Almond Flour

What is almond flour?

Almond flour is simply ground almonds which makes it gluten free. Ideally chose a flour made from blanched almonds (white without the skin) as flour made with the skin on is usually referred to as almond meal. Some brands will interchange the names so you might want to check the ingredients. It is often used as a low-carb substitute for wheat flour in cooking. If you are making something more delicate like cakes then you ideally want to go with the flour where as breads and breadcrumbs you could use either

How to use almond flour

If you are on a low-carb diet then almond flour will become a staple ingredient in your baking, along side coconut flour. Wheat flour contains gluten, which helps to stick all the ingredients together (did you ever make glue from flour and water?). As almonds are gluten free the dough you making from it won't have the same properties as a traditional dough, eg. yeast doesn't cause it to rise. So when you use it in your baking you will need to add something else to help it absorb liquid and bind together. The most usual ingredients used for this purpose are ground psyllium husk powder, protein powder and/or eggs. I am sure you will have noticed that many low-carb recipes contain a lot more eggs than standard recipes.

If you have a recipe for breaded fish, meat or vegetables you can use almond flour or meal mixed with spices and/or Parmesan cheese as a substitute for breadcrumbs.

Other things you need to know

The amount of carbs in almond flour can vary from product to product this is because of where and how the almonds were grown so always check the packaging for actual figures but as a rule of thumb almond flour will contain approx 4-8g of carbs per 100g.

This makes almond flour low-carb but because it is often used in quite large quantities in baking the total carbs per dish can add up so bear this in mind when contemplating portion sizes.

Almonds are also considered to be low in omega 6 due to their protective skin and vitamin E content but this gets destroyed by the grinding process and so when they are exposed to high temperatures in the oven the oxidation process in intensified so there is a possibility that too much could be unhealthy. Almond flour can be used in no bake recipes without any consideration but it might be wise to not overindulge in baked goods.

Substitutes

Coconut flour is an alternative to almond flour and can also be used combined with it. This would obviously be a serious consideration for people with nut allergies. However you don't need to use as much coconut flour as you would for almond flour, the ratio would be about 3:1, ie you need about a 1/3 of the coconut flour but as coconuts are much drier than almonds you may need to add additional eggs.

Nutritional Information per 100g

Fat: 54g, Protein 19g, Carbs 4.3g, Fibre 11g - 610 Kcalories

Where to buy

Most healthfood and wholefood stores will stock it as well as some supermarkets. You can also buy online here