Soy flour - where to find it?

[Lenona]

I don't mean the vanilla-flavored powder one adds to protein drinks - THAT costs about $20 a pound.

It used to be sold at health food stores, often in dispensers, but even Whole Foods doesn't have it these days. (Due to that fact, I suspect that Trader Joe's doesn't have it either - I'll have to check.)

Would some Chinese grocery carry it, do you think? If not, where would one get it?

The reason I ask is, it's a good egg substitute in bread, muffins, pancakes, and maybe at least a few cakes that call for three whole eggs at the most. (It USED to be a lot cheaper than using eggs, but if it's becoming hard to find, that could mean the price would go up too.)

[Lenona]

>
> The reason I ask is, it's a good egg substitute in bread, muffins, pancakes, and maybe at least a few cakes that call for three whole eggs at the most. (It USED to be a lot cheaper than using eggs, but if it's becoming hard to find, that could mean the price would go up too.)

That is, years ago, I DID try it in bread and pancakes - and it worked. I very rarely bake muffins because cleaning the tin afterward is so tedious.

In the article where I first read about it, the writer said she tried it in cookies and it didn't work, due in part to the different texture. So I never tried that either.

[Lenona]

> That is, years ago, I DID try it in bread and pancakes - and it worked. I very rarely bake muffins because cleaning the tin afterward is so tedious.

And the reason I don't use liners is, I don't believe in buying disposable items if I can avoid it. Besides, I'd likely have to clean the tin anyway.

[Lenona]

You have to mix the flour with a little water, though.

I found a 1.87 lb. bag for $8.99 at a Japanese-Korean grocery that's just a 15-minute walk from my place.

If that fills a 1-quart measuring cup (it likely does), that would be the equivalent of 64 eggs.

So the cost of a dozen "eggs" would be...$1.68. But I suspect the bag holds more than four cups worth, so the price would be even lower.

I'll have to keep it in the freezer after I open it, since there's no way I'm going to be baking enough times per week. But it's good to know I can buy fewer eggs in general.

Interestingly, it was the last bag on the shelf. That probably indicates how slowly it sells; other flours, such as rice flour, were well stocked. (Also, the clerk didn't seem to be familiar with the product at first, when she was searching the baking shelves. Her supervisor then found it. It only says "soybean flour" in English on the BACK of the bag, which is why I didn't spot it on my own.)

There were smaller bags of soybean POWDER next to it, but the price was just over $7 a pound. Clearly not worth bothering with.

[Lenona]

And I just looked it up. Soy flour weighs 142 grams per cup.

So that makes just under 6 cups per bag - or 95.648 eggs.

Or just under $1.13 for a dozen "eggs."

(Aside from cookies, which I already mentioned, one clearly would not use this in, say, souffles!)

[Lenona]

I did not write this post, Mr. Fraud.