Thursday, September 28, 2006
Coconut Oil and Fiber
Coconut oil is wonderful for your body, both inside and out. However, I bet you had no idea that coconuts were so good for you and such a good source of fiber! Of course, raw coconuts are high in fiber and protein...but so is coconut flour, too.
Coconut flour is hard to find but when you use it in baked goods and other items using flour, you will be pleasantly surprised at the flavor and the nutritional properties that coconut flour offers. The one drawback is that coconut flour does not have gluten (actually this is a plus for those people who can't tolerate gluten) so it does not properly rise as other flours do.
When you cook with coconut flour, you want to swap out about 25% of the wheat, oat or rye flour so that they baked item properly rises. Although you are not getting the full benefit of the fiber and protein if the item had 100% coconut flour, you are still gaining the health benefits of the coconut.
Something else to note about coconut flour is that as with all fibrous things, the coconut flour will absorb more liquid. The general rule is to increase the liquids by the amount of coconut flour you are using in a recipe (i.e. if you are putting 1/2 c. of coconut flour in a recipe, add an additional 1/2 c. of liquid). If you do not make this amendment to your recipe, your food will be very dry.
Happy baking!
Coconut oil is wonderful for your body, both inside and out. However, I bet you had no idea that coconuts were so good for you and such a good source of fiber! Of course, raw coconuts are high in fiber and protein...but so is coconut flour, too.
Coconut flour is hard to find but when you use it in baked goods and other items using flour, you will be pleasantly surprised at the flavor and the nutritional properties that coconut flour offers. The one drawback is that coconut flour does not have gluten (actually this is a plus for those people who can't tolerate gluten) so it does not properly rise as other flours do.
When you cook with coconut flour, you want to swap out about 25% of the wheat, oat or rye flour so that they baked item properly rises. Although you are not getting the full benefit of the fiber and protein if the item had 100% coconut flour, you are still gaining the health benefits of the coconut.
Something else to note about coconut flour is that as with all fibrous things, the coconut flour will absorb more liquid. The general rule is to increase the liquids by the amount of coconut flour you are using in a recipe (i.e. if you are putting 1/2 c. of coconut flour in a recipe, add an additional 1/2 c. of liquid). If you do not make this amendment to your recipe, your food will be very dry.
Happy baking!
// posted by She-rah! @ 12:16 PM 
