Almond Flour
Why almond flour? I am asked this question at least once a day. Almond flour is highly nutritious, easy to use and readily available. For those of us watching our glycemic index, almond flour is high in protein and low in sugars.
Unlike other alternatives to wheat flour, almond flour is moist and delicious. After having tested just about every gluten-free flour out there, I can save you a lot of time and hassle when I say that almond flour is far superior to other flours in terms of taste, nutrition and ease-of-use.
In all of my recipes I use blanched almond flour. They will not work with unblanched, in fact, they will be miserable failures, so I do not recommend even trying unblanched.
I avoid purchasing almond flour retail at all costs! It is more than $15 per pound in the grocery store. If you purchase it online it is generally less than half of that including shipping. Yes, still expensive, but packed with protein and flavor, so for me, worth the cost.
NOTE: One example of almond flour you will find in retail stores is Bob's Red Mill. This product yields poor, runny results when used in my recipes; compared to other almond flours it has a very coarse texture. I do not recommend using Bob's Red Mill almond flour in my recipes.
I store my almond flour in gallon or half-gallon glass mason jars
Posted on February 20, 2007 in products by Elana
you might also like: Coconut Flour
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Hi Elana, Have you ever made Brownies with almond flour? I'm looking for a Brownie recipe made with almond flour. I made your DF chocolate chip cookies. They are to die for. The best chocolate chip cookie I ever ate. Thanks Elana.
Janie,
The closet thing I can offer right now is my Almond Butter Blondie recipe.
I will add your Brownie recipe request to the little post it above my desk :-)
In the meantime you may want to ask my other readers in the forums.
Would you please explain how you fix the almond flour from the freezer so it's not clumpy? Do you whisk it all at once and then put it on the counter? Or just whisk the amount you plan on using for the specific recipe?
Thanks, Elana!
~M
~M,
As I mention above, "I store my almond flour in gallon or half-gallon glass mason jars. I keep one out in a cabinet and leave all the other ones in the freezer. Using almond flour straight out of the freezer is an exercise in clumpy frustration, which is why I leave one out."
Hope this helps.
Elana
Hi Elana,
This doesn't quite answer my question. My question is that when you finish the jar you left in the cupboard (let's call it jar A), and it's time to pull out a second jar from the freezer (jar b), how do you get rid of the clumps? Do you just whisk the entire contents of jar bar and then return it to its jar? Or does it become usable just by moving it from the freezer to fridge or cupboard? Does this make more sense? I'm trying to figure out whether I should purchase 25 lbs or only 5 lbs of almond flour. Thanks!
Elana, thanks for all the great info and recipes. I am having trouble finding the almond flour you recommend in Canada. Honeyville will not ship to Canada. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Kristi
try this place:
they are in canada:
http://www.jgourmet.ca/
$85 for 10 pounds of almond flour plus shipping? Ok, this is beyond me ... plus, I wouldn't be able to take any of my creations made with this to work as we are a nut free school .... too bad! :(
Kristi,
You could try purchasing it from this vendor. I haven't used their product, though it looks fantastic in the picture. I think it's worth a try.
Hope this helps.
Elana
I just bought a 5 pound bag of Bob's Red Mill almond flour, thinking I was going to be using something healthier. Ahh. Can I whiz it around the food processor a little while to make it finer to be able to use it?
Thanks,
Stephanie
I also purchased some poor-quality almond flour and find that it works well as a substitute for almonds. For example in smoothies and shakes. I also used it in Elana's almond bars (which by the way are fabulous!). Since I do not have a food processor, it is hard to grind whole almonds. So I use a mixture of whole almonds and almond meal.
Hi Stephanie,
It might be worth the try, though I haven't heard from readers who have had success using this brand of almond flour with any of my recipes.
Please let me know how it goes if you do decide to experiment.
Elana
Hi Elana, I saw you have a cookbook coming. Congrats! I can't wait to get it. Now, I read through all the FAQ's and didn't see a couple of things addressed. Can you use almond flour in just about any baking? I don't particularly care to buy all the other flours and mix them but have made a blend that works in just about everything especially pizza and focaccia. I'd rather just buy and use one or two products and be done with it. Thoughts on this? The other question that I didn't see addressed was whether or not you can use coconut oil and grapeseed oil interchangeably. Sometimes I find one on sale rather than the other and didn't know if it was just better to bite the bullet and keep both on hand. Sorry for the novel but thanks for reading.
