I found this draft that I never posted, it dates back to last year!
Ok. Here is the scoop. I've been using a flour made out of a split chickpea, it is also known as gram or besan flour. It is fairly inexpensive coming in at LESS then $1/lb where I get it.
I've tried it in various recipes and no doubt some of you have read about them in earlier postings. I've posted about the pancakes but I'm not so sure I posted about the Cheddar Biscuits yet. I found a recipe that called for GARBANZO bean flour, but I used my split chickpea (besan) flour instead.
The basic recipe was ok.
Well... I kinda overcooked my first batch which seems to be a repetitive theme with my baking adventures. Here at the apartment I do not have a love affair with my stove and never really know how long to leave stuff in because it will fry the daylights out of things in a short amount of time. So I've learned to leave things in for shorter periods then recommended, but then when I do that somehow it is like the stove knows what I'm doing and changes its strategy and then it takes FOREVER to bake anything. But I roll with it.
Alright I do want to say that the basic cheddar biscuits (made with split chickpea flour) might not be appealing to everyone. Yeah, that was a realization that hit me when my mother-in-law and I made some together (oh and by the way they didn't burn because we were at my brother-in-laws using his stove). She was not a fan of the basic recipe and couldn't have hid it if she tried because her face scrunched up and did that thing like when you taste some bad cough syrup! She didn't care for the flavor of the pea in the flour. But she was a trooper and onward we went into battle to tweek and improve armed with The Pampered Chef's Italian Seasoning Mix. We came up with the Italian Style which I REALLY LOVE sooo much better then the basic. I'm not so sure how she felt about it, she did say it was better, but I think her tastebuds were still traumatized. Hey... if your not into pea's, your not into peas!
Out of the wheat eaters that tasted them... 2 dislikes and 1 like (actually the person said it reminded them of cheese biscuits from Red Lobster so I'll count that as a like).
Out of the non wheat eaters (hubby & me) 2 likes
Cheddar Biscuits w/Split Chickpea Flour
(Use GARBANZO BEAN FLOUR for a milder taste)
Ingredients:
1 cup Split Chickpea Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup skim milk
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
spray oil on baking sheet
In a mixing bowl, combine flour & baking powder.
Cut in butter (you can also freeze your butter then grate it with a cheese grater) till it looks like little course crumbs.
Stir in cheese & milk.
Mix with fort until the dough comes together and forms a ball. (boy does it ever!)
Drop large spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
Cook 15 mins. or until golden brown.
Cheddar Biscuits Italian Style
Same as basic ingredients as basic recipe except with these additions:
2 tablespoons Pampered Chef Italian seasoning (if using GARBANZO BEAN flour then you might not need or want so much seasoning)
Double the cheese
Use Whole milk
1/2 cup (or just under) Sun Dried Tomatoes
Instructions:
Same as basic recipe
I'M SORRY I DON'T HAVE PHOTOS this time around!!!
