Hemp Flour Flavor, Texture, and Uses: Everything You Need to Know

Hemp protein has increasingly become a health trend in the past few years after the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill. In fact, hemp flour – a powdered form of hemp protein – has been a popular option for individuals with gluten intolerance.

With the hemp protein market expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.2% by 2024, food industries are increasing production of hemp flour due to its long shelf life and health benefits.

But what is hemp flour? Is it really beneficial for your health? To know more about it, here is a detailed hemp flour guide.

What is Hemp Flour?

Hemp flour is gluten-free flour with an approximately 33% protein content, making it a hearty ingredient for your recipes. Just like corn flour, hemp flour has a dense and granular texture when used for cooking.

 It brings an earthy, nutty flavor to your hemp flour recipes. If you dislike this nutty flavor, you can mask it with sugars or spices. What’s more, hemp flour doesn’t rise, so you’ll need to mix it with other flour if you’re using it to bake.

How is Hemp Flour Made?

Hemp flour is a byproduct of extracting hemp oil from hemp seed. When you cold press hemp seeds to remove the oil, a dense cake remains. Grind the dense cake to convert it into hemp seed flour.

After grinding, you should sift the defatted cake through various screens to remain with granular hemp flour. The process of making hemp flour is natural, so the final product doesn’t contain additives or flavors.  

What are the Benefits of Hemp Flour?

Hemp seed flour has various health benefits. They include:

1. Gluten-Free

A study suggests that up to a third of the American population actively avoid gluten products due to a range of gluten-related disorders. Gluten is a family of proteins found in grains, including barley, rye, wheat, and rye.

Hemp flour is gluten-free and is a safe alternative for individuals with gluten-related issues, such as celiac disease.

2. Good Source of Fiber

Hemp flour is a healthier alternative to regular flour because it contains high fiber. This helps indigestion, improves blood sugar level, lowers cholesterol levels, aids in achieving a healthy weight, and reduces the risk of bowel cancer.

3. High in Protein

Hemp flour contains 20 amino acids, including 10 essential amino acids (EAAs), which your body can’t produce. The protein from hemp flour is easily digestible, producing a lot of energy compared to other similar foods like soy.

4. Rich in Vitamins and Minerals

Hemp seeds contain Vitamin E and minerals like magnesium, calcium, sodium, iron, and potassium. These nutrients aren’t lost when hemp seeds are processed into flour, so you can still acquire them in your hemp flour recipes.

5. Versatile

Whether you prefer a sweet or spicy dish, hemp flour is a great ingredient for your recipes. It adds a rich nutty flavor not just to your bread and crackers but also to your vegan meatballs.

Hemp Flour vs. Regular Flour: How Do They Compare?

We’ve laid out the differences between hemp flour and other types of flour, so you can decide which is the right choice is for you.

Hemp Flour vs. Wheat Flour

Hemp flour contains 35% carbohydrate, unlike wheat flour, which has 80% carbs, making it a great addition to your diet if you want to lose weight. What’s more, wheat flour contains gluten, while hemp doesn’t.

Hemp Flour vs. Chickpea Flour

Chickpea flour is gluten-free with anti-inflammatory properties. However, it doesn’t contain enough amino acids for your body like hemp flour.

Hemp Flour vs. Oat Flour

Oat is also gluten-free, but it risks gluten contamination since oats are usually rotated with wheat, rye, or barley.

4 Delicious Hemp Flour Recipes You Should Try

Here are some tasty hemp flour recipes you should try.

Hemp Flour Bread

The ingredients for one loaf of hemp bread include:

• 1 cup hemp flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• ¾ tsp of salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• ½ tsp onion powder

Directions

Grease a loaf pan, then place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the loaf pan.

In a large bowl, mix the ingredients. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and place the pan on a preheated (350 degrees) oven. Bake for about 40-50 minutes, and turn the oven off but don’t remove the loaf until after 10 minutes. Flip the bread out of the pan, let it cool off, then serve.

Hemp Pancakes

The ingredients for about six pancakes include:

• 1 cup hemp flour
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp melted coconut oil
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp honey

Directions

In a large bowl, mix the flours, salt, coconut milk and oil, honey, salt, and baking powder. Then, pour the pancake batter into a hot, greased skillet and measure out about a quarter cup to pour on the cooking pan.

Cook for about 2-3 minutes, flip and cook the other side. Serve while hot!

Hemp Brownies

The ingredients for 10 brownies include:

• ½ cup hemp flour
• ½ cup almond flour
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3/4 cup of butter
• 3 tsp honey

Directions

In a large bowl, mix the ingredients. Then pour the batter into a loaf pan lined with parchment and place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the brownies and serve after they cool.

Hemp Chocolate Waffles

The ingredients for about 6 waffles include:

• 1 cup hemp flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 3 large eggs
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 ½ cup whole milk
• 1/3 melted cup coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients, then pour the waffle batter into hot waffle iron and cook. Remove from the waffle iron and serve while hot.

Where to Buy Hemp Flour

If you want to enjoy hemp seed flour, you can buy them at your local store or health food stores. You can also buy it from hemp online stores.

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