Friday, September 5, 2008

"Trifecta flour"

Yes, I watch way too much Law and Order. When the cops on that show don't have any evidence on a suspect, but they have 3 things that lead them to believe that someone did it, they will arrest them on a trifecta clause. I assume it is a made-up way the NYCity detectives (on TV!) justify an arrest with no real proof. Typically it involved motive, opportunity, and some sort of ID that they were at the scene. Thus, the trifecta of guilt surrounds them and they are brought in for questioning. Good thing we can't be convicted in this way, and good thing that this is only TV.

Tuesday night Chef Brad talked about his substitute for white flour. White, bleached, stripped of all nutritional content, might as well be sugar 'cuz it's such a terribly simple carb, flour. I posted it before, but the refresher is equal parts of spelt, barley, and brown rice. Even as I sat listening to him, the word trifecta popped into my head. Here's parts of the definition from wikipedia and why it works in this scenario:

The word comes from the related betting term, "perfecta"...
The trifecta system is seen by many as a loophole in democracy, because it allows an executive to essentially override a choice by the voters...

"Trifecta" as a slang term is used to describe any successful or favorable phenomenon or characteristic that comes in threes..

So, there you have it. You can bet the trifecta flour is a perfect substitute for all your non-yeast baking needs. Using trifecta flour is a loophole to avoiding all those fabulous desserts because all the good brown rice, spelt, and barley override any harmful affects from the sugar in your favorite cookies. Trifecta flour is most definitely a favorable phenomenon.

My experience in the 2 batches of cookies that I made is that you need to use more of the trifecta flour than is called for in a recipe. For instance, the Snickerdoodles called for 2 3/4 cups of white flour and it took at least 3 1/2 of the trifecta flour to make a dough that was not too sticky to roll in the cinnamon sugar. I will probably experiment more with ratios in batters that I know well before I try it in something like a cake that will turn to mush if the amount of flour isn't right. Leave me your tips if and when you try it. I have about 10 more cups of the flour if you want to come try some. (If you hurry, there still may be some cookies!)

* this silly computer doesn't think trifecta is a word! Dumb blogger spellcheck! Andrew would understand my word. He even has tri-sandals with 3 little stripes on the top.

5 comments:

Crystal said...

I love this word and I loved your trifecta snicker doodle cookies that you shared at the class last night. They were very tasty. I can't wait to make brownies and cookies out of the trifecta flour you gave me.
Crystal

Unknown said...

I don't have a grinder so I wont be trying trifecta flour any time soon but it sounds like a very good alternative.
PS I clicked add to dictionary and now my computer is smarter than yours and mine knows trifecta is a word. ha ha lol

Amanda said...

I am too far to come try your cookies. Or I totally would.

I am interested to hear about your results, so keep posting about them. I read somewhere about that trifecta flour and was interested in trying it, but am kind of lazy in that area right now.

RJ said...

I am so jealous. I want to eat trifecta goodies with you over a long conversation of you telling me how the heck to bake with it, and what you think about negotiating modesty. Wouldn't that be lover-ly?

tempe turley said...

Excellent suggestion...I'm curious why this is mix is best for non-yeast baking?