Flour-bound falafel certainly holds together, but you end up with dense, pasty balls, like these:
By solving one problem, you create a brand-new one. But that’s okay! some recipes seem to say. We’ll fix that problem we just created with another solution: baking powder!
Using some baking powder in flour-bound falafel adds leavening to the mix, giving the balls lightness and airiness. It works. Your balls are no longer mushy and pasty. Unfortunately, they aren’t really falafel-textured, either, instead coming out with the texture of, well, something that’s been leavened with baking powder. More like a deep-fried chickpea fritter or muffin than actual falafel, like this:
I suppose you could solve that problem by adding other textural elements—bulgur wheat, nuts, other grains, et cetera—but at some point, working with canned chickpeas feels like plugging up holes in a dam and running out of fingers.
Dried chickpeas are the way to go.
