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Bean Flours Introduction Grinding Beans Into Flours 3 Minute Bean Soups Blender Soups without a grinder! We all know how long it CAN take to cook beans, but they can now be served as fast foods with this breakthrough. Revolutionary new bean soups, from first step to first bite in 3 minutes or less. So, bring those beans out of the pantry and give them the place on your table they deserve!
Bean flour can be ground at home using an electric or hand grinder. Or purchase flours ground at Bob's Red Mill, 5209 S. E. International Way, Milwaukie, OR 97222, (503) 654-3215. Red Mill products are available in health stores and supermarkets across the U.S., especially on the West Coast. Call for a mail-order catalog or for a retailer near you. Flours available are: White Bean, Black Bean, Pinto Bean, Garbanzo Bean, Green Pea, and Red Lentil.
Grinding Bean Flour
When added to boiling water, bean flours thicken in only 1 minute, and in 3 minutes are ready to eat. Bean flours added to baked goods increase vitamins and minerals and provide a source of complete protein.
Modern equipment for the kitchen has revolutionized the use of beans! Dry beans can be ground to a fine flour using a hand grinder for small quantities, or electric mills for larger quantities. Bean flour stores for up to 6 months on the shelf, 1 year under refrigeration, is great to have on hand for "instant" soups, sauces, dips, sandwich fillings and gravies, and to add to almost everything you cook or bake.
Baby lima and small white beans are my favorite because they can be used to make great cream sauces and soups which are gluten-free, wheat-free, fat-free and dairy-free. Also, the flours can be added to any recipe calling for wheat flour to achieve protein complimentation and to add additional fiber and essential nutrients. Other favorites are pinto, small red and garbanzo.
There are at least 2 electric home mills which are guaranteed to grind all types of grains and beans to a flour as fine as wheat flour. These are the K-TEC Kitchen Mill, and the GrainMaster Whisper Mill. The Back To Basics hand mill will also grind grains and beans to a flour, although not quite as fine.
Mills with grinding stones must be cleaned after each 2 cups of beans by grinding 1 cup of hard wheat. Do not grind soy beans if your mill uses grinding stones. If beans are too large to go easily into the grinding chamber of your electric mill, crack first with a blender or hand grain cracker.
Sort beans, checking for broken, dirty beans or rock pieces. (Most beans nowdays have been "triple cleaned," making this step unnecessary.) Pour into hopper of your mill. I like to place the mill in my kitchen sink to eliminate most of the bean dust from grinding. Set mill to grind on medium-fine. The resulting flour should be as fine as the wheat flour used in baking breads, cookies, etc. (A small electric seed or coffee mill, or heavy-duty blender can be used, but will produce a more coarse flour.)
Turn on mill and begin stirring beans (if necessary) where they go into the grinding chamber (with the handle of a spoon) so they will not get stuck.
This is not necessary in some mills, or when grinding smaller beans, peas and lentils. The sponge filter should be cleaned after each 2 cups of beans in the K-TEC. (Or, keep an extra filter on hand.) If bean dust is being thrown from mill, cover mill with a large kitchen towel, leaving only a small opening for stirring beans.
Beans which have absorbed excess moisture will cause caking on electric mill parts. Thoroughly brush away flour residue from mill after each use. (I like to use a clean, stiff paint brush.) If using a mill with grinding stones, run 1 cup of dry grain through the mill to clean out internal parts, then clean as instructed above. Store flour in an air tight container, preferably in the refrigerator if not used within several weeks.
3-Minute Bean Flour soups
Use 2 T. white bean flour per cup of liquid for thin soups or just to add flavor and color, 3 T. for medium-thick and 4-5 T. for thick soups, stews or gravies. Whisk into soup stock, or use hot water flavored with 1 t. meat-based or vegetable soup base per cup of water. Cook and stir 3 minutes. Blend after cooking, if desired, for a creamier soup. For pea and lentil soups, use only 1 T. flour per cup of liquid for thin soups, 2 T. for medium and 3 T. for thick soups.
My favorite is a "cup-a-soup" using 1 c. cool water, 1 chicken or vegetable bouillon cube and 1 T. any variety of pea or lentil flour. Mix and heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium-low; cover pan and simmer 2 minutes.
To thicken already-cooked soups containing vegetables, noodles, etc.: For 6 c. soup, blend 1/2 to 1 c. bean flour (depending on how thick and creamy you want the soup to be) and 2 c. cooled soup broth on high speed for 1 minute. Whisk into hot soup mixture and cook 4-5 minutes over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Note: Blending is not essential, but produces a creamier texture.
Creamy Blender Soups without a grinder!
For Pea or Lentil Soup, cook 3/4 c. dry peas or lentils in 6 c. boiling water for 10 minutes. Blend 2 minutes on high. Return to pan; add 2 T. chicken bouillon or soup base, and cook an additional 3 minutes.
For Creamy White Bean Soup, cook 1 c. dry white beans in 3 c. boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse. Blend approximately 1 c. beans at a time with 2 c. hot water on high speed (8 c. water total). Repeat until all beans are blended, straining out any large pieces.
Return to saucepan adding 2 T. chicken or vegetable soup base and salt and pepper to taste. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat. Use as cream soup or as a creamy soup base, adding fresh veggies in season.
Copyright 1999 by Natural Meals Publishing. The information in this section may be freely used for non-profit purposes as long as the book source and author remain intact. Express permission of the author, Rita Bingham, must be received for commercial profit.
Updated: 24 Mar 99