Pseudocereal
Amaranth
Amaranthus caudatus / hypochondriacus / cruentus
Ancient American pseudocereal
In the atlas
Aztec emperors collected amaranth as tribute. Spanish colonizers tried to stamp out the ritual breads made from it; the plant survived in mountain villages and came back as a health-food celebrity. Popped amaranth (alegría) is still a Mexican sweet. The seeds are tiny, mineral-dense, and make a sticky, peppery flour.
Origin. Mesoamerica — Aztec tribute grain
Flavor. Peppery, grassy, toasted sesame.
Worth knowing
- Gluten-free.
- Lysine-rich — complements cereal grains in a blend.
- Mucilaginous when wet: great binder, gummy if you overdo it (keep under 20% in bread).
- Leaves of some species are also food (callaloo / Chinese spinach) — different use.
Flours you can make
| Flour | Extraction | Protein | Gluten | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole-grain flour | 100% | 14.5% | 0% | Everything the berry holds — bran, germ, and endosperm. Mill 1:1 by weight. Use within days, or freeze. |
| High-extraction (85%) | 85% | 14.4% | 0% | Sift once through a #30–#40 sieve. Keeps most flavor and minerals, slightly stronger dough than 100%. |
| Sifted / bolted flour | 75% | 14.2% | 0% | Second sifting (#50–#60). Lighter crumb, longer shelf life, less fiber. Bran left behind is gold in porridge. |
Nutrition / 100 g
- Calories
- 371 kcal
- Protein
- 14.5 g
- Carbs
- 65 g
- Fiber
- 6.7 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Iron
- 7.6 mg
- Magnesium
- 248 mg
- Zinc
- 2.9 mg
- Thiamin
- 0.12 mg
- Selenium
- 19 µg
Typical whole-grain flour / 100 g.
Sources & USDA linksBuy it retail
- Bob's Red Mill
- Azure Standard
- Pleasant Hill Grain
- Latin grocers
- Thrive Market
Availability rotates by harvest. Search the berry name plus “food grade.”
Bakes well as
Mill Amaranth now
Miller’s desk
Grain to flour
Vital wheat gluten booster
Most bags of vital wheat gluten are 75–80% protein. The booster is added on top of the flour, not swapped in.
Whole-grain flour · No gluten
- Whole grain needed
- 515 g
- Flour you’ll get
- 500 g
- Bran left behind
- 0 g
- Protein in that flour
- 72.5 g · 14.5%
- Natural gluten
- 0%
- Add VWG
- None needed
- After VWG
- 14.5% protein · 0% gluten
About 2.6 cups of berries → 4.2 cups of whole-grain flour. Whole-grain milling is essentially 1:1 by weight; sifting is where you lose bran.
How to mill it
A coffee/spice mill is the practical home tool.
Fine-seed caution, same as teff. Blender works.
Tempering: No.
Everything the berry holds — bran, germ, and endosperm. Mill 1:1 by weight. Use within days, or freeze.
Milling 101 →Next: bake it
Pick a loaf for this flour
14.5% protein after VWG · Amaranth whole-grain flour. Sandwich loaf, focaccia, sourdough — the kitchen will scale dough, hydration, and times to this mix.
