Hi Bold Bakers!
Welcome to the third installment of my Bold Baking Boot Camp, where I’ll show you how to make your own Gluten-Free Flours including how to make Almond Flour, Oat Flour, and Chickpea Flour. Plus, to round out all of the alternative baking methods and recipes I’m sharing, check out my Sugar Substitutes Chart, and my Weight Conversion Chart.
Is almond flour gluten-free? Yes, but you don’t have to eat gluten-free to use nut and oat flours in baking. They are a very common ingredient in today’s world!
Not only are almonds pretty cheap to come by (roughly $0.50 cheaper per pound than the flour), they give great texture and flavor to your cakes, cookies, and recipes in general. In total, I’m going to show you how to make 3 of the most popular gluten-free flours with ease and tell you how you can substitute them.
Important Note: All of the flours I’m going to show you can replace regular white flour in recipes like cakes, cookies, crepes, cupcakes, regular pancakes, etc. However, because of their different texture and density, you generally don’t substitute gluten-free flour for the same amount of nut flour, 1:1.
Gluten-free flours aren’t generally as fine as regular white flours so they will absorb liquids differently and that’s why you will use less flour to counter that.
Is Almond Meal The Same As Almond Flour?
For our intents and purposes, the two are the same. Almond meal is ground-up almonds with their shells on, while some almond flour recipes call for blended blanched almonds (which are just almonds with their shells removed).
However, the distinction is small since the meal and flour are practically interchangeable aside from the texture and color. Our recipe uses almond meal as the flour since the meal is actually better for baking.
How Many Carbs Is Almond Flour Substitute?
This recipe is not only cheaper than most alternatives, but it’s also incredibly nutritious! In fact, every 1/4 cup only has 3 net carbs. To put that in perspective, in the same 1/4 cup, there are around 19 net carbs. And in cornstarch, you’d likely find roughly 29 net carbs.
What You’ll Need To Make Almond Flour
Most nut flour recipes are incredibly easy to make, and this great recipe is no exception — you can get it all done in under 30 minutes. Here’s everything you’ll need to make it yourself:
- Blender
- Sieve
- Container to Store the Flour In
How To Make Almond Flour
With those tools assembled, here’s the three-step process for creating your very own flour that you can use whenever. And don’t forget the full recipe, with measurements, down below.
- Blend the nuts in a high-power blender until fine and powdery.
- Once you’ve got a fine ground, sieve the almonds to remove any leftover lumps or nuts.
- Store in an airtight container. You can also store it in the fridge if you’d like to keep it fresh.
How To Substitute Almond Flour
You can substitute 1 cup of regular white flour for roughly 1/3 -1/2 cup almond flour (aka almond meal). I say roughly because it really depends on what the recipe calls for.
But once you’ve gotten the hang of the substitution ratio, you can use this gluten-free flour for things like this keto-friendly bread recipe, almond flour cake, and almond flour banana bread to name a few.
Want to make a traditional pancake using almond flour? Then check out my delicious gluten-free pancake recipe. And if you’re looking to whip out the baking sheet with parchment paper and make almond flour cookies, try this keto sugar cookie recipe or our coconut chocolate chip cookies recipe.
If you’re looking for something different, you can also learn how to make more gluten-free flours including Oat Flour and Chickpea Flour. And I’ll even show you how to make Dairy Free Milks. In case you missed previous episodes, you can get a Sugar Substitute Chart and a Weight Conversion Chart.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Flour Out Of Almonds
- Don’t overmix the nuts in the blender. If you over blend, you run the risk of releasing the almonds oils and making almond butter — which is delicious, granted, but not what you’re trying to make.
- As mentioned before, make sure to be mindful of the ratio from regular flour to this flour substitute. For every 2 or 3 cups of flour, you’ll want to use just 1 cup of this recipe.
Make Gluten-Free Recipes!
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!