Monday, March 29, 2010

Make Breads & Muffins With Almond Flour

Almond flour is simply ground almonds and has the consistency of cornmeal. "Blanched" almond flour is made in a similar way as almond meal, except that almond meal is made by grinding whole almonds, and almond flour is ground after the skins are removed. You can use almond flour as a low-carb, healthy alternative to white or wheat flour in making breads and muffins. Almond flour is also nutritious, high in protein and low in sugars.


Instructions


1. Purchase almond flour or meal in a health food store, or make it yourself. Simply pulse handfuls of almonds in a food processor until they have a meal-like consistency.


2. Use almond flour in muffins, nut breads and pancakes for the best results. Follow your normal bread and muffin recipes, simply replacing the regular flour with almond flour. Just remember that almond flour doesn't contain any self-rising agents or yeast, so if your recipe calls for self-rising flour, you'll need to add yeast to the almond flour when replacing the regular flour completely. You can also add approximately two tablespoons of vital wheat gluten per recipe to help your baked goods rise.








3. Make slight adjustments to the liquid and egg measurements in your recipe when using almond flour. Almond flour or meal needs more eggs to hold up well. Start by adding one additional egg and/or two to three tablespoons of oil or water to your recipe.


4. Use a combination of regular flour and almond flour when you're first experimenting. This is usually the easiest way to transition into using almond flour in your favorite muffin and quick-bread recipes. For best results, begin by replacing approximately one-third to one-half of the regular flour in your recipe with almond flour.


5. Store breads and muffins made with almond flour just as you would any other baked goods made with regular flour.

Tags: almond flour, regular flour, almond flour, your recipe, with almond, almond flour