June 19, 2008 - 2:40pm
Mesquite Flour?
June is one of the two months out of the year here in Arizona for harvesting mesquite pods. These are often used in place of hardwood chips to smoke meats, AND to grind into flour. The pods make a rather sweet flour (no gluten, obviously). I've read that a tablespoon or two adds a distinct flavor to breads. I have never tried this flour in a bread recipe (yet). Has anyone every tried mesquite flour? I think I'll try it tonight . . . I'll let you know.
Phxdog (Scott)
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Yesterday, I gathered up a pile of mesquite pods and brought them home to grnd into flour. What an adventure, I thought.
First rough grind was done in a heavy duty blender to reduce the pods to a size I could feed into my mill. I adjusted the mill for a 1st run & gave the mixture a rough grind; everything was fine up to that point. The second milling began with a strong smell, I ignored it, and pushed on. The final milling adjusted to produce a very fine grind, sounded very odd then slowed and stalled in the middle of the grind.
I adjusted, I turned on & off, I ran some wheat through, I tried just about everything. I soon realized that I had really screwed-up. The next 2 hours were spent removing a newly discovered mesquite epoxy from my mill stones. Once I finished, I was left with a spotless and once again functioning mill (and a resolve to PURCHASE my next batch of exotic flour).
I was so mad at myself, I did not even try to use the 3 tablespoons of mesquite flour that I had tbefore the crash. Oh well, live & learn.
phxdog,
You are now the proud recipient of Three Sourdough X-File Stars! Five would have been awarded if you had proceeded to bake bread with those three tablespoons...,
For discovering mesquite epoxy and for having the guts to report a giant screw-up you are awarded Five Sourdough X-File Stars! Interesting things are discovered when you least expect it! Levity aside, I think you found out why you need to dry the newly harvested items to reduce the water content. Sometimes this requires "cracking", "rolling" or "crushing" the items to expose the internal structure otherwise you're apt to discover a new organic form of epoxy...,
Wild-Yeast
OK,
Now I'm all excited to try grinding some mesquite flour again. This time, I think I'll start with a bit more research & follow-up on what you all have suggested. Thanks -
Phxdog (Scott)
What a wonderful thread!
I have often run into mesquite flour at the health store here in Amsterdam, and told myself to find out more about it.
And once again TFL proves its amazing value!
I'm quite sure it's not going to be as fresh and thrilling an experience as what you guys are doing, gathering the pods and milling it fresh and all, but I'm sure going to give the flour a try here. You guys made me curious!
Freerk
It's so much easier just to buy the stuff! It's available here in Tucson at several places but I like to buy it closest to the source at farmer's markets. Anyway, I love it in tortillas but it can add an unusal, sweet-type flavor to any bread. Of course, the moisture content of the recipe needs tweeking. See: http://www.bajaaz.org/pdf/mesquite-recipes.pdf to get an idea.
Christina
Hello Scott,
Many moons ago we talked about ways to make your own mesquite flour using a meat grinder with 3/8 inch holes in the end plate after you dried it for 6 hours at 125F
Now that is all over since Keith Giusto Bakery Supply sells mesquite in various size bags that is Organic, Kosher, gluten Free and HACCP certified.
Peter
In Arizona we harvest mesquite pods every year. It is good to "toast" them in the oven for a bit to make sure any bugs inside them are dead. Then you need to find someone with a hammermill. A local college has one and they have community grinding days. It is almost impossible to grind mesquite in a normal mill or blender. You could always go old-school and get a couple of smooth, hard rocks and pound them for several hours.
Cheers,
Red