Welcome to Smart Substitutions October Edition! This is where we introduce a small change that you can make in your daily cooking habits to create foods that are delicious and a little bit healthier. This month’s feature substitution: Buckwheat Flour!
What:
Unlike its name implies, buckwheat flour is neither a wheat, nor is it really flour. Buckwheat is actually the seed of a fruit closely related to rhubarb and sorrel. The flour is just finely ground buckwheat seeds. Since buckwheat is not really wheat at all, the flour is actually gluten free and highly nutritious, making it a great substitution for plain white flour in many recipes.
Where:
Many large supermarkets stock buckwheat flour, usually in the baking section, near the AP flour and other flour substitutes. Although there aren’t many store brands, Bob’s Redmill and Arrowhead Mills are two companies that do sell buckwheat flour. The good news is that buckwheat flour is a nonperishable good and is available on Amazon and other online retailers.
Why:
So many many reasons to add some buckwheat flour to your day. In addition to being naturally gluten free, buckwheat is also a very nutritious psuedo-grain (meaning it acts like a grain, but isn’t). It contains 4g of fiber and 4 g of protein per 1/4 cup serving. In comparison, regular All Purpose Flour has less than 1g of fiber and a little more than 3g of protein in the same size serving. Buckwheat also contains a number of minerals, such as copper,magnesium and iron, all important for growing bodies and maintaining health for those who are already grown.
When:
Buckwheat flour is a great addition for pancakes, muffins and even cakes. Although as a warning, since it is gluten free, I wouldn’t recommend going 100% buckwheat. The lack of gluten results in a product that is dense and heavy, so to maintain a nice texture, I like to go half and half for things like pancakes and muffins. Buckwheat is also much darker in color than AP flour, so expect your batter to look more gray than usual. Finally, buckwheat does have a more gritty texture, which is a nice change, but yet another reason to go about 50-50 when substituting for flour. Buckwheat noodles, known as Soba noodles can also be a nice substitute for regular pasta and another great way to glean some of the health benefits of buckwheat.
