Plants You Can Grow or Forage to Make Wheat-Free Flour

For those wanting to move towards a more self-sufficient lifestyle, the thought of growing and milling your own flour can seem a rather daunting task. However, there are some really common and easy plants to grow and forage that can provide you with enough seed or grain to supply you with a little homemade, and even gluten-free, flour for your baking projects.

Unless you have a farm’s worth of land, we are never going to be able to supply enough flour to run a bakery, but it is still fun to experiment in the garden and kitchen.

Have a look at these plants whose seeds can be milled into flour.

How to Mill Flour at Home

Well, ideally, you will get yourself a tabletop flour mill, but these can be pretty pricey, and unless you are looking into some serious production, this might not be an investment you want to make right away.

Since we are talking about making flour from non-wheat grains and seeds, and in non-industrial-sized quantities, often a simple pestle and mortar or a spice or coffee grinder will do the trick just fine.

By grinding your own flour at home, you can be in charge of how fine you want the flour to be.

Amaranth

Source: EdibleAcres/YouTube

Amaranth is very easy to grow at home. Sow amaranth seeds outside in a sunny spot in late spring once the soil has warmed up. The seeds are truly tiny, so it might be easier to sprinkle them around the soil and lightly rake them in.  You will then have to thin them out to 10-18 inches apart. Otherwise, you can painstakingly sow each seed before barely covering them with soil. The seeds should take about a week to germinate.

Harvesting of the seed can take place when you notice that they are coming away from the flowers easily. Wait for a dry day, then envelope the flower heads in a paper bag and rattle the flowers so that all of the seeds fall away into your bag. Winnow the seeds to get rid of any dried debris.

Amaranth flour can be used to make all kinds of baked treats that are packed with protein. Check out these Amaranth and Garlic Crackers, or this Easy Veggie Pot Pie recipe for inspiration on how to use your freshly ground amaranth flour.

Buckwheat

Though not actually related to wheat, buckwheat still makes a great flour substitute. You can enjoy it in this Hummus Buckwheat Bread and these Buckwheat Pancakes and Warm Berry Sauce.

To grow your own buckwheat for milling, first, you will need a sunny spot in your garden. Sow your seed in late spring. It will need about three months to mature.  Once germinated, thin seedlings to four inches apart.

Before the first frost of the season, cut the plants near the ground. You don’t want all the dried seeds to scatter, so do this gently. There will be dried and green seeds on each flower cluster. Lay the cut plants on an old sheet and ‘thresh’ them. This really just means beat the stalks to that the seeds fall off. The green seeds should, conveniently, stay attached to the plant for the most part. You might have to winnow out any debris.

Chickpeas

Source: True Food TV/YouTube

Chickpeas need about 3 months of consistently warm weather to mature, so if you live in USDA growing zones 7 or warmer, you should be fine.

You will need to choose a sunny spot in your garden and direct plant your seed after the soil has warmed up to at least 50-60°F. Sow the seeds about an inch deep and 10-18 inches apart. You need to wait until the seed pods have dried on the plant later in the season before you can harvest them. Remove the chickpeas from their pod and ensure that they are completely dried out before grinding them.

Use your chickpea flour to make these Chickpea Flour Muffins, or this eggless Chickpea Flour Quiche.

Curly Dock

Source: backyardforager/YouTube

If you fancy foraging for your flour, then seek out some curly dock (Rumex crispus) seeds. This is a plant that is very easy to spot and easy to ID as long as you take precautions. Make sure that you have a 100% certain ID before consuming wild edibles, and follow sound foraging advice.

The dried dock plants can be up to 4 feet tall with a huge number of seeds per plant. You can simply run your fingers along the stems and comb the seeds away from the plant.

Dock flour can be used to make cakes, brownies, and crackers.

Related Content:

• Food for Free: Foraging for Spring Greens
• What to Forage in the Fall
• Spotlight on Chickpeas: Health Benefits, Tips and Recipes
• What Are Ancient Grains? And Why You Should Eat Them

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade repeatedly.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!