Tofu dough is a dough made from two ingredients, flour and tofu. Popularized by Halle Burns (a.k.a. @BalleHurns on tiktok) where she claims its a universal dough. In her videos, she uses it to make different noodles, pretzel bites, flatbreads and more.
Burn’s recipe is a blenderized 14 oz block of extra-firm tofu combined with 2 cups of flour and mixed into a dough like consistency.
As a dietitian with a culinary background, I’m going to give you the nutrition highlight of tofu dough, culinary considerations, and answer some questions you may have about tofu dough.
Nutritional Highlights of Tofu Dough
Making dough with tofu and flour is one way to increase the protein content of a dish. This can be beneficial for those who struggle with eating enough protein or have difficulty with the textures of animal based protein sources.
Additionally, tofu also adds additional iron and calcium to the dough, increasing its micronutrient content.
Protein
One serving of All-Purpose (AP) flour, which is 1/4 cup or 30 grams, contains 4 grams of protein [1]. Normally, dough would be made with water as its primary liquid which adds no additional protein. Meaning there would still be only 4 grams of protein in the final product for every serving of flour you consumed in the dough.
Extra-firm tofu, which is used in Burn’s recipe, contains about 9 grams of protein per 85 g or 3 oz serving. The ratio used in her video was one, 14 oz block of extra firm tofu to 2 cups of flour (8 total servings of flour).
After combining the tofu with the flour, each 1/8 of the recipe would have 9 grams of protein which increases the protein content compared to a regular dough by 225%.
Iron
From this recipe you can get iron from two places, enriched flour and the tofu. Enriched flour is flour that has nutrients added back in during processing. One of these nutrients happens to be iron.
Flour that is enriched contains about 1.6-1.7 mg or iron per serving or 9% of the daily value for iron [1,2,3].
Tofu contributes about another 1.4 mg per serving [4,5]. After the flour and tofu are combined to Burn’s recipe ration, for 1/8 of the recipe you would get 2.5 mg of iron or 13% of the daily value of iron [3].
Iron from both the flour and tofu are non-heme iron which is better absorbed when combined with foods high in vitamin C. If you looking to get more iron in your diet look at what you can combine your tofu dough dish with to complement it with vitamin C.
Calcium
Tofu is made using either calcium sulfate or magnesium chloride to coagulate the soy curds for tofu. What this means is not all tofu contains significant amounts of calcium but checking the food labels can help you get a higher calcium option.
Popular tofu brand contain between 90-150 mg of calcium per serving or 7-12% of the daily value [3,4,5]. There are only trace amounts of calcium in flour, so for each 1/8 of the recipe you would get 50-84 mg of calcium, 4-6% of the daily value.
Culinary Considerations
Many of the foods Burn’s makes with her universal dough are more or less traditional foods. There may be some variations in recipes but, people are generally expecting certain flavors or textures from the product. However, tofu is not exactly flavor free and when you increase the protein content of the dough you are also likely to impact the texture. So, if you are making something with tofu dough, you might love it, but it might not have the same taste or texture that you were expecting.
Consider flavoring your dough itself or combining the final product with strong flavors to help convey the flavors of a specific dish you may be aiming for.
Additionally, I haven’t seen any recipes using leavening agents like yeast or baking powder. With tofu changing composition of the dough more adjustment would likely need to be made to make breads or other baked goods.
Questions about Tofu Dough
A dough made out of tofu and flour may or may not have been something you’ve seen or heard of before. Either way, you probably have some questions.
Is Tofu Dough Gluten-Free?
This universal dough recipe is not gluten-free or soy-free. However, on its own, it is egg, dairy, nut, peanut, fish, shell-fish, and sesame free. One of it two components being regular flour contains gluten content meaning its not safe for those who avoid gluten. It’s other component, tofu, is made from soy.
Is Tofu Dough Vegan?
Yes! Which is beneficial for vegans that struggle to find more ways to get their protein for the day.
Is Tofu Dough High-Protein?
The dough has about 225% more protein compared to the protein content found in dough made with water and regular all purpose flour. The tofu gives you 5 grams of additional protein for every serving of flour your consume in the final product.
It Tofu Dough Low-Carb?
No, while tofu itself is a lower carb plant-based protein source, it is still combined with all purpose flour which contains a significant amount of carbohydrates.
Making tofu dough with alternative lower carb flours may compromise the taste and structure of the dough.
Take Aways
Tofu dough can be an exciting new way to get more plant-based protein into your diet. Additionally, it can offer slightly higher micronutrient contents of key nutrients that are are more difficult to get with a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle.
However, when using is “universal dough”, consider that the tofu may impart a taste or texture that varies from what you may expect. Using strong flavors in the dishes you make with tofu dough can help you get closer to expectation.
Finally, this dough has its differences from regular dough; however, at its base it is still a flour based dough with some added soy. This boost is protein content but doesn’t make it more allergy friendly or low-carb.