Format:
25 kg sack
1. Recommended Proportions (The "When" and "How Much").
Amaranth flour is gluten-free, so it behaves differently than traditional wheat flour.
For Baking: It is recommended to replace between 15% and 30% of the wheat flour with amaranth flour. This improves the protein content without sacrificing the elasticity needed for the bread to rise.
In Baking (Cookies and Muffins): You can substitute up to 50%. It adds an earthy, nutty flavor that pairs excellently with chocolate or cinnamon.
As a Thickener: Use it at 100% in creams or sauces. Because it has a very fine starch grain, it thickens smoothly and evenly.
2. Cooking and Handling Times.
If you are going to cook with pure amaranth flour or amaranth flour blends, keep the following in mind:
Liquid absorption: Amaranth flour tends to absorb more moisture than wheat flour. If you notice your dough is very dry, add an extra 10% of liquid (water, milk, or egg).
Baking time: Generally, products with a high concentration of amaranth brown faster due to their natural sugar and protein content. Keep an eye on the oven and reduce the temperature by about 5°C or 10°C if you notice the exterior darkening too quickly.
3. Featured Nutritional Profile.
Incorporating this flour into your production or daily consumption results in an immediate improvement in food quality:
Amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) is a pseudocereal; consequently, its proteins (primarily albumins and globulins) lack the ability to form an elastic and extensible gluten network. From a rheological standpoint, if one attempts to make bread using 100% amaranth, the dough will lack mechanical cohesion and gas (CO2) retention, resulting in dense, flat products.
However, amaranth flour contains starch with an extremely small particle size (between 1 and 3 microns—much smaller than that of wheat), which gives it a very high water-absorption capacity and allows for rapid gelatinization. To maintain optimal structure and volume in traditional bread-making, it is used as an improver or enriching agent at levels of 10% to 20% in combination with high-strength wheat flours, or alongside hydrocolloids and technical starches in strictly gluten-free formulations.
Unlike conventional cereals, amaranth flour has a very high percentage of native lipids (between 6% and 8%). From a techno-functional standpoint, its most notable feature is its high concentration of squalene (a potent antioxidant and cellular protectant) and unsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic and linoleic acids.
In the baking and biscuit industries, this fat fraction acts as a natural organic emulsifier and texturizer. It helps lubricate the dough during shaping, improves crumb flexibility, and provides exceptional palatability and softness. Furthermore, thanks to the antioxidant action of squalene and natural tocopherols, the finished product is protected against auto-oxidation, extending its commercial shelf life in line with "Clean Label" principles.
Harinas Polo’s amaranth flour is a high-impact, premium ingredient for the healthy and functional food sector for three biochemical reasons:
Exceptional amino acid profile: Unlike wheat or corn, amaranth is rich in lysine (an essential amino acid that is often the limiting factor in grains). When combined with traditional flours, it achieves a protein balance with a biological value comparable to that of animal-based protein.
Mineral and fiber content: It contains three times the calcium, magnesium, and iron of other cereals and provides a significant amount of soluble fiber that promotes intestinal health.
Organoleptic optimization: It imparts a highly attractive toasted-cream color to doughs and a distinctive flavor profile evoking nuts and subtle earthy notes—ideal for positioning a range of baked goods, extruded snacks, or infant cereals within the Superfoods segment.
