A Professional Chef’s Best Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for Baking with Almond Flour

Welcome to Almond Flour basics, where we will be enjoying the health benefits of using a low glycemic, gluten-free flour that is high in protein and dietary fiber. This flour bakes beautifully and tastes fantastic. If you’re new to this flour, don’t be afraid. You’ll be excited to find how truly versatile it can be and just how easy it is to use when you know of our chef’s best tips for success!

Basic Nutritional Information and General Facts:

• Almond flour is an excellent alternative for those who are going gluten-free and still wanting to watch their carbohydrate intake.
• It is a source of “good fat,” as detailed by the American Heart Association, and is an ideal recovery food for athletes.
• It keeps you full longer and helps maintain weight loss as well as assist in weight loss.
• It is proven to help maintain acceptable blood sugar levels.
• In 2003 the Journal of Obesity said, “Adding a daily ration of almonds to a low-calorie diet enhances weight loss as well as significantly improves the risk factors associated with heart disease.”
• 100% pure skinless almonds, no additional ingredients added.
• Blanched Almond Flour is skinless almonds that are milled into fine flour.
• Other than pasteurizing and milling, the only process that occurs is a hot water bath to remove the skins from the almonds.
• Store in the refrigerator after opening and keep in a cool, dry place.
• Use your flour within a year at the most.

The Basic Baking Guidelines

Almond flour is easy to use. Each baker will have a personal preference, the more practice they have with the flour. Our chef prefers to add a little xanthan gum or cornstarch to the almond flour to help with the texture, though it is not entirely necessary to do so. Almond flour is pretty forgiving in that regard. Some use arrowroot powder to achieve a similar effect in their bread recipes. You will have to decide what you prefer most. Again, this is a personal preference. Generally, for cakes, we add ½ tsp xanthan gum per cup of flour. For loaves of bread, it is about 2 tsp per cup. Some loaves of bread need more or less.

Our Helpful Baking Tips

• Don’t add fat. Most baking recipes add fat to keep products moist and add to a longer shelf-life in baked products. Almond flour is already high in fat, and even though many almond flour recipes add additional butter or fats, we’ve found that Panhandle Milling Almond Flour keeps things very tender on its own. If you still want to add fat to your recipes, this is up to you.
• Choose healthy sweeteners. Most often, bakers use agave nectar, honey, or all natural sugar replacements with almond flour. If you already have that beautiful flour that’s great for blood sugar, then use sweeteners that will carry on the tradition! You can use regular sugar in most recipes, though; we generally use about half as much sugar as recipes call for and still have great results.
• Use smaller loaf pans for bread. Seven inches by three inches maximum if you want the bread to cook through to the center. Smaller items work better, like muffins, rolls, and cookies.
• Increase baking time and use a lower temperature. As a general rule, most standard recipes need increasing baking time by about 20% while reducing the heat by about 25 degrees. This lower temperature will facilitate less burning, and the longer cooking time will allow the products to cook through.

Almond-Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 Cups Panhandle Milling Almond Flour
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated erythritol (Pyure brand natural sweetener)
1 tsp. Almond flavor
2 tsp. caramel flavor
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup Lily’s sugar-free mini chocolate chips

Directions:

• Combine all the ingredients.
• Place by rounded Tablespoon on a lightly oiled cookie sheet, about an inch apart.
• Lightly flatten the cookie dough balls.
• Bake 375 degrees 10-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Yield: 2 dozen cookies.

Gluten-Free Sugar-Free Banana Bread

3 cups Panhandle Milling Almond Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup granular erythritol (sugar-free natural sweetener)
1Tbsp. Xanthan gum
1/4 cup egg white powder
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup water
2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine almond flour, salt, baking powder, erythritol, xanthan gum, and egg white powder.
• In a separate bowl, combine vanilla, water, and mashed banana. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Divide between two 6-inch by 3-inch loaf pans or four 3-inch circular baking pans.
• Bake 350 degrees 35-40 minutes until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let them cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then serve.
  Estimated Nutritional Information: Yields: 16 slices, each slice: 118 cal each; 7g carbs, 2.6g fiber (4.4 net carbs per piece).

No sugar added Almond Brownie Cookies

2 cups Panhandle Milling Almond Flour
2 Tbsp. egg white powder
½ granular erythritol (sugar-free natural sweetener)
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup baker’s cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. fresh orange zest
½ cup water

Directions:

• Combine all dry ingredients.
• Add the water and mix until a thick dough is made. Scoop by rounded Tablespoon onto parchment paper one inch apart and bake 350 degrees 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven.
• Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes. Keep in an airtight container. Yield: 18 cookies.