As a general rule, when baking with any type of gluten-free flour, don’t expect your batter to rise or to have the same texture as when using wheat flours. Wheat flours contain a protein called gluten that helps dough rise and become airy.
First of all, let’s point out the difference between almond flour and almond meal:
- to make almond flour you grind blanched almonds (peeled);
- to make almond meal, you grind almonds with their skins left on; the texture is coarser; almond meal can help baking products to confine their shape.
If you aim for a soft, fine texture of your baking product, then use almond flour instead of the almond meal when baking.
In terms of nutrition, almond flour and almond meal are close to identical. Both contain minerals like iron, magnesium, potassium, copper, calcium and manganese, vitamins as vitamin E and monounsaturated fat.
Almond flour and almond meal are a gluten-free flour and they can replace wheat flours at a 1:1 ratio when baking waffles, for example. It contains more calories than wheat flours because almond flour is low in carbohydrates and high in fats.
What we need:
- Whole, raw, unsalted and not roasted almonds;
- a high power blender, a grinder or a food processor. I use a coffee grinder.
How to make the almond meal:
1.Grind the whole almonds to get a flourish texture but be careful not to grind them too much as the almond meal will end up oily.
2. Remove the large pieces and repeat the process as long as needed.
3. Use almond meal straight away or store it in an airtight container for a few weeks.
Easy and healthy!
How to make the almond flour:
1.In a pot, boil some water and soak the unpeeled almonds for maximum one minute. Soaking the almonds more than one minute makes them softer.
2. Rinse the almonds with cold water.
3. Unpeel the almonds using your hand by gently squeezing them and remove the skin.
All of them:
4. Dry the skinlees almonds using a paper towel.
5. Add the unpeeled almonds in the high power blender (food processor, coffee grinder) and pulse until you get the flour texture. Keep in mind again not to process the almonds too much as they become oily.
6. Remove large pieces and grind the large pieces again; repeat the process as many times as needed.
7. Use almond meal straight away or store it in an airtight container for a few weeks.
Both almond meal and almond flour keep their natural taste and give a nutty and sweet flavour to baked goods.
P.S.: You might also find interesting this other healthy option: chickpea flour.
Gracious! Thank you for sharing this with us. Almond is one of the healthiest nuts that ever get in the market. I am gonna try this.
Hi, Anoop. We love almonds in any shape or form; and it’s also fun to make the meal or flour in your kitchen.
Thanks for sharing this article Almond is one of the healthiest nuts.
Hi, Minakshi. Almonds are healthy, yes, and give satiety too.
Oh my goodness. I love love love this!!! Super easy to make with not too many ingredients… not to mention it’s super healthy. Thank you for sharing this because I know a few people who might be interested in making almond flour.
Hi, Jasmine. Yes, easy and healthy, exactly what I like. 🙂 I’m happy to hear that I can be of help!
I love almond nuts, especially because they are really healthy. I can eat them all day, thank you for giving me more options on the ways I can equally prepare them.
Hi, Mary; you know, after making almond flour for the first time, my little one decided she likes almonds unpeeled, so now I have to unpeel them for her. I am glad you found this useful.
Yes, Almonds are very healthy nutritious. Thanks for your simple methods of making almond flour.
Hi, Bright. Indeed, they are healthy and nutritious; thanks for stopping by.
This looks easy enough! I will have to give it a go, I love cooking with almonds.
Hi, Ivana. Yes, it is super easy. Enjoy! 🙂
Wow! Didn’t know that almond can be use to make flour , thanks for sharing ! Will deffo try this as almond is one of my fave nuts.
Hi, Anne; yes, you can make almond flour, and it’s straightforward too. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Hello! Thanks for your simple hack of making almond flour!
Hi, Oscar. Thanks for stopping by!
Will definitely be using this! Where I live almond meal/flour is practically impossible to find!
Hi, Melanie. I hope you’ll enjoy the process! 🙂
This is amazing. I am so glad I stumbled upon this post. I am trying to stay away from all-purpose flour and was wondering how to make almond flour at home.
Hi, Michele. I am happy you find this useful. There’s another post about the chickpea flour 😉
Almonds although a bit pricey, serves a lot of natural benefits to our body. Never thought i can actually grind it instead of using all purpose flour
Hi, Rhea. It’s cheaper if you grind almonds compared with buying the flour. And it’s fun too 🙂
Great gluten free recipe . Would love to try it soon
Hi, Surabhi. Thank you
Almonds are extremely expensive here – but I will try a small batch.
Hi, Trisha. I am sorry to hear that; you can mix it with all-purpose flour and make some delicious pancakes maybe.
This looks good! I’ll give it a go. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, Meghana. Thank you too.
Thank you so much for sharing, that looks so healthy!
Hi, Joan. Thank you.
Nice! I’ve only bought almond flour from bulk barn to make macarons. Now I know how to make them from scratch
Hi, Ting. Actually, I had macarons in my mind when I’ve started my research about almond flour. 🙂
Almond is very nutritious. I know you mentioned you can use it for baked goods. Does bread count too? Because I’d like to try it.
Hi; of course you can use it to make bread, but I assume it needs to be mixed with another type of flour. I should try this too, that’s an excellent idea; thanks for it!