chip for a snack.
> (7) There are all kinds of dried foods. Can one grind up practically any
of
> them to make a kind of flour? Dried mushrooms, dried squid, dried
beans,
> etc. or is there some quality that a powder has to have to count as a
> "flour"?
>
> Ignorantly,
> Allan Adler
>
>
>
************************************************** **************************
> *
*
> * Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT Artificial
*
> * Intelligence Lab. My actions and comments do not reflect
*
> * in any way on MIT. Moreover, I am nowhere near the Boston
*
> * metropolitan area.
*
> *
*
>
************************************************** **************************
>

Allan Adler > wrote in message >...
> I don't have to pay a lot for white flour but a 5 pound bag of whole
> wheat flour costs 3 or 4 dollars at supermarkets near me that have it
> and none of them have rye flour. There are also a few other kinds of
> flour at even higher rates at a large supermarket whose name I won't
> disclose but which I like to refer to as "Yuppie Heaven". I'd like to
> find alternatives that are cheaper and which offer more diversity.
>
> One possibility is to order flour on the web. I only found one place that
> does that so far and it specializes in Indian products.

sounds pricey

> Another possibility
> is to grind my own flour in some way. Here are a few examples that come to
> mind:
> (1) N.Thornton recommended rice flour for certain purposes. Can I make my own
> rice flour by the following procedure? Take a coffee grinder (e.g. those
> little Braun devices for grinding coffee beans) and first grind a little
> bread in it to clean any coffee residue from it. Then fill it with
> ordinary grains of rice and grind them to a powder.

yup, done that. There are 2 grades with rice: powdered rice and rice
flour. Powdered rice is not as fine, and is fine for bread and cakes,
but not for sauces, which need the finer rice flour.

When using the coffee grinder you'll find that what looks like good
rice flour isnt, its just powdered rice. It needs a second long grind
before you have rice flour as opposed to the coarser version.


> (2) Similarly, I could grind barley, although I would probably want to wash
> the talc off them and dry them first.

Yes, and buckwheat, dried out cooked soya beans, and other beans -
beans must be properly cooked though.

> (3) I vaguely remember that one can make flour out of acorns, but one needs
> to do something first to leach some unpleasant chemical out of them.

acorns contain a lot of tannin, makes them bitter. Pouring boiling
water over them mashed leeches this out. There is also a type of oak
that produces acorns that dont need leaching.

Bear in mind when gathering things from unknown sources that there are
chemicals that can make things unsuitable for eating for a matter of
weeks. This is especially true with some of the professional growwers
chemicals, some of which are serious stuff, lead arsenate being the
most famous one.

> (4) I suppose one can do the same with chestnuts, but I'm not sure that all
> varieties of chestnuts one finds on the ground are suitable. I have an
> even vaguer recollection of there being two main kinds of chestnut in
> France and that they are not both suitable, but my memory could be
> misleading me on that point.

That I dont know. I have used chestnut paste before, I would think
chestnut would be too fatty to use as flour, as well as too strong
tasting. Perhaps just a little added for flavour.

> (5) According to the book, Unmentionable Cuisine, one can grind up dried
> grasshoppers and locusts to make a kind of flour. I don't know how one
> uses that kind of flour differently from flour made from grains.

yes, you could - not sure I would though, you dont know where they've
been, or what they've picked up. And even if I did know I wouldnt want
to eat them! Insects give you something closer to mince meat, more
burger material I think.

> (6) In a similar spirit, I've heard of fish flour. I've seen dried fish
> on sale in the supermarket, probably cod. I don't know if one simply
> grinds it up or if there is something else one has to do first. I think
> I've also seen dried shrimp and maybe one can grind it to. I think that
> the batter is deep fried and used in some Chinese restaurants to make a
> kind of chip for a snack.

I presume it would not keep, the fats would quickly oxidise. Perhaps
used for mixing in with potato to make cheap fish substitute.
Cetrainly not for bread!

You can also fake fish cakes by putting a certain type of japanese
seaweed in with potato - I forget the name but it tastes just like
fish.

> (7) There are all kinds of dried foods. Can one grind up practically any of
> them to make a kind of flour? Dried mushrooms, dried squid, dried beans,
> etc. or is there some quality that a powder has to have to count as a
> "flour"?

flours are high starch powders, so mushrooms and squid would not make
bread.

Also wheat flour contains gluten, which is a springy gluey protein
that holds bread together. Most other flours dont have gluten, which
makes them difficult to make bread with. For example Soya bread can be
made with a mix of soya and wheat, or it can be 100% soya. When all
soya, it is hard, inflexible and brittle.

Buckwheat has a strong flavour, can be added in small amounts to white
flour to improve it, though I never recommend eating white flour.

Soya is cetrainly differnet, and high in protein. Soya bread should be
lightly cooked, with no attempt at browning. Unlike wheat, any browned
material just tasted bad.

Buckwheat should be kept as a low percentage, as it is just too strong
tasting otherwise.

Same is true of millet, it has a somewhat bitter taste, add some
sweetness to remedy this.

Rye is strong tasting too, but more acceptable than the above two in
high concentrations.

Oats are good in bread too. ISTR using pancake mix of just oats, rice,
soya and what was it, buckwheat or millet I think. No egg required.
One advantage with oats is their softness, one can put them in the mix
whole and rely on a food processor to mix and mash in one go.

For pastry, wheat is the only thing I've seen work. Glutinous rice
exists, so I guess that could also be used.

Potato can also be included, as can carrots, which give a pleasant
sweetness.

Breads and cakes without gluten generally need something to glue them
together: mashed fruit works to an extent, as does egg, gels that go
solid work, such as agar gel.


However if cost is your goal, nothing beats plain old wheat, except
perhaps wheat and potato.


Regards, NT

I don't have to pay a lot for white flour but a 5 pound bag of whole
wheat flour costs 3 or 4 dollars at supermarkets near me that have it
and none of them have rye flour. There are also a few other kinds of
flour at even higher rates at a large supermarket whose name I won't
disclose but which I like to refer to as "Yuppie Heaven". I'd like to
find alternatives that are cheaper and which offer more diversity.

One possibility is to order flour on the web. I only found one place that
Both of these below have a large variety of flours and grains to order. They
are both great to deal with too.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/cgibi...home/main.html

http://www.bobsredmill.com/