What is Almond Flour?
Almond flour is finely ground almonds. It adds a richness and moistness to recipes and adds a buttery taste and delicate crunch to crusts. Also called Almond Meal.
How to use Almond Flour
In baking, you can substitute up to 1/4 cup of Almond Flour per Cup of regular flour in your recipes. So if your original recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, you can use 1 1/2 Cups regular flour and 1/2 Cup Almond Flour.
Almond Flour is great in baked goods like cakes, cookies, muffins and breads. It is also delicious used in breading for meats, fish or vegetables.
The Benefits of Almond Flour
Almonds are an excellent source of protein, vitamin E, and magnesium. They also contain calcium, iron and zinc. Almond Flour contains about 3 grams of fiber per 1/4 Cup. A good source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oil, almonds do have a fairly high calorie count, however, these oils are generally accepted as part of a healthy diet, just don’t overdo if you’re watching calorie intake.
How to make Almond Flour
Commercial Almond Flour, like Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour is made with blanched almonds. You can also make almond flour at home using either blanched almonds, or simply use whole raw almonds, with the skins still on. While some may not find the brownish color of the unblanched almonds as aesethically pleasing, they do retain more of the nutrients.
You will need:
- An electric coffee grinder dedicated to making almond flour, or grinding gluten free grains.
- A dedicated sifter for gluten free cooking
Take whole raw, or whole blanched almonds and grind them in the coffee grinder using on and off pulses, do not let the almonds get too warm. Grind until you get a course meal and put it through the sifter. Any pieces too large go back in the grinder for another try until all is sifted through.
Store almond flour in the fridge, or the freezer for longer storage, to preserve the flavor and nutritional value.
Almond Flour Recipes:
on this site
Almond Flour recipe cookbook.
Where to buy Almond Flour
More and more grocery store are stocking specialty flours, and Bob’s Red Mill is pretty easy to find, at least on the west coast. Health Food stores are also a good bet. If you just don’t have a local place that stocks it, try these links to buy Almond Flour on Amazon.
