Almond flour is the most common flour used in Keto recipes because of its closeness to regular, all-purpose flour in its texture. Almond flour is perfect for use as a Keto flour because it only has 10.6 grams of net carbs per 100 grams of flour, meaning it has seven times fewer carbs than plain flour. What’s more, almond flour is also gluten-free, a common lookout for a Keto diet follower.
The best almond flour for Keto recipes is super or ultra-fine almond flour. Look for ultra-fine almond flour to avoid gritty baked goods in a golden beige hue. For the sake of a Keto baked good to mimic a non-Keto product, super or ultra-fine almond flour is the best choice.
Super or ultra-fine almond flour should only have blanched almonds listed in the ingredients list. Blanched means that the almonds’ skin has been removed before the grinding process, resulting in flour that will behave similarly to all-purpose flour and still fit Keto diets.
Choosing the Best Almond Flour for Keto Recipes
Almond flour can be sold and marketed under a few different names due to the grinding process the almond goes through and the ingredient list of the final product.
However, the best Keto almond flour for baking, among many of the recipe developers out there, are blanched almond flour and ultra-fine almond flour.
The methods used in making both types of flour help to make them both very similar in texture to all-purpose flour. Unfortunately, the substitution ratio for Keto flours to all-purpose flour is not a one-to-one ratio.
Other aspects of the recipe will need tweaking to accommodate; for example, the moisture level and the type of binder necessary to hold the ingredients together.
When choosing flour for your recipes, if your recipe doesn’t specify a type of almond flour, look for texture, the ingredient list on the almond flour packaging, and the color of the flour as an indicator for the grind of the almond flour.
Unblanched versus Blanched Almond Flour
Although unblanched and blanched almond flour is from the same product, making the almond marketable and ready for stores indicates the different varieties. Unblanched and blanched flours are no different. Here is a list of their main characteristics and differences:
Unblanched Almond Flour:
- “raw”
- brown flakes
- stronger nutty flavor
Blanched Almond Flour:
- made using a boiling process
- cream colored
- possible nutritional value loss
Unblanched flour is considered a raw product because there aren’t any cooking applications before selling. For the blanched almond flour, the almond is blanched, which is a cooking process in which the almond is scalded or boiled for approximately a minute.
After the minute, it is rapidly transferred to an ice bath to cool the almond to stop the cooking process. This quick-cooking process enables easy removal of the skin from the almond.
In the case of unblanched flour, the almond does not go through this process, so when it is ground, the skin remains, providing the flour with brown flakes. These brown flakes can result in a ruddy or reddish-brown dough, heavier in weight, and might also yield a gritty crunch.
Visually, it looks similar to sand. Putting aside the final product’s potential mouth feel, the almond skins in the unblanched flour creates a stronger nutty flavor to recipes. On the other hand, the blanched flour exists without the skin, so it has a more uniform cream coloring.
The trade-off of removing the almonds’ skins is that there is a loss of nutritional value, losing some antioxidant, calcium, and iron percentages.
Fine vs. Superfine Almond Flour
You might be able to find multiple varieties in your supermarket. Still, it is more likely that particular varieties will be found in your specialty food store of choice or an online market.
Both fine and superfine almond flour are produced by blanching the almond. This skin removal process is necessary for these varieties of flour because the skins left on would not yield the fine or superfine grind that is needed. The superfine types are milled further than the fine varieties, making their texture closest to grain flour.
Superfine is also marketed as “powder,” or even just described in this sense due to its feel. The more powdery the feeling, the finer the grind, the smoother the dough the flour will become.
The smoother the almond flour, superfine being the best example here, the more cohesive your final product will be. Every stage of coarse to fine grinding results in a product that will either absorb liquids or fats or leech liquids or fats.
Superfine will allow you to have a really soft and smooth cake, while the coarser ground flours will be good for a cracker or a muffin because the texture doesn’t have to be so soft.
Almond Flour vs. Almond Meal
The critical difference between these two products is that one is blanched and lacking almond skins, while the other is not blanched and still retains the almond skin.
Almond Flour:
- Blanched
- Unmilled
- Almond flour without skins
Almond Meal:
- Unblanched
- Coarse
- Skins on
So far in this article, we have discussed the texture of the almond flour and how that texture is relative to the name of the almond flour.
All almond flours that have been blanched and then ground can be labeled as almond flour. You might even find some unblanched varieties still labeled as almond flour in the store, but almond meal is just another name given to the unblanched varieties.
The main quality of the almond meal is the unblanched almonds, with skins on in the grinding process, allowing for a final product that is “meally” in feel.
Essentially, there might be some coarse pieces in almond meal and a texture that is gravelly or gritty. Though this product will absorb fat and liquids, it will not do as good a job as its more finely ground counterparts. Almond meal is a better option for the baker who is aware of the texture of the final baked good’s product, where a coarser texture would not be a detriment.
Almond meal can be used in cookies, various types of bread, as a substitute for breadcrumbs even, or in any other application where a Keto or a gluten-free replacement is needed, but a crunchier texture is still warranted.
Almond flour is an unmilled product, as it isn’t a grain, but depending upon the fineness of its texture, is used in Keto and gluten-free recipes in cookies like a French macaron, light cakes, bread, and other baking products and varieties.
Why is Almond Flour so Expensive?
Almond flour is such an expensive product because it is made exclusively of almonds. Nuts, generally, are a costly food to buy and add to that the knowledge of the mechanical processes of making almond flour via blanching and then removing the skins.
Almonds are grown in European countries like Italy and Spain, and Australia, but they are predominately and most successfully grown in California. The almond is not native to California, but due to the dry and very warm climate and the well-developed water irrigation system, there are ideal conditions for the commercial cultivation of the crop.
The state produces 80% of the world’s almonds and 100% of the United States commercial supply. The rules of supply and demand are certainly at play here. Natural disasters like the recent fires and droughts in California also contribute to the high cost of the almond itself, only raising the price of almond flour because of the production methods required.
Almond trees are very persnickety plants due to their watering schedules and watering amounts. For successfully growing almonds, you would need to water an almond tree with 3 to 4 inches of water every two weeks from June until August.
Though, starting in July, you can reduce the amount of water to 2 to 2 1/2 inches every other week. Throughout the plant’s growth, to grow one almond, the requirement is 1.1 gallons of water, and to produce a pound takes a whopping 1,900 gallons of water.
That is a whole lot of water. Despite this fact, many of the other tree nuts require a similar amount of water, but since the almond is such a popular nut for dietary needs, the attention put on its demand helps to drive up its price.
Although almonds are estimated to have a carbon footprint ten times smaller than that of dairy milk, the natural resources, specifically water, that necessitate growing the almond crop does not make it very sustainable.
Additionally, to meet demands, many agricultural areas have been converted to land for the sole purpose of growing almonds.
Other almond products like almond milk are typically more expensive than their dairy counterparts, but you can easily make your own almond milk, inexpensively, at home.
Proper Storage Tips
Considering the time it takes to make, the processes it goes through, the environmental toll, and the cost to consumers, it is essential to store your almond flours so that they can stay safely in your pantry or other storage spaces. Simply:
1 Buy for what you need: almond flours spoil quickly due to their natural oils.
2 Cold store: store your almond flour in the freezer or the refrigerator for longevity.
3 Follow the recipe: find and use recipes that are highly rated so you can be sure there will be minimal food.waste, and if you are new to using almond flour, wait until you are confident in your skills with it before experimenting with other recipes or other types of almond flours.
