Teff Is One Intriguing Grain!
A few weeks ago our local whole-foods store (Good Earth) had a sign posted in their bulk food room: “Flour of the Week: TEFF.” After lots of experience working with this flour, I can see why the store manager chose to promote it.
Teff is an ancient and intriguing grain, tiny in size (considered the smallest grain in the world), yet packed with nutrition. It’s simple to prepare and similar to millet or quinoa in cooking. Simply put, teff adds delicious taste, fun variety, and high nutrition to any diet. And let’s not forget it’s gluten free!
Let me say more about its nutrition profile: It’s higher in protein than wheat and has a high concentration of a wide variety of nutrients, including calcium, thiamin and iron. Teff has twice as much iron as both wheat and barley. And what is really exciting is that the iron from teff is easily absorbed by the body—not true about other food sources of iron. And a cup of cooked teff contains 387 mg of calcium which is 40% of the U.S. recommended daily allowance.
Since the grains are so small, the bulk of the grain is germ and bran. Thus, it’s very high in fiber, so you also can add in its benefits regarding diabetes. Teff does a superb job of helping control blood sugar levels. And of course, its lack of gluten makes it a perfect grain for celiacs or those with wheat sensitivities.
All this said, you can see why this is an intriguing grain. If you’re unsure of how to put teff to work, you might start with baby steps in your experimenting. For instance, I started with a blueberry and lemon quick bread, which was delicious. Here’s the recipe I used, found on www.whatscookingamerica.net:
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup teff flour
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
grated zest of 2 lemon divided (reserve 1 tablespoon for topping loaf)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
TOPPING
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
juice from 1 lemon
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
Another way to experiment with teff flour is to incorporate it into a quiche crust. It creates a creamy and smooth crust that’s perfect for quiche recipes. Too often my quiche filling is sabotaged by a crust that’s rather tough or in some way detracting from the filling flavor. Not so with the substitution of teff flour. All you do is go half and half on the flour—half all-purpose and half teff. The change is remarkable. You’ll find the texture is pleasant and the flavor mild.
As I’ve been researching this grain, I’m seeing more and more people substituting with this flour. My next adventure is going to be with muffins. From there I plan to move to chocolate chip cookies. THIS is the biggie—if this is successful, my anti-healthy-eating hubby might just buy in. I’ll report back.
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Teff is an ancient and intriguing grain, tiny in size (considered the smallest grain in the world), yet packed with nutrition. It’s simple to prepare and similar to millet or quinoa in cooking. Simply put, teff adds delicious taste, fun variety, and high nutrition to any diet. And let’s not forget it’s gluten free!
Let me say more about its nutrition profile: It’s higher in protein than wheat and has a high concentration of a wide variety of nutrients, including calcium, thiamin and iron. Teff has twice as much iron as both wheat and barley. And what is really exciting is that the iron from teff is easily absorbed by the body—not true about other food sources of iron. And a cup of cooked teff contains 387 mg of calcium which is 40% of the U.S. recommended daily allowance.
Since the grains are so small, the bulk of the grain is germ and bran. Thus, it’s very high in fiber, so you also can add in its benefits regarding diabetes. Teff does a superb job of helping control blood sugar levels. And of course, its lack of gluten makes it a perfect grain for celiacs or those with wheat sensitivities.
All this said, you can see why this is an intriguing grain. If you’re unsure of how to put teff to work, you might start with baby steps in your experimenting. For instance, I started with a blueberry and lemon quick bread, which was delicious. Here’s the recipe I used, found on www.whatscookingamerica.net:
Teff Flour Blueberry Lemon Bread
Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup teff flour
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
grated zest of 2 lemon divided (reserve 1 tablespoon for topping loaf)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
TOPPING
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
juice from 1 lemon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease one (1) loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and then add sugar, a little bit at a time.
3. Beat in the eggs.
4. In another bowl, combine and sift together the all-purpose flour, teff flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix in grated zest.
5. Add the flour mixture alternately with milk to the butter mixture. Gently fold in the blueberries.
6. Pour batter into a medium loaf pan.
7. Bake for approximately 1 hour.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes; then remove from pan.
9. In a small bowl, combine sugar, zest, and lemon juice for the topping. Spoon the sugar mixture over the warm loaf.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and then add sugar, a little bit at a time.
3. Beat in the eggs.
4. In another bowl, combine and sift together the all-purpose flour, teff flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix in grated zest.
5. Add the flour mixture alternately with milk to the butter mixture. Gently fold in the blueberries.
6. Pour batter into a medium loaf pan.
7. Bake for approximately 1 hour.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes; then remove from pan.
9. In a small bowl, combine sugar, zest, and lemon juice for the topping. Spoon the sugar mixture over the warm loaf.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Another way to experiment with teff flour is to incorporate it into a quiche crust. It creates a creamy and smooth crust that’s perfect for quiche recipes. Too often my quiche filling is sabotaged by a crust that’s rather tough or in some way detracting from the filling flavor. Not so with the substitution of teff flour. All you do is go half and half on the flour—half all-purpose and half teff. The change is remarkable. You’ll find the texture is pleasant and the flavor mild.
As I’ve been researching this grain, I’m seeing more and more people substituting with this flour. My next adventure is going to be with muffins. From there I plan to move to chocolate chip cookies. THIS is the biggie—if this is successful, my anti-healthy-eating hubby might just buy in. I’ll report back.
Sources:
- www.exportersindia.com
- www.schaer.com
- www.whatscookingamerica.net
- www.annelinawaller.com
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
