Is it worth making Courgette Flour?

I had read about making courgette flour, apparently the Amish do it. It is gluten free and has low carbohydrate.  Since the shortages of flour in 2020 I have been interested in finding flour from other sources.  I have already used Dock seeds to make bread.  It stretches the wheat flour and I thought that I could use courgette flour to do the same.  I usually have lots of Courgettes (zucchini) as I grow over 20 plants each year.  We eat them in almost everything all summer, even cakes.

This year I decided to try making some courgette flour as I wanted to see if it was worth it.  Although it is a harder season this year, we have at last managed to get some larger courgettes (though they are not marrow size).  I decided to dehydrate 3 of them to see how hard it was, how long it would take, and how much flour would be produced.  I only live in a suburban street in the UK and so this is on a much smaller scale than homesteaders would do it, I realise, but I love to be independent from the supermarkets and so I was hoping that this would help.

What did I do?

1. First I washed and dried my 3 largish courgettes.
2. Then I removed the large seeds but did not remove the peel as mine were not too tough.  If they  had been older or larger courgettes I probably would have done the latter.
3. I just thinly sliced mine to dehydrate, but if I was making it again I would probably grate or shred the courgette
4. I then spread it on silicone mats, and boards, but you could use a dehydrator.  I wanted it to cost as little as possible and so decided to use the sun in my conservatory rather than use electric in a machine.  I also like to do things more naturally and primitively.
5. I dried it for 3 days until it was completely dry.  Apparently it takes 8 to 12 hours at 60C in a dehydrator,
6. When it became crispy I ground it in a coffee grinder as we do not have a good food processor. It was quite laborious as I found that the courgette ground better if I just added a few dried chips at a time. It ground better when I pulsed it.  I pulsed it until it was very fine as I wanted to use it in sauces but a slightly less fine mix would probably be good for making flat breads.
7. It is a good idea to let the dust fall before opening the top when grinding or else it will go every where.  The first time I lifted the lid my face was covered as I peered in.  I did put my contents of my coffee grinder through a sieve before adding to the jar and often had to regrind some bits.
8. I stored it in a mason jar with an oxygen absorber and I have heard that it lasts up to 2 years, but I expect mine will have been used by the end of the summer.

Conclusion?

To be honest it didn’t make a lot of flour and if I did not have a lot of courgettes I would not bother making it. From 3 quite large courgettes I got half a jam jar of flour. We used some of the flour to make a cheese sauce for a fish pie last night.  It didn’t taste or act any different. One thing that I do like is that it is a way to add minerals to your diet and vitamin C and B6.  I also like the fact that I can make flour if it disappears from the supermarkets again.

How will I use it?

I have heard that the smaller the courgette that you use the more the flour tastes like courgette. If baking and using a recipe I have read that you put 1oz of courgette flour and 20z of wheat flour for every 30z in a recipe (or 25 to 30% to be safe).  I am not sure if I would use it for baking cakes as it does not have any gluten in, but I might try making pastry with it for pies.  Apparently it needs more water than wheat flour and acts like coconut flour in many ways. I will probably use most of my courgette flour for sauces and for coating food before putting bread crumbs on it.  It might be good for making vegetable fritters, too.  Has any one else tried making courgette flour and do you have any different tips?