Teff flour makes a wholesome and versatile gluten-free flour that adds whole-grain nutrition to baked goods. Naturally gluten-free, this ancient East African grain is a good source of iron and fibre.
Flavor: Toasted and earthy
Texture effect: Tender in small amounts; gritty in larger quantities.
Works best in: Quick breads and muffins.
Gluten-free: Yes.
How to incorporate teff flour into your baking
As with many ancient grains, teff flour is versatile enough to substitute in many standard recipes. To find the best combinations, our test kitchen bakers took five of our most popular recipes and replaced a portion of the all-purpose flour with teff flour. The results were delicious. Some recipes came alive with a half-and-half substitution: 50% teff, 50% all-purpose. Others worked best at 25% teff. Here are our full findings for pancakes, scones, cinnamon bread, banana bread, and muffins.
TEFF PANCAKES
Pancakes made with 25% teff flour offer mildly sweet flavor. Teff flour’s fine texture makes fluffy pancakes that are more tender than those made with only all-purpose flour.
2 large eggs
1 cup (283g) milk
3 tablespoons (43g) melted butter or vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups (180g) All-Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar or 1/4 cup (35g) malted milk powder
Beat the eggs and milk until light and foamy, about 3 minutes at high speed of a stand or hand mixer. Stir in the butter or vegetable oil.
Whisk the dry ingredients together to evenly distribute the salt, baking powder and sweetener.
Gently and quickly mix into the egg and milk mixture. Let the batter rest for at least 15 minutes, while the griddle is heating; it’ll thicken slightly.
Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat, or set an electric griddle to 375°F. Lightly grease frying pan. The pan is ready if a drop of water will skitter across the surface, evaporating immediately.
Drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the lightly greased griddle. For blueberry pancakes, sprinkle the fresh or thawed frozen blueberries over the batter.
Bake on one side until bubbles begin to form and break, about 2 minutes; then turn the pancakes and cook the other side until brown, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Turn over only once. Serve immediately.