The first time I baked a recipe with almond flour it was not at all
what I expected. And then I discovered that almond flour can mean a lot
of things: almond meal, ground almonds, blanched almond flour, and so
on.
Now that I have over a year of baking almond flour goodies under my
belt, I have found that for most recipes, finely ground, blanched
almond flour works best (organic is even better, but hard to find and
even more expensive). Especially in recipes that are designed to
produce lighter, cake-like or cookie-like results, similar to baking
with unbleached wheat flour or other processed grain flours.
Some of the recipes on Comfy Belly can be made with other flours
besides almond and nut flours, however the amounts of flour required
will most probably vary, as will the other ingredients. If I have tried
a recipe various ways, I will offer the measurement for another type of
flour. I am starting to branch out to other flours and will post
recipes when I think they work well and are received well on the home
front.
Note:
I recommend that you avoid baking with Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour/Meal
or other almond meal brands because they don't work well for most
lighter breads, pastries, cookies, and cakes. Make sure to use blanched
almond flour to obtain the consistency and texture of a finer
grain-based flour. And keep reading to understand the difference
between almond meal and blanched almond flour. By the way, almond meal
does work well for some recipes - such as banana breads and denser
baked goods, and you can find it at Trader Joe's and other markets.
Some sources for almond flour:
Honeyville Food Products
Buy Almond Flour
Hughson Nut, Inc.
Lucy's Kitchen Shop
Amazon.com
SunOrganic Farm
Digestive Wellness
King Arthur Flour Online
Why do I use blanched almond flour? I started out using it
because I wanted to eliminate all wheat and gluten for a while to see
if it would help my son. And then I found that it eliminated my
underlying anemia I have had on and off since giving birth to my each
of my sons, and gave me a good boost of essential vitamins and
minerals, including iron and calcium and vitamin E. It also has a
higher protein content (and lower carbohydrate content) than other
flours and baked goodies. So baking with almond flour is quite healthy
- a nice bonus.
Some more good reasons to cook and bake with almond flour*:
It's good for your heart: Studies show that it has more good HDL (good cholesterol) than LDL (bad cholesterol).
Easy to digest: Studies show it is easier to tolerate nuts than glutenous grains. As long as you don't have a nut allergy or intolerance.
It's nutritious: Almond flour contains many vitamins and
minerals for healthy bones, nerves, blood and muscles - more so than
all-purpose wheat flour, and it provides natural calcium that is easier
to digest than dairy products.
It has fiber: It's high in fiber while being gentle on the digestive system.
It is high in protein and mono-saturated fat: It leaves you satisfied longer, so you don't feel hungry soon after eating.
It tastes great: It works well in a number of recipes, from sweet treats to hearty meals, and it carries the flavor of ingredients well.
* Source for some of this information: Grain-free Gourmet, by Jodi Bager and Jenny Lass
What about other nut flours? There are other nuts that make
great flours, such as cashew, hazelnut, peanut, and pecan. I use them
sometimes, but I mainly use almond flour because I have it in a fine
ground state, ready to be used. Nut butters are also good in some
recipes, such as baked goods that are softer and/or denser, such as
cookie bars, cakes and breads.
How do you store almond flour? I store it in a refrigerator
(sealed in plastic or in a glass jar) for a few months at a time. I purchase 25 pounds of
almond flour at a time and it lasts me about 3 months or so. It's
obviously cheaper to buy it in bulk, but you can buy it in smaller
increments, such as 5 and 10 pound bags. I would still store it in the
refrigerator in a sealed container or bag, since it does tend to absorb
odors from other food if exposed. I know some folks freeze it, but I
haven't found it necessary to do so. If you do freeze it, it doesn't take long to defrost and de-lump the flour. And others also store it in a sealed container in their pantry at room temperature. It may depend on how fast you use it up.
Can you make your own? Yes, but I'll admit up front that I
don't do it. You can use a blender, coffee grinder, or a food processor, but you must
first blanche the almonds to remove the skin. And don't go too far when processing the nuts, or
you will end up with almond butter (which it not a bad thing, but not
what you were after). So watch it closely. If you don't blanche the
almonds and remove the skins, you will have almond meal when you are
done processing the almonds. Another way to make a small batch of
almond flour is to purchase sliced blanched almonds (Trader Joe's has
them) and then process them until you have flour.