Carey,
Those are great questions. I write my recipes from scratch so am not the best person to answer inquiries about ingredient substitutions. I would recommend experimenting or posting your queries in my forums.
Sorry I can't be of more help and thanks for stopping by :-)
Elana
Hello, I just found your website and I'm very happy. Thanks for the tips, tricks, and recipes. Do you know of a distributor for a good brand of almond flour in the UK? Or, do you think a Vita Mix would yield a good textured almond flour?
L.
Lisa, you are welcome. For the answer to your question, please see my faq's.
Elana- one of our family favorites is artichokes- we love them all sorts of ways- I was wondering if you use artichokes at all and if so how? I'd love a gluten free "stuffed" artichoke recipe that doesn't come out "gummy" any ideas? Thanks so much for all your incite and YUMMY recipes! I have made a bunch and haven't been disappointed with any! I especially enjoyed your Passover recipes what a blessing! Thank you! Cristy
Hi Cristy, thanks so much for your sweet comment. I have to confess, I haven't ever done a stuffed artichoke recipe; we love to eat them plain, steamed. xoxo
Hi - does anyone have any cookie recipies that use the almonds ground up after making almond milk? Almonds (raw) are soaked then ground and strained for the liquid. I love the idea of not throwing the moist ground up almonds away! thanks
I use my almond pulp leftover from making almond milk in making granola. Works great in that.
Sue
I just made brownies a few days ago with left over wet almond meal - they turned out great and they are also made with black beans. The recipe is on my blog: 40dayhealthchallenge.blogspot.com
I also used it to coat onion rings and broil them. Don't throw it out - experiment.
I use my leftover almond meal for baking after making my almond milk. First, I spread the almond meal onto a cookie sheet in a thin layer and dry it in the oven at 200 degrees for about an hour. After the almond meal has cooled, I put it into the blender to make a finer powder. It makes great cookies and brownies, but I have yet to try it in bread or pie crusts.
Where can I order almond flour, like what you recommend. Thank you, in advance for this info.
God Bless you & your MS! GM
Hi Gail, just go the purchase section of my site (right hand column) and you will find links to sites that sell every unique ingredient used here.
Hi Elana! I really loved your recipes, but besides gluten allergy I also have almond allergy:( What other flour do you suggest for your recipes?Thanks and congratulations!
Hi Julie, what about checking out some of my coconut flour recipes?
I'm allergic to almonds so what can I use instead of the almond flour in your recipes?? Thx.
Dear Shelly, please see my faq's for the answer to this and other frequently asked questions.
Elana,
Where are you finding organic blanched almond flour? I looked all over the internet, and couldn't find it.... Would you consider sharing your source?
Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Hi Cindy, I'm not sure I understand your question. I recommend Honeyville blanched almond flour. Hope this helps :-)
I made my first gluten-free bread (bread 2.0) yesterday and our family loves it (inc. picky husband)! I'm so happy b/c no one liked the store-bought bread.
The second time I ate a slice I did feel like I was having a slight reaction (I'm allergic to peanuts). So, I just talked to a customer serviceman at Honeyville. They receive 25 lb bags of almond flour from a facility that just processes almonds (no peanuts). Honeyville breaks open the bags to create 5 lb bags. They do this on equipment that also handles peanuts (though they clean and sterilize betw.). So, if you are allergic to peanuts, consider buying the 25 lb bags to be certain of no cross contamination!
Hi Elana,
I finally ordered some almond flour...I have been reading your blog for quite some time and decided that I need to try this for myself. :) I'd love to have a lower-carb option. Once I get my order I'm going to try one of your recipes and check back in.
Best,
Amy
Are you sure it was almond flour from Bob's Red Mill? Sounds to me like you were maybe using the almond meal rather than the flour. I have used Bob's Red Mill almond meal many times and yes, it's quite coarse compared to what a flour would be like. I don't even know if Bob's makes almond flour, now that I think about it. I'll hafta check that out.
Could you put on your list of possible recipes to make, one for larabar or something similar. I love those and feel it could be cheaper to make at home. Would that be something you would consider doing?
Thanks so much, love your site.
Elaina
Elaina,
You might want to try Elana's Breakfast Bars - they're waaaay better than any store bought "nutritioous" bar you could buy.
:-)
Hi Elana!
