COURGETTE/ MARROW FLOUR
Nutritional data per 100g: 3.9g carbohydrates, 1.5g protein
I watched this method online, and found glowing reports of its use as a replacement for coconut flour. We can't grow coconuts here, but usually have plenty of courgettes and marrows, so I thought it was worth trying.
PROCESSING
Grate the courgette or marrow, dehydrate, then grind into flour. I started with 2773g of fresh marrow. Peeled, deseeded, and grated, it got down to 1716g. I decided to put it in a cloth and squeeze out as much moisture as possible before dehydrating.
Hours later and I still had a wettish mass. I put it in the woodstove oven and accidentally dried it to a brown and crispy texture. But it was dry, so I ground it up in the blender to a flour-like consistency. The result was 64g or around half a cup of flour.
I tried again, slicing the fresh marrow thinly and drying it for a similar time. It worked a little better but still took a lot of time and electricity for not much flour.
RESULT
I tried baking a marrow flour chocolate cake. It worked just as well as coconut flour, but without the strong coconut flavour and odd texture.
My conclusions: better than coconut flour, but a lot of time and power to make not much flour. It passed muster, just.
Rebecca’s notes
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I think
this would be a good option if you have a solar dehydrator or drying racks above a woodstove.
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Once
thoroughly dried and ground, store in an airtight container with a silica sachet to keep it dry.
The key to good gluten-free bread is the ratio of dry ingredients to liquid.
Most gluten-free flours absorb more liquid than their gluten counterparts. If you make a standard recipe that uses gluten flours (eg, oat, barley, wheat, or rye) with glutenfree flours, you need to add more liquid to avoid it being stodgy or crumbly.
Unfortunately, there's no perfect quantity or rule. It's all a matter of experimentation. If you get a good outcome, make a note on your recipe so you remember for next time.