Milling & Baking News - November 15, 2022 - 24

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agriculture projects. Many of the growers
have adopted regenerative agriculture
practices such as increasing crop diversity,
minimizing soil disturbance and integrating
livestock. HarvestEdge is processed
in ADM's carbon-neutral mill in Dodge
City, Kan.
Ardent Mills, Denver, has an exclusive
partnership with Colorado Quinoa, a
US-based company that supports local
farmers and promotes water conservation
and soil health. The company last
year completed the acquisition of Firebird
Artisan Mills, a gluten-free, specialty
grain and pulse milling company, and
Hinrichs Trading Co., a North American
company involved in chickpea sourcing
and packaging.
" With many of the alternative grains
gluten-free applications use, gluten-free
can also play nicely into the plant protein
and even sustainability stories, " said
Matthew Schueller, director of marketing
insights and analytics for Ardent Mills.
" Within the gluten-free bakery sphere,
alternative and emerging grains are rapidly
growing in popularity since they are
able to provide the taste, texture and satisfaction
of traditional bakery items, without
gluten. These ingredients can do more
than just take the place of gluten. They
can also help provide added benefits. For
example, both chickpea flour and quinoa
are alternatives that are good sources of
fiber (per RACC) and can be used to help
add additional plant-based protein. "
'PLUSING-UP' NUTRITION
Emphasis on the nutritional profile of
gluten-free products has increased, Mr.
Reed of Cargill said.
" Early gluten-free bakery products contained
a lot of sugar, fat and highly refined
grains - all ingredients that today's
Chickpea flour provides a
crispy, crunchy texture to
crackers.
health-conscious consumers are watching
closely, " he said. " We've found ways to
boost the nutritional profile of gluten-free
baked goods without impacting flavor or
texture. This includes using whole grains
and boosting the protein content using
CHEF'S EXPERIMENTS CREATE
HEALTHIER GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR
en Peters was diagnosed as gluten-intolerant 13 years ago and
began searching for gluten-free baked foods. A professional chef,
she realized many starches in gluten-free flours contained a lot of
carbohydrates, and the products contained little fiber or iron. Going gluJ
ten-free
did not sound all that healthy.
" It's like being a french fry vegetarian, " Ms. Peters said. " I'm not going
to eat meat. I'm just going to eat potatoes. "
She decided to create her own gluten-free baked foods. Her experiments
eventually led to the creation of The Good Flour Co., Burnaby, BC.
The Good Flour Co. sells directly to restaurants and to foodservice companies
like US Foods. A gluten-free fish batter mix has done especially well,
Ms. Peters said. This year The Good Flour Co. partnered with Sprouts Farmers
Market to get the products into stores. An artisan fried chicken mix and
an artisan fish batter mix initially will be available.
Ms. Peters became a professional chef about 25 years ago, but her first
attempts at gluten-free baking were mostly disappointing. She remembers
thinking, " Who would eat that? I know how to make cookies. What is going on? "
She tested recipes and used pounds and pounds of butter.
" My house turned into this crazy lab, "
Ms. Peters said. " I tried almost everything
I could get my hands on. "
She found success in a flour blend containing
buckwheat, brown rice and millet.
Millet, a tiny grain, offers a soft, buttery
texture and a yellow color, she said, while
dehulled buckwheat has a greenish, lightbrown
texture.
Guar gum helps in achieving a desired
Peters
texture, one that is moist but not too wet
either.
24 MILLING & BAKING NEWS
" I feel that guar gum gives you the best thickening and bakes off really
well, " Ms. Peters said. " So your items don't end up sticky and wet. "
The Good Flour Co. buys brown rice flour and mills the millet and buckwheat
in a stone mill.
" You get a better texture, for sure, and the sifter helps with texture,
too, " Ms. Peters said of a stone mill, adding the stone mill means the flour
does not need to be heated.
" If you heat up a grain while you're milling it, it tends to go rancid more
quickly, and you lose a little bit of the nutritional value, " she said.
The Good Flour Co. plans to keep using a stone mill even as volume increases.
" Space-wise, we have room, " Ms. Peters said. " If I need a second mill,
I won't be upset. " MBN
bakingbusiness.com
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