Easy Almond Flour at Home

Because most baked goods are made with grains and sugars, and serve as vehicles for stuff we don't want to eat much of, like jams, syrups, frostings and other sugary toppings, we've been amazingly successful this past year in turning around the desire for baked goods.

Once in a while I'll whip up a batch of something made with almond flour, though, like pancakes.  They're scrumptious for breakfast with mixed berries atop.  I'll post the recipe.

But first, I urge you not to buy expensive, pre-ground bags of almond flour.  Once a nut is ground, the fats in it begin to oxidize.  You'll set back the oxidizing process enormously by using fresh, whole almonds ground the minute you want to use almond flour.

I've had some success making almond flour in a blade coffee grinder.  But I'm thrilled to report there's a new little food processor out, made by KitchenAid, that has a larger capacity than a coffee grinder and does a SUPERB job of turning out almond flour in seconds.  I think it's because they've raised the upper blade so that it catches pieces of nuts whirling around above the lower blade.

Many grain-free recipes call for blanched almond flour, but my whole, raw, unblanched almond flour performs wonderfully in every recipe I've tried.  A good source of almond flour recipes is Elana's Pantry.

EASY ALMOND FLOUR AT HOME

Start with whole, raw (not roasted) almonds, organic if you can find them.  Almonds aren't a local crop, so I'll get them at our local health food stores or order them from a highly satisfactory online vendor called Nuts.com.

If your almonds are frozen (I usually keep mine in the freezer), let them warm up a bit if you can.  It's easier on your grinder if the nuts aren't frozen.

For every cup of almond flour needed, use about the same amount of almonds.  For example, one cup of almonds will give you about one cup of almond flour.

Place almonds in your grinder of choice, paying attention to capacity of your grinder.  The little KitchenAid food processor above holds 2 cups, but the average coffee grinder will hold only 1/2 cup or so. 

Pulse a few times to begin breaking up the almonds into smaller pieces.  Then process constantly until you have a fine meal. 

The most important thing is to stop processing before you get almond butter!  But even if you do, almond butter is a wonderful thing, too.