{Have you entered the Blendtec Giveaway yet? It ends this Friday}

I know by now, I really don’t have to tell you guys how much I enjoy making things from scratch! I would say that is quite apparent after over 4 years of blogging. Mostly I choose this way of living because I would always prefer to know what exactly is in everything I am eating. I love knowing that things are safely gluten-free and not processed or filled with weird, scary junk.

Until I received The Homemade Flour Cookbook from Erin Alderson, the thought had never really occurred to me to try making my own flours at home. I know what you are thinking – ‘flour? you are gluten-free, what do you want with a book all about how to make homemade flour?’ (or something along those lines, am I right?) I too honestly thought that there may be a recipe or two for me in here, but there are several chapters filled with wonderful tutorials and tips on making flour from gluten-free grains to legumes, seeds, nuts and so on.

This wonderful book is an in-depth guide to a variety of nutritious flours, milled right in your own kitchen plus a wide range of tasty recipes to create with your homemade flours. The possibilities are endless and the delicious dishes are a testament to the amazing things you can do with homemade flour.

It is no secret I love soccas! I have previously shared recipes here and here. Soccas are just amazing. They are a pancake or crêpe of sorts, made of chickpea flour. Served hot and crispy, this chickpea pancake is a quintessential street food found in Nice, France. Many times it is browned or even blackened around the edges, and it has an almost custard like, soft and tender inside. Serving one as a pizza is quite brilliant and although the texture is slightly different from a traditional dough, it is delicious in it’s own right and it’s a totally unique way to shove pizza toppings into your face!

This socca is satisfying, yet still light. The crust is a bit softer than a tradition crust but yet it lends itself so well to being covered with delicious toppings of the pizza persuasion. Depending on how many toppings you load up, it may turn out a fork and knife is a better choice than your hands, but either way you have a delicious and simple pizza.

Making this socca from a homemade chickpea flour was a breeze. Dried chickpeas processed in the Blendtec took but a few minutes to turn into flour, then I sifted the flour and voila, perfect homemade chickpea flour great for a homemade socca. In the The Homemade Flour Cookbook, Erin takes the time to give you all of the many options for milling your flours and what works best for each type. The options can vary depending on what you are milling but oftentimes if you don’t have a grain mill, you can use a high speed blender, like a Blendtec or a coffee/spice grinder. Because of their size, chickpeas can be a little large and odd sized for a grain mill, so I opt for my Blendtec high speed blender, it works great every time.

Since beans can at times have a very strong flavor, soaking and/or cooking the beans first can lessen that. I usually do that, but I don’t every single time, since I personally don’t mind the flavor. That said, as I mentioned in my how-to/tutorial post on sprouting, soaking and sprouting beans offers a variety of nutritional benefits, so if you have the extra time, it is always worth it for that reason.

How-to Make Chickpea Flour

Place the dried chickpeas into your high speed blender. Pulse several times until the chickpeas are broken down into a fine powder and a flour begins to form. You may want to open up the blender and make sure none of the mixture is stuck around the blades, to ensure it is getting milled evenly. Remove from the blender, add to a sieve or a sifter to sift out any large pieces. If there is a large amount of non-flour bits left in the sifter, simply return to the blender and continue grinding. Voila, chickpea flour.

If using a coffee grinder, do this is batches and only fill the grinder half full. Pulse until a flour begins to form. Sift, return any bits to the grinder and continue pulsing. Sift and repeat, finish with the remaining beans until it is all in flour form.

Weights and Measurements:

• 1 cup chickpeas = 180 g
• 1 cup chickpea flour = 120 g
• 1 cup (180 g) chickpeas = 1 1/2 cups (180 g) chickpea flour

Notes:

If you prefer to soak your beans first for the wide variety of reasons that make them easier to digest, simply soak the beans as you normally would (you could even sprout them), then dehydrate them before grinding.

If you wish to cook the beans first to mellow out the flavor even more, you can also do that. Soak the beans and cook as usual, then dehydrate the cooked beans and make your flour from there.

ALWAYS make sure your beans are fully dried first, so they don’t clog your grinder. If your beans are cooked and skins have loosened, you can discard the separated ones but leave the other skins in tact on the beans.

 

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Tomato Basil Socca Pizza

makes one 10-inch pizza
Recipe from The Homemade Flour Cookbook by  Erin Alderson

You can try different cheeses and change things up, you could even opt for a tomato sauce instead of fresh tomatoes. I was lucky enough to find a delicious goat milk mozzarella at Whole Foods, but regular mozzarella will do just fine.

• 1 cup (120 g) chickpea flour
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup Terra Delyssa Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 large tomato, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella or other cheese*
• 3 or 4 basil leaves, julienned
• red pepper flakes, optional

In a bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, water, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the garlic and the salt. Let sit for 1 hour.

Turn on the broiler with a rack positioned 8 inches from the heat and place a 10-inch oven proof skillet in the oven to preheat. Once the skillet is hot, carefully remove from the oven and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Swirl around to cover the bottom. Pour in the chickpea batter and return the skillet to the broiler. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until the socca is set and the edges are browning. Remove from the oven, turn off the broiler and turn the oven to 425ºF.

Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil on top of the socca. Layer the tomato slices around the socca. Sprinkle the cheese on top and return the skillet to the oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is browning and the socca is crisp. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the basil and red pepper flakes on top. Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

Notes:
I used a goat milk mozzarella.
The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups cheese

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