Seeds, sesame flour, low-fat

Low-fat sesame flour is what remains after much of the natural oil is pressed from sesame seeds and the leftover meal is ground fine; it has a toasty, nutty flavor close to tahini but drier and more concentrated. Bakers fold it into bread, cracker and muffin doughs, use it to add protein to energy bars, or blend it into gluten-free flour mixes alongside almond or coconut flour. Because it lacks gluten, it usually replaces only a portion of the flour in a recipe, cut with wheat or another binder so baked goods do not turn crumbly. Its concentrated nutty taste also works stirred into oatmeal, yogurt or smoothies in small amounts, or thinned into a paste as a tahini substitute for dressings and hummus.

Because the oil has been removed, this flour is far leaner than whole sesame seeds, with just 1.75 grams of fat per 100 grams against 50.1 grams of protein, one of the more concentrated plant protein profiles found in a pantry staple. Buy it from the baking or specialty-flour section, confirm the bag is sealed tight, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer, since the remaining oil in defatted flour can still turn rancid at room temperature over time. A 28-gram scoop works well stirred into a smoothie or kneaded into dough where a little goes a long way, and its 79 percent DV of iron and 80 percent DV of magnesium per 100 grams make it a useful addition when building variety into grain-based meals.