soy flour and soy protein isolate

[fourby4gal]

Does anyone know if it makes any difference if a recipe asks for soy protein isolate and I use soy flour instead? I'm having a hard time finding some of the ingredients for all these great recipes I'm finding.

Diana
female
200/175/??

[not2late]

Re: soy flour and soy protein isolate

Does anyone know if it makes any difference if a recipe asks for soy protein isolate and I use soy flour instead? I'm having a hard time finding some of the ingredients for all these great recipes I'm finding.

Diana
female
200/175/??

Soy flour is ground soy beans. It has a mix of soy starch and soy protein. It does behave somewhat like wheat flour but it doesn't have the same elasticity wheat flour has. To me, it tastes like soybeans and smells like soybeans---which makes it inedible for my tastebuds.

Soy protein isolate is just the soy protein (well, it's about 90-something % protein). That's the stuff they usually put into protein shake powders. It has none of the elastic qualities that wheat flour has. To me, it still has a soy smell and taste, but it's not as strong as soy flour, but still inedible for my tastebuds.

By the way, the taste and aroma perception is very individual---some people don't notice it, others (like me) do.

Can they be used interchangeably?

It really depends on the recipe.....

[fourby4gal]

Re: soy flour and soy protein isolate

I'd be using it for muffins and breads etc

Diana

[sadie147]

Re: soy flour and soy protein isolate

I'd be using it for muffins and breads etc

Diana

I've used soy protein for baking but not on it's own, always with some flax/wheatbran/and a bit of wheat gluten. I'm not sure how well it would bake on it's own, it's very paste-like when it's mixed with liquid...so I think it would depend onthe recipe. I wouldn't just take a non-low carb recipe and just do a straight exchange for flour, but for a low carb recipe that calls for soy flour it may work if you add some wheat gluten I think?

Megs may have a better idea though...

oh..and i'm one of the people that can't taste/smell the soy. how odd. I also enjoy soy milk and i know it really puts some ppl off. weird how we can taste things so differently . I've heard this is also true with the sweeteness/aftertaste in stevia.

[not2late]

Re: soy flour and soy protein isolate

I've always have seen the protein powders mixed with something like a fiber (flax, wheat bran, oat bran, etc.) because the powders don't have any "body". When you mix it with flax, there's body and the flax produces a gooey substance that adds to the overall texture of the final product. Adding wheat gluten will give the product "body" too. It's the wheat gluten that gives breads a spongy texture.

The one caution is that you shouldn't use the protein powders by themselves. I came across a recipe that used protein isolate, wheat gluten (another type of protein) and egg white powder (more protein). The flavor was okay, the appearance was spot on, the texture was perfect, but the mouthfeel was drier than the Sahara desert!

Editing to add,

You can subsitute wheat protein isolate or whey protein isolate for soy protein isolate. So if you can't find soy protein isolate, look for whey protein or wheat protein isolate.

BTW, Sadie---I can eat tofu without any problem and I can even drink soy milk, but for some reason soy flour and soy protein isolate smells too strong for me.

[fourby4gal]

Re: soy flour and soy protein isolate

To clarify, it's soy flour that I have and flax seeds. It's the protein powder that I'm having a hard time finding. Just wondering if I can just use the flour instead of protein powder.

[not2late]

Re: soy flour and soy protein isolate

You can try it and see what happens.