Substituting uncooked quinoa for quinoa flour

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I've seen this recipe and would like to substitute uncooked quinoa for the quinoa flour.
How much uncooked quinoa would you advise?
Can I substitute sunflower oil or dessicated coconut for coconut oil 1 to 1. It's for the Jewish Passover.

Any other advice welcome?

Healthy Quinoa Carrot Cake
 
Use weight and a 1:1 ratio. Adding desiccated coconut will add flavor and yes you can switch out the coconut oil for the sunflower in a 1:1 ratio. Problems could arise on 2 fronts. 1) Not enough flour to hold the cake together. 2)The virgin coconut oil goes solid at room temp and because it's a 1/4 cup and switching to sunflower that doesn't will effect how this cake holds together. For a carrot cake, virgin coconut oil is the perfect fat. Good luck.
 
I've seen this recipe and would like to substitute uncooked quinoa for the quinoa flour
I'm not so certain you can make this substitution after reading the comments.

One of the readers asks if they can make their own quinoa flour by grinding uncooked quinoa and she replies that it affects the liquid quantities because the grinding isn't as fine. Using uncooked quinoa will very definitely cause problems because the liquid quantities won't be correct from the word go. The batter will be much too liquid and I honestly don't think the quinoa would cook properly and absorb all of the liquid in the same way that the quinoa flour would.

But the worst that will happen is that the cake won't hold together and the quinoa won't cook thoroughly.
 
Yeah, uncooked quinoa, I missed that. You could cook the quinoa first and slightly overcooked to make it more sticky for lack of a better word to help with structure. The volumes would need to be corrected and SatNav is right and it will probably not work for a desirable outcome and turn out to be more of a learning experience.
 
For the purposes of this recipe (and more generally), could I turn my quinoa into quinoa flour by following these steps which I found on Don't pay $15 for a bag of quinoa flour - make your own for much less!!
If so, is toasting necessary?

Would you say that a cup of grated carrot is 100g?
A cup of quinoa is about 180g I think. What is a cup of quinoa flour in grams?
Can I substitute ground almonds for almond flour?

Ingredients​


  • 1/2 cup quinoa, uncooked

Instructions​

  • Start with the whole raw seed (anywhere from 1/4 – 1 cup).
  • (optional) Add the raw quinoa to a dry skillet and toast the quinoa until it begins to brown and pop. It will have a distinctly nutty smell. Be careful here as quinoa can burn quite quickly, so keep a close eye on it.
  • Once toasted, transfer the quinoa to either a spice grinder, or a high-powered blender. Blend/grind the quinoa on high for 1 minute until it’s a fine powder.
  • Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and add the quinoa mixture. Sift until only large chunks remain.
  • If the quinoa was toasted, allow the flour to cool completely before storing. If not, transfer it to a sealed container and store until you’re ready to use it!
 
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For the purposes of this recipe (and more generally), could I turn my quinoa into quinoa flour by following these steps which I found on Don't pay $15 for a bag of quinoa flour - make your own for much less!!
I'll try to take 1 question at a time.

If so, is toasting necessary?
The link clearly states that the next step is optional, that step is toasting... (my bold below)

Now, the next two stages are optional, but I think lend a really nice flavor to the flour.
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Add the raw quinoa to a dry skillet and toast the quinoa until it begins to brown and pop. It will have a distinctly nutty smell. Be careful here as quinoa can burn quite quickly, so keep a close eye on it.
but and this is a big but she hasn't washed the quinoa which is a very necessary step and if you wash the saponoids off the quinoa, you'll need to dry it somehow. So toasting becomes the most obvious manner. You can't successfully grind damp quinoa (or anything for that matter) into flour. It simply doesn't happen. You'll end up with more of a paste to lumpy flour. It's the equivalent of adding a little water to flour and mixing at high speed.

So I would recommend washing and then thoroughly drying the quinoa. This could be done in an oven at a low temperature such as after it has been used for something else. Spread out over the bottom of a clean toasting dish or grill pan etc.
A point to note use that you'll be making a coarsely ground floor here, not an industrial fine ground flour and you will likely see the difference.

A cup of quinoa is about 180g I think. What is a cup of quinoa flour in grams

I've no idea what a cup of quinoa weighs, but you will need at least 2 cups of quinoa to produce one cup of flour. Some will be lost in the sieving to remove the larger pieces of quinoa that didn't grind and the rest will simply fill in the air pockets between the quinoa grains. And contrary to the comments, grinding the quinoa will undoubtedly shorten the shelf life because the insides of the quinoa are now exposed to air and it will oxidise. You've grind down the protective coating off each grain. So only grind what you need and no more. Excess can be used in breakfast or frozen in an air tight bag with as much air as possible removed (roll it and hold compressed whilst you seal it).

Would you say that a cup of grated carrot is 100g?
Looking this up online gives an answer between 90-110g depending on how finely grated the carrot is.

Can I substitute ground almonds for almond flour?
Yes and no. It depends.

Almond flour can be made 1 of 2 ways. 1 is made from whole almonds ground very finely. So in this instance yes you could substitute.

But almonds meal or almond flour can also be made from the waste products of the almond milk industry. The ground almonds that are sieved out at the end can be dried and sold on. In this case the nutritional content is different and it can affect the end product. This product is lighter and more flour like than ground almonds.

So it all depends on what it is your are making. If you purchase almond flour you'll see that it is very similar in texture to flour, in that it is light and fluffy and powdery. Ground almonds are not light, powdery and fluffy. They are oily and heavier (especially in the UK ). So a lot is going to depend on your recipe and where it originates from. If the ground almonds are there as a nut, I'd stick with using ground almonds. If they are there instead of a flour component, you would be better off with almond flour or almond meal. Almond flour will also absorb more liquid during cooking than ground almonds, so you'll need to consider that in as well. Ground almonds are not expensive in the UK and are readily available in every supermarket and usually in the Spar and so on. (I have to make my own here in Australia, you simply can't get them. Almond meal or almond flour is readily available, just not ground almonds).

Comparing the nutritional content is usually the best way of telling what the origin is of your almond flour. If it is lower calorie, and lower nutritionally than ground almonds and proportions are different, then it is likely the solid component left over from almond milk.

I'd also suggest that you don't make too many changes to a baked product in one go. Usually changing 1 item at a time, making 1 change at a time is the best bet. Baking is much more precise than stove top cooking (or mains etc) and making huge adjustments at once can cause more failures than successes.
 
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