Rice Flour and Its Benefits for Health

Rice flour is a good choice as a substitute for wheat flour. The reason is, wheat flour can cause digestive irritation for people who experience gluten intolerance. Gluten itself is a collection of proteins found in flour.

Wheat flour comes from mashed wheat seeds. Most people use wheat flour as a basic ingredient in making food. However, because of the gluten content in it, people with gluten intolerance need to find a substitute for this flour. One that can be chosen is rice flour. Rice flour is flour made from rice by a milling process.

The nutrients contained in rice flour are also considered better than wheat flour and do not have gluten levels. In 100 grams of rice flour contains 80 grams of carbohydrates, 2.4 grams of fiber, 5.9 grams of protein, 366 calories, and 1.42 grams of fat. Not only that, this flour also contains various minerals. In 100 grams of rice flour, there are 10 mg of calcium, 35 mg of magnesium, 98 mg of phosphorus, and 76 mg of potassium. So naturally, if rice flour is often used in various processed foods, such as rice porridge for babies, cakes, and other snacks.

Rice Flour, Gluten Free

Wheat flour is one of the ingredients for making food that can cause interference in people with celiac disease. This disease is an autoimmune disorder of the digestive tract, where consumption of foods containing gluten can cause damage to the lining of the small intestine, thus affecting the absorption of nutrients in the body. Therefore, people with celiac disease are advised to avoid gluten.

In addition to wheat flour, other food ingredients that need to be avoided because of the gluten content are rye (rye), and barley (barley). Rice flour can be an option to replace these ingredients. In addition, potato starch, soybean flour, tapioca flour, sorghum flour, and corn flour can also be chosen as substitutes.

Snack Recipes from Rice Flour

Some Indonesian specialties can be made using rice flour as the basic ingredient. One of the foods you can make is a layer cake. The following are ingredients that can be prepared.

Material :

  • 300 grams of rice flour
  • 300 grams of sugar
  • 100 grams of sago flour
  • 4 pandan leaves
  • 1.5 liter thick coconut milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Enough food coloring

How to make :

  1. Heat the pan on low heat. Enter the thick coconut milk, salt, and pandan leaves while continuing to stir until it boils. Chill.
  2. Place the rice flour, sago flour, and white sugar in a larger bowl. Mix well.
  3. Add the cooled coconut milk to the rice flour mixture, a little at a time. Stir until well blended.
  4. Divide the dough into several parts, add food coloring to taste.
  5. Heat a steamer or pan over medium heat. Prepare a layer cake mold, grease the mold with butter or cooking oil.
  6. Add the first layer of dough. Steam for about 10 minutes until half cooked, then add the next layer of dough.
  7. Repeat this process until all the dough is used up.
  8. After the dough runs out, steam for about 20 minutes until the dough is completely cooked.
  9. Remove and cool, then cut the cake according to taste and ready to serve.

Notes

There are two things you need to pay attention to.

  • If you're using a regular steamer, cover the lid with a cloth so that the water doesn't drip into the batter that's being steamed.
  • When cutting the layer cake, try to keep the cake cool so it doesn't stick to the knife.

Maybe all this time you think rice flour is an ordinary food ingredient. However, rice flour is actually a healthier choice of food for some people and provides many benefits in its nutritional content.