When I set out to create diabetic baked goods, I knew I had to do something about the flour mix. All-purpose flours contain 22 carbohydrates per 1/4 cup- far too many carbs to allow room for additional ingredients.
Since I do a lot of experimental baking, I have a wide variety of flours, nuts and seeds. I pulled out everything that had very few carbs and started experimenting. I ground sesame seeds and flax seeds; I tried almond and other nut flours; I tried soy flour (never again), and I could get the carbohydrate count down to only 13 carbs per 1/4 cup, but these mixes typically had an unpleasant after taste or developed an “off” taste when combined with artificial sweeteners.
I finally resigned myself to working just with wheat and other traditional flours, and then remembered I also had wheat bran and wheat germ. And they are very low in carbohydrates! Plus, wheat germ is high in protein and wheat bran is high in fiber. I needed a wheat flour to “anchor” the mix, so I used whole wheat or sprouted whole wheat flour. Whole wheat digests slower than all-purpose flour because it contains the wheat bran and is higher in protein because it contains the wheat germ. I needed a starch to help hold the flour mix together. I looked at several starches, including cornstarch, tapioca starch and potato starch, but Amaranth was lower in carbs and contained protein. Finally, I needed something to offset the strong wheat taste of my flour mix, so I added a small amount of oat flour. (Please note: I was surprised to find that the carbohydrate count for oat flour differs depending on the manufacturer. Look for oat flours with lower carbohydrate counts.)
The result is a flour mix with a slightly “rustic” texture, but a pleasant taste and it contains only 13.8 carbohydrates per 1/4 cup!
To create a finer texture, place the flour mix, a few spoonfuls at a time, in a coffee grinder or a grinder specifically for grinding grains, and pulse for a few seconds to cut the grains into a finer texture. Food processors are too large and will not do the job adequately. Be sure to clean your coffee grinder thoroughly afterwards.
Diabetic Flour Mix
Ingredients Carbs
30.0g./ 4T Sprouted Whole Wheat
Or Whole Wheat Flour 21.0g.
27.5g./ 5T Wheat Germ* 12.5
16.0g./ 4T Wheat Bran* 7.0
7.0g./ 1T Amaranth *** 4.75
11.0g./ 2T Oat Flour** 10.0
91.5g per cup 55.25 carbohydrates per cup
* Grind in a coffee grinder or a grinder specifically for grinding grains
** Look for oat flours with lower carbohydrate counts
***Amaranth can be found among gluten-free flours or at health food
stores. If not, substitute cornstarch, potato starch or tapioca starch, although the carbohydrate content is slightly higher.
Nutrition Information Per Cup:
Total Carbs: 55.25 g.
Total Fat: 4.75 g.
Total Fiber: 16.13 g.
Sugar and “other”: 23.00 g.
Protein: 17.10 g.
To make a larger batch to store for future use:
Ingredient x5
Sprouted Whole Wheat
Or Whole Wheat Flour 150.0g.
Wheat Germ 137.5g.
Wheat Bran 80.0g.
Amaranth 35.0g.
Oat Flour 55.0g.
Total weight for 5 cups: 457.5 g.
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