Flour mills are working around the clock to meet demand as 100’s thousands of people up and down the country are turning their hands to home baking. The only hurdle has been getting your hands on the essential ingredients. Could Tobia Teff Flour be the answer?
Flour sales are up by 92% compared to the same period last year[1], and it seems we are all searching for the best online bread recipes. Baking related google searches have reached an all-time high, and BBC Good Food reported that traffic to their site dramatically increased the day after lockdown, reaching their highest numbers ever last week.
You can’t escape the flurry of banana cake and sourdough posts on Instagram as we become a nation of at-home bakers, but this new cooking passion means the mills can’t produce the wheat flour fast enough!
While the supermarket shelves are now fully stocked with eggs and toilet rolls again, the shelves in the baking aisle are bare. Alternative flours were predicted to be a big food trend for this year by Whole foods, so get trendy and get baking with this batch of alternative flours!
Teff Flour
A versatile grain the size of a poppy seed being hailed as the new quinoa, teff is naturally gluten-free and packs a nutritional punch. Native to Ethiopia, teff is vegan, nutrient-rich, super tasty and has been called a Hollywood superfood, with celebrity fans such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham.
Despite being the smallest in the world, this super tiny grain with not-so-tiny power is protein and fibre rich and boasts a range of health benefits. Not only does teff contain more calcium and vitamin C than almost any other grain, but it also provides a great combination of essential amino acids needed for the body’s growth and repair.
Rich in magnesium, naturally low in fat and sodium, abundant in easily absorbed iron and much of its fibre is a type known as resistant starch, which has been linked in studies to health benefits such as improved blood sugar.
Truly versatile and delicious, the teff grain can be used in a variety of ways; ground into flour, made into porridge or baked to make bread. Why not try Tobia Teff Organic Brown Teff Flour; just as versatile as wheat flour, with extra nutritional benefits! It can be used as a substitute for any flour in pasta, bread, pastries, cakes and puddings; give this muffin recipe a go.
Recipe for Teff Muffins (Makes 8)
Ingredients:
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 1/2 Cups Teff Flour
- 1/2 Cup Arrowroot starch
- 1/2 – 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
- 3/4 Cup Water
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Hazel Nuts
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Grease muffin pans
- Combine flours, arrowroot, baking powder cinnamon and salt
- Mix eggs, olive oil and water and add to the flour mixing quickly. Add nuts.
- Fill greased muffin pans ¾ full—Bake at 400° for 25min.
Almond Flour
We are already fans of nut butter; now it’s time to give nut flour a go. Almond flour is a solid source of calcium and magnesium (the latter helps you absorb the former). Use unblanched almond flour (meaning the skins haven’t been removed) for “breading” on chicken or fish.
Spelt Flour
This ancient grain is a variety of wheat, so it does contain gluten, but includes fewer of the hard-to-digest carbs called fructans. This means that it’s a better option for those who avoid gluten but don’t have celiac disease. Unlike gluten-free flours, spelt offers a hearty and fibrous bite for doughy things like pizza crust- did somebody say homemade pizzas?
For more information on Tobia Teff Flour, visit www.tobiateff.co.uk.
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