Blending flours: how it works
Combining to create better functional treats
In my search for the holy grail of training treats, I’ve tried many different flavours, even different shapes. Always with the same underlying aim: to achieve a palatable, functional treat. And that’s only part of the treat challenge – synergy, bioavailability and steady energy release for long working days also have a part to play.
The main ingredient, usually a protein, is quite straightforward. In fact, there’s nothing wrong with just making sausages out of chicken thigh fillet with some chia seeds or cranberry powder when you’re short of time. But I try to make the protein go further, mixing and matching different elements to enhance texture and functionality. This means looking at ingredient combinations and synergies. A ‘good’ flour offers more than binding wet ingredients (like eggs, mucilage or purees): a blend of two or three ‘good’ flours goes even further. Once again, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
I haven’t quite got a failsafe, no-crumble, your-dog-will-do-anything-for-it treat. (Yet.)
But one principle has emerged along the way: the best results come from blending and balancing what each ingredient brings – and flour should not be discounted.
The ultimate flaw in relying on a single, refined flour is its lack of function. As I pointed out in my flour for function reference list, not all flours are equal[1]. The first flours to remove from the “treat equation” are commercial, refined white flours. These flours (some with raising agents) aren’t suitable because refining (a) removes most of the dietary fibre, healthy fats and key micronutrients, and (b) leaves starch exposed and easily broken down into glucose. The result: an energy spike followed by an inevitable crash – precisely what we don’t want.
Functional flours
Having decided to limit the choice to functional flours, the next thing to consider – and ultimately balance – was each of their strengths and weaknesses. Sorghum flour, for instance, lends structure and bulk but is a ‘thirsty’ flour that can be dry. Chickpea flour is another thirsty flour: high in protein and binding power, but if used alone it can become dense and a little claggy. Oat flour softens and holds moisture but tends to crumble without support.
Combining flours allows me to layer their properties, offsetting weaknesses and reinforcing strengths. This layering produces the correct texture and enhances nutritional synergy.
Flour: major and minor
Depending on the full set of ingredients, I generally blend two or three flours. Most treats will have one ‘major’ flour and one or two ‘minor’ flours. The major flours, like sorghum or flax meal, give the dough body and shape. The minor flours help with binding and moisture.
Major Flours (Structure, Bulk, and Cohesion): These flours form the physical foundation, providing the necessary bulk and cohesive elements needed to ensure the final product holds its shape and provides a clean, firm bite.
Minor Flours (Texture, Moisture, and Nutritional Nuance): These flours are used in smaller amounts to fine-tune the recipe. They support binding, adjust density, introduce softness and help control the dough’s hydration while also contributing specialised nutrients. This enhances synergy, texture and – by extension – palatability: structure and mouthfeel can make the treat more appealing to eat.
This principle is not a rigid formula, but a useful guide for achieving the required non-crumble texture and nutritional depth. Understanding the role each flour plays makes it easier to experiment with confidence. Examples of major and minor flours can be found here.
All this in a treat?
This is what makes treats ‘functional’. The real nitty-gritty.
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Protein complementarity
Plant-based flours often contain high levels of protein, but not often a complete protein with all essential amino acids. Combining specific flours addresses any limitations of individual plant sources.
For example: Legume flours (chickpea or red lentil) are often naturally rich in the essential amino acid lysine but may be limited in methionine and cysteine. Conversely, grain flours (e.g. spelt or sorghum) are higher in methionine and cysteine but limited in lysine.
Combining a legume-based flour with a grain-based flour achieves protein complementarity. This results in a final product that provides a more balanced and higher-quality amino acid profile for the dog. Quinoa and amaranth flours are an exception, as they are complete proteins. That said, they still benefit from pairing in terms of total protein quantity and texture.
Bioavailability
Many nutritious flours, especially wholegrains and legumes, contain antinutrients like phytic acid (phytate). Phytic acid can hamper the absorption of essential minerals like iron and zinc.
The act of blending various flours and the subsequent baking process help to mitigate the mineral-binding effects of these antinutrients, ensuring better overall bioavailability of micronutrients in the treats. This synergy turns a potential nutritional challenge into an advantage.
Managing the energy curve
Functional flours are chosen precisely for their ability to resist rapid enzymatic digestion and deliver sustained energy. Blending allows us to shape the energy curve by combining different delivery speeds:
- sustained fuel: because sorghum, buckwheat, chickpea, plantain and lentil flours are rich in resistant starch (RS) and slowly digestible starch (SDS), energy is released more gradually.
- viscous control: soluble fibres (like those in flax or oat flour) create a viscous gel in the gut that physically impedes the movement of both the food mass and the enzymes, further slowing digestion.
Blending allows for strategic combinations that combine the physical barriers of wholegrains, the viscous control of flaxseed meal, and the structural resistance of resistant starch, ensuring the energy is meted out steadily over an extended period.
Texture
Last, but by no means least: texture. Blending can create the essential cohesion needed for clean handling. If a treat crumbles into fragments, any benefits are at the bottom of a pocket or a treat bag.
Achieving the no-crumble texture relies on balancing structure and give. A major flour like sorghum provides the essential rigid bulk but, if used alone, can result in a brittle, dry texture. The minor flour delivers the necessary natural binding agents and targeted moisture. This ensures the final treat is cohesive and soft enough to resist breakage under pressure, yet firm enough to be sliced cleanly.
Reliable pairings
Some combinations come up repeatedly in my treat recipes, simply because they’re winners. Why reinvent the wheel when you already have a reliable basis of texture, structure and functional synergy that pairs well with favourite ingredients?
Why it matters
I bake functional treats for working dogs. To be functional, treats must provide steady energy, nutrition, palatability and texture. Choice of flours matters: not just for how a treat feels, but for how it performs.
So, if you’re wondering whether blending flours is worth the effort: the answer is yes. (And the effort is negligible…)
Important Considerations:
- Always consult your veterinarian before making any significant dietary changes, particularly where there are pre-existing health conditions or dietary restrictions.
- If you are feeding commercial food, check the label for ingredients before giving more. Excessive intake of any foods can have adverse effects.
- Ensure (where possible) that you use high-quality, organic products specifically formulated for pets (or better still, human grade ingredients) to avoid any potential adverse effects.
- Introduce new foods gradually to avoid adverse effects such as gastrointestinal upset or diarrhoea.
- I provide nutritional information purely as a helpful guide. Nutritional information on ingredients is obtained from the US Department of Agriculture’s FoodData Central site (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/index.html) and any nutritional information provided in recipes is based on an online calculator: calories and other information will vary based on brands, ingredients and other factors.
- Check nutrient levels and recommendations for your dog’s weight, age and activity. For example this nutritional guideline produced by FEDIAF.
- I am not a professional canine nutritionist but supporting research is cited.
- The recipes shared were created by me and tested in my kitchen – and tasted and approved by our doggy friends!