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Linden Leaf Flour

Linden Leaf Flour is a traditional French recipe for converting linden (common lime) leaves into a dried powder suitable for baking or use as a thickener. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic French dish of Linden Leaf Flour.

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

10 minutes

Total Time:

20 minutes

Additional Time:

(+3 nights drying)

Makes:

350g

Rating:

Tags : Wild FoodBaking RecipesFrench Recipes

The older leaves of the Linden (Common Lime Tree) can be turned into a powder which can be used to bulk-out flour or to be used as a thickener in stews. It used to be used quite commonly in this respect during the Middle Ages aid the French also used Linden leaves for the same purpose during the Second World War. This is a base recipe for a number of other recipes on this site.

Ingredients:

2kg Linden leaves (the older leaves from the tree work well for this)

Method:

If done in high summer the leaves can be left out to sun-dry every day for about a week. Otherwise place the leaves on a baking tray (well separated) and place in an oven heated to 50°C over night for two or three nights, until completely dry and crumbly.

When the leaves crumble between your fingers they are ready. Pound to a paste in a pestle and mortar then sift the paste through a fine-meshed sieve. The resultant powder can be stored long-term in an air-tight jar. Typically 500g of fresh linden leaves will yield 100g of powder, so this recipe will give you about 400g of linden leaf powder.

Typically this was used as a flour substitute or flour additive to make breads, cakes and porridge or pap These days linden leaves can be useful as they contain a high percentage of invert sugars. As a result they are readily metabolized by diabetics and can be an useful addition to diabetic recipes.