I have heard that soaking almonds or flour for 12-24 hours can help release phytic acid thus making the almond flour easier to digest. I bake with almond flour (and am Celiac) but still have trouble digesting it. Have you ever soaked your Honeyville flour or do you think there is a need or it would help with digesting? Thanks so much and looking forward to your response. :)
How long can one keep the almond flour before it goes bad? I've had some in my refrigerator (not freezer) for close to a year, still quite a bit left, do you think it's still okay? Can't find any info on the Honeyville site.
Also, I don't have any dietary restrictions and was having pretty mixed results w/the almond flour alone so have started mixing it w/other flours (whole wheat, etc) and really adds flavor/texture, just a suggestion for those other non-restricted folks out there.
Hi Elana!
I have heard that soaking almonds or flour for 12-24 hours can help release phytic acid thus making the almond flour easier to digest. I bake with almond flour (and am Celiac) but still have trouble digesting it. Have you ever soaked your Honeyville flour or do you think there is a need or it would help with digesting? Thanks so much and looking forward to your response. :)
I just want to give you a very big thank you for not using Xanthan gum in your recipes. See I am also alergic to corn and soy so the corn and gluten hit heads most of the time. When I first eliminated gluten I had no idea Xanthan gum had corn in it. So thank you for creating recipes with out it. i will be buying your book.:)
Elana
I am trying to get all the information I can on both almond and coconut flour. I made some coconut chocolate chip cookies last night and they have a great taste, but are a little too dry...any suggestions? Here is the recipe
1 c butter
2 eggs
1 t vanilla extract
16 packets stevia powder
1/2 c raw sugar or honey
2 c coconut flour
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 c shredded raw coconut
2 c chocolate chips
Cream butter, sugar/honey and stevia. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla.
Sift flour, baking soda and salt together. Incorporate it into the butter mixture. Mix in coconut and chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 until golden brown
I noticed that the dough was very crumbly when I was shaping the cookies and the cookies easily fell apart once they were baked. They taste awesome though. Can you help? I would love to be able to make these and send them to my family members with type 2 diabetes.
I was also considering making a yeast bread for them since they are allowed to have yeast, just not the regular flour. How would that turn out, do you think?
Chante,
With just a quick look at the recipe, I would say that the proportions of butter & egg to coconut flour are off. Coconut flour can't be substituted for wheat flour 1 to 1. If you are really set on using this recipe, I would say you need to cut the coconut flour down by at least half and possibly more, especially since it also calls for dried coconut. The coconut flour and the dried coconut soaked up all the available moisture (oil) and that's why they turned out so crumbly. If you aren't sure about experimenting then you might search the internet for recipes specially designed for coconut flour and there are a few cookbooks out there dedicated to coconut flour. Dr. Bruce Fife has one.
As for yeast-risen coconut flour or almond flour recipes, I don't know that you would find much luck there. Without the stretchy gluten to trap the air bubbles released by the yeast, you wouldn't get a nice, light loaf. It would very probably be very dense, possibly crumbly as well. There are a lot of quick breads available with almond or coconut flour, see this site and Elana's cookbook for ideas. But if you are set on a gluten-free yeast bread, you may need to check into recipes that call for traditional gluten-free flours/ mixes (rice flour, potato flour, tapioca, xanthan, etc.)
Elana,
Do you soak your Honeyville almond flour or just use straight from the bag? I use Honeyville almond flour but still have trouble digesting it. Since I have a large bag and don't have the options of soaking the almonds, is there a way to soak the actual almond flour before baking with it? Would love to hear any suggestions you may have. Thanks!
I am also wondering like the people above about soaking the alomond flour...I need help digesting so many nuts. It is well known it's better to soak nuts and I would love to know if anyone has done this with any luck? Thanks!!
Love your website! I really need a good sweetner that is low Glycemic Index that can be substituted for agave nectar in these recipes. What do you recommend?
chris
i use stevia since it's a herb and does not effect blood sugar. doesn't taste as good as agave or honey but is better for you.
monique
I'm a newbie and can you tell me if coconut oil and flour tastes like coconut? I don't like coconut at all and don't want anything to taste at all like coconut.
Also, I read somewhere that oats aren't definitely a gluten product to avoid. I thought that oats did have gluten in it but when I read that that wasn't necessarily so I was excited because I love oatmeal and other oat products. I read you have to look for "Gluten Free" oats. and oat products. Now there is the problem. Has anyone heard of any gluten free oat products?
Thank-you.