Quinoa Flour’s Bitter & Grassy Taste
Ok, so I have to admit, I have tried time and time again to use quinoa flour and each time I come out completely disappointed! Have you tried quinoa flour only to be disappointed?
- First, I couldn’t stand the grassy smell of quinoa flour and it carried right over into the dish I was making.
- Second, I didn’t have success with cooking with it. It seemed to have a strange texture…strange taste, strange texture that’s 2 strikes.
- Third, it wasn’t easily found in my grocery stores. Yep, the 3 strikes your out certainly applies here!
So I started experimenting to solve all of these 3 strikes and I was super excited when I hit a home run in the quinoa world! (I know, I know…I just love baseball though) 😉
Making Your Own Quinoa Flour
So my first task was making my own quinoa flour. Who knew that it would be so easy to make!
- First, order yourself some organic quinoa.
- Next place your quinoa into a high powered food processor, Vitamix or Blendtec. If you do not have any of these, a coffee/herb grinder works just as well.
- Now just grind until a flour forms. This time will vary depending on which devise you are using to grind.
That’s it! I know so simple right? Now lets move on to roasting the flour. Please do not skip this step! It makes this flour slightly sweet with a touch of sourness, perfect if you ask me!
The Texture of Freshly Ground Quinoa Flour
Check out the picture above of the freshly ground quinoa flour. Kind of reminds me of almond flour with its coarse texture.
The texture will change through the roasting process and this is another key reasons why it is important to roast the quinoa flour.
Once you roast the quinoa flour, it will become a finer flour and will have the consistency of an all purpose flour. It will absorb better when baking and will create more consistent results.
Toasting Quinoa Flour
Roasting quinoa flour really is quite simple. Follow these quick and easy steps and you will have the best quinoa flour you have ever tasted, for real!!
Toasted Quinoa Flour
Prep Time: 5 mins- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Varies depending how much you make
Prep Time:
Yield:
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 pound quinoa (see instructions above on how to make your own quinoa flour)
- You can also use store bought quinoa flour, but I prefer to freshly grind my flour, it is fresher and the nutrients remain in the flour when freshly ground.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220ºF
- Place the freshly ground flour (you can also use store bought quinoa flour) onto a rimmed pan. You do not have to measure, just make sure that it doesn’t reach the thickness of more than 1/4″ deep.
- Roast for 2 1/2 – 3 hours. I know it might seem like a long time, but you don’t have to turn the flour or anything, just pop it in the oven and in 3 hours it is done! How simple is that?
- When you start roasting your quinoa flour, you will have a very earthy, grassy smell throughout the house. The smell will change over the course of the cooking time.
- Remove from oven and allow to completely cool.
- Once cooled, place in an air tight container and store in the freezer.
- Quinoa can quickly become rancid. Just like with any freshly ground or roasted flours, it is best to freeze them so that the flour remain fresh and doesn’t turn rancid.
Notes
See “Equipment Carousel” below to see the equipment that I recommend for this recipe.
Recommended Equipment
Check out this carousel above to see the products that I recommend for this recipe. Just click and hold on the arrow in lower right corner to scroll through. To learn more about the product, just click on the image. Pretty cool, right? 🙂
Now That Smells Good!
You will notice that the house will start to smell sweeter and eventually you will not smell the flour anymore.
When you get to that point, you know your roasted quinoa flour is done!
The Texture of Toasted Quinoa Flour
Take a look at the texture of this toasted quinoa flour. Do you see a change? It is quite a bit finer and resembles the texture of an all purpose flour.
Be sure to allow it to completely cool and then store in an air tight container and store in the freezer. As with any freshly ground flours, it is best to store the flour in the freezer to keep the flour from going rancid.
It will last 6 months in the freezer so feel free to roast a large quantity.
Lets Start Cooking With Quinoa Flour Shall We?
Ok so now that we have this awesome flour, lets start creating some amazing quinoa flour recipes.
Stay tuned, because I have whipped up some pretty amazing recipes using quinoa flour that I can’t wait to share!
Share Your Thought
I am really interested to hear your thoughts on this?
Have you ever roasted a flour before or is this the first time you have heard of this?
Can you just toast the quinoa before you grind it? I always toast in when cooking with it in food didn’t know if you toasted it before making flour if it would workout?
I haven’t tried that out, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Keep us posted if you try it!
Can you use quinoa flour as a cup for cup substitute for whole wheat flour? I am allergic to gluten and would love to use this in place of all-purpose flours or even find a good gluten-free quinoa flour blend.
I am just beginning to learn about and experiment with my own ground flours. I’m glad I came across your article because I was about to store a container of quinoa flour I just ground this morning. Now I will toast it first!
However, this poses another question… Should I also roast other flours I grind, such as millet, chickpea, and brown rice?
Quinoa takes on a different taste altogether when roasted, not sure that would happen with other alternative flours.
Do we have to wash the Quinoa first?
★★★★
If it isn’t prewashed, then yes it is best to wash it.
Do you have to let the quinoa dry before grinding it up?
It should be dry already Katie, but if it is not…yes it needs to be dry before grinding.
3 hours, 220°F, still tastes like grass.
After the 3 hours I bumped the oven up to about 300 and roasted for another hour or so. I did mix it a little. I tasted the flour to make sure it wasn’t so grassy. I’ve baked different dishes and gotten compliments. Can’t taste it at all.
★★★★★
I was just wondering if you could roast the quinoa first and then make it into flour?
I haven’t tried this Bev, but it seems like it might work out just fine.
You did not mention anything about washing the quinoa first, dry it thoroughly and then grind it to make it into flour. Then lastly roasting it in the oven as you suggested.
Therefore it seems you yourself skip the washing which I was told is an important step to get rid of the toxins/bitterness quinoa unfortunately has before cooking with it.
I would appreciate your clearing this matter up.
Thanks!
I love Quinoa and use if often.
Deena
Hi Deena,
Most quinoa is prewashed already when you purchase it. When I grew it myself, yes I did wash it then, but outside of that, I’ve found that there really is no need to wash it.
Hey!
I was developing a recipe for a gluten free treat that was uncooked. In a rush I accidently bought some quinoa flour that didn’t specify if the quinoa was sprouted or not! – I had done some research and found only that sprouted quinoa was safe to eat raw. Your recipe saved me! I just baked the quinoa as you recommended, so I could ensure it would be safe to have raw. I am sharing my recipe on my blog, and I am hoping I would be able to reference your page to my readers if they want to make their own quinoa flour or run into the same issues I’ve had!