Almond flour is most often used in gluten-free baking, and usually in combination with other gluten-free flours, such as sorghum. Gluten is the protein in many grains, such as wheat, which is difficult to digest for many people.

Technically, almond flour is made from almonds which have had the oil extracted from it and the pulp ground into a flour, while almond meal is made from the whole almond ground into a fine meal (blanched, with or without the skins). The names are often interchanged and the product can be used interchangeably. Almond flour is finer and the meal is more coarse, which can change the texture of the baked good you are using it for. You can easily make your own almond meal at home in a food processor.

Store your almond flour in the freezer to keep the oils from going rancid.

Almond flour/meal is also used in low-carb. foods. You can use it for dredging meat.

The link below has some recipe that may be helpful.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Almond Flour or Meal - How to use it

This recipe came from a friend of mine who's a terrific baker. The brownies are fabulous beyond anything you've ever tasted.

Robin's Dark Chocolate Brownies

Butter a 9 x 13 pan
Melt: 1 C. butter
6 oz bittersweet chocolate (can use chips)

Add: 2 C. sugar
4 large eggs
1 Tbl. almond extract
1 c. flour
1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
2/3 c. almond flour
16 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
1/8 tsp. salt
Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 or until a knife comes out relatively clean. These are gooey when hot.

Don't mean to hijack the thread. But... can one really make almond flour, from raw blanched almonds, at home using a food processor? I know it should look more like almond meal than flour. Mine turned out half meal and half paste. It could be my machine.

Al

I buy my almond meal ready ground as it's a common ingredient for breading in my kitchen in place of breadcrumbs.
It's not a flour and has more texture since it's plain almonds after they've been ground.

Makes a wonderful coating for chicken breast, fish or schnitzel. I also add a little oat bran to the almond meal for coating. In either case, I don't use flour or egg first (for diet), but just press the moist chicken or fish into a plate of seasoned meal & crumbs or do a shake & bake type of coating by putting the almond-bran mixture into a small bag and adding the pieces.

SharonCb

Al, it's the oil in the nuts. I've done it as well for a pastry for a crazy friend who was being anti-carb. I just counted the oil as part of my shortening, but that only works if you can bake without measuring.

Before you substitute almond flour for wheat, do read up on gluten free baking. There are an awful lot of things that just can't be made without gluten.

Elena's Pantry has some great recipes using almond flour. I've recently made her Orange Cake and also her Double Chocolate Orange Torte...both are very, very good.

Here is a link that might be useful: Elena's Pantry

Plllog, "bake without measuring"... now we're talking! :-) So... what's the secret to making almond meal that has the consistency like the store bought stuff? Not that I need to go gluten free. I just like a challenge and I am definitely one of those gonna-do-it-at-least-once people. It just bothered me when my first attempt didn't turn out the way I wanted. Once I get it right I probably will never do it again! LOL

Al

Al -

You can make almond MEAL in a blender or food processor - just make sure you pulse it slowly, and stop before it becomes almond butter. Sift the finer particles out, if necessary, to achieve the texture you require.

Almond FLOUR is "ground from the cake that remains after oils are pressed from nuts", according to the Cook's Thesaurus.

Nut MEALS are oilier and grittier than processed nut flours. There is a difference in the fat content between a "true" nut flour and a nut meal because of the processing to make a flour.

In "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook", it describes the differences between almond flour and almond meal: Almond flour is actually a by-product of the process in which almond slices and slivers are produced. First, the almonds are blanched--the skin is removed in a water bath. Next, they are cut into sliced or diced almonds. The fragments and small pieces that result from this process (a sort of almond sawdust) ultimately become almond flour. In the final stage of this process, the by-product, which may be somewhat coarse, is put through a screen with tiny holes to ensure smooth flour with a uniformly fine consistency.

-Grainlady

Thanks Grainlady! Very interesting information. I believe the reason I failed at my first attempt was that I didn't take the finer particles out. I did pulsate the almonds slowly and stir it around periodically. I will definitely give it another go. Thanks again!

Al

Thanks, Grainlady! I love learning this kind of stuff.

Thank you all so much for the information, recipes and links. I'm still exploring them all.
That almond flour cookbook looks great. I had no idea about the gluten issue, but knowing more about that seems to be the key to working with almond flour.

Oh my gosh, those brownies sound like heaven, and I really like the idea of using the almond MEAL as a substitute for breading. The pictures left me licking my chops and have convinced me to delve more into this new cooking option. Maybe almond flour and meal will become a staple in my home once I begin to experiment with its uses and it becomes a familiar ingredient.

This is my first forray into this cooking forum and I'm just knocked out by how knowledgable and experienced you all are and how generous you are with it. Thank you!

Dragonfly, also try almond meal for anything that calls for something like a graham cracker crust or cookie base.

When I made the recipe I posted above, I ground almonds in a small hand grinder that I got from King Arthur Flour. It never got ground very fine--but the recipe was still terrific.

Thanks Plllog,
Will do!

Laceyvail, so you used more of an almond meal than a flour in that recipe? I was thinking about trying your recipe this weekend if time allows and will use the almond flour
I bought. Sounds like the flour is not something that can be made at home unless there is some relatively cheap way of extracting the oils. But almond meal shouldn't be too difficult given one has a good grinder. I'm thinking I might try using my old electric coffee bean grinder (since I don't drink coffee anymore) to make the almond meal. I want to try using it like breading as was pictured above. Yum!

I bake with Almond Meal/Flour a lot. I've used both - and generally I use them interchangeably. Almond flour is *very* expensive, so I mostly use Almond Meal. I get the best deal at Trader Joe's ($3.99/lb).

I have several recipes. Here's one of my favorites and easiest. I'm making some Thursday night, so I'll post a picture, which will be worth a thousand words.

Chocolate Dipped Almond Macaroons (they don't look like traditional Macaroons).

- 3 cups Almond Meal or Flour
- 1/2 cup Egg whites
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups of Sugar (depending on how sweet you like them) (I tend to use less sugar, and part Splenda)
- 4 tsp Almond Extract (or other flavorings of your choice)
- Jam or fruit spread (optional)
- Bittersweet or Dark chocolate, melted for dipping

1. Mix Almond meal with egg whites.
2. Add in sugar/sweetener and Extracts.
3. Let rest for 1/2 hour. Dough is sticky.

4. Scoop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets. Press into a circle about 1/4 inch tall. (dough is still sticky :-)

5. If using jam, press small indent in center and add a bit of jam.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 - 23 minutes (this is for large 2 ounce cookies, smaller cookies will take less time).

6. Remove to cooling rack immediately.

7. When cookies are cool, dip halfway into melted chocolate and lay on wax paper to set (I put them in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to help set).

Bonnie

8. Eat.