From wild flour to delicious healthy snack

Why use dock flour?

• Dock seed flour is a great substitute for other types of flour.
• It won’t cost you a thing.
• It is naturally gluten free.
• It tastes good! It has an earthy, nutty flavor.

About the plant: There are many types of dock, you have probably already ran into curled dock (rumex crispus, bitter dock or broad-leafed dock (Rumex obtusifolius). They are often seen as terrible weeds on the garden because of their deep root that is difficult to get rid of. it grows on grassy places as well as cultivated land, so usually its in abundance as a source of wild food. the reddish brown, tall stalks of the plant are easy to identify. Young leaves are also edible.

When to forage for dock seed: from late summer to fall

Here’s the video of me making dock flour pancakes.

How to make dock seed flour:

Harvest the seeds by pulling on the stalk upward, collecting the seeds in your hand, as shown in the video.

Roast dock seeds on a low heat in a pan over the fire or in the oven. Roast them for a few minutes until you hear them start popping and they give out a pleasant scent.

Using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder (the faster option) grind the seeds into a fine, brown flour.

Uses: you can use this as a flour substitute. Here is one example:

Savory dock seed pancakes

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 2 cup of grated cheese, packed
• chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup of milk
• 2 cups of dock flour
• butter for cooking
• baking powder

Mix the ingredients gradually until you get a smooth, uniform batter. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. The dock seed flour will absorb some of the moisture.

Melt the butter on medium heat.

Using a small ladle place small amounts of the batter into pan.

Cook on each side on a low heat for about 5 minutes.

Tips: cooking and baking with gluten free flour can be tricky. Gluten is a sticky substance that holds the batter or dough together, and without it, you might encounter more issues such as the bread/pancakes or whatever you are making falling apart, crumbling. This can happen especially when you try to flip the pancake. Here are some tips to avoid your pancakes from breaking or falling apart.

• Don’t make the dough too runny.
• The dock seed flour tends to absorb some of the moisture, but if you add too much liquid, the dough can become too runny and the pancakes will fall apart easier.
• Make sure the butter is hot when you pour the dough in the pan.
• Cook the pancakes on a low uniform heat. This will make them cook evenly.
• Don’t flip them until they have started to set.

Other tips: you can also use this as a bread substitute.