bake - December 2017 - 10

technical corner

Baking with Almond Flour
A new report from Technavio ﬁnds that the global gluten-free

pared to traditional ﬂour. Sugar may also be reduced by about

bakery market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 10

25 percent in baked goods because almonds also have a sweet

percent between 2017 and 2021. This is due to various factors

ﬂavor on their own. Bake times may need to be increased ap-

such as the rise in the number of people with gluten intoleranc-

proximately 5 minutes because of the extra moisture present in

es and allergies along with the increasing demand for bakery

almond ﬂour.

products with gluten-free claims.
Without the gluten as a binder, almond ﬂour batters and
Blue Diamond Almond Flour is perfectly poised to leverage

doughs need a bit of ﬁrming up. Egg whites are a great binder

consumers' continued interest in a gluten-free, or gluten-

that doesn't change the ﬂavor. You can use whole eggs, but the

restricted, diet. In recent years, consumer awareness of gluten-

yolks can add an eggy ﬂavor. For an extra light texture, beat

free options has grown signiﬁcantly. In fact, the number of

the egg whites with some of the sugar called for in the recipe

Americans going gluten-free has tripled since 2009, accord-

to form a meringue. This will provide a sturdy mixture to lightly

ing to a study conducted by the Mayo Clinic. They found that

fold into your recipe. Almond ﬂour may bake faster, so Blue

around 3.1 million people across the United States follow a

Diamond recommends tenting with foil to prevent products

gluten-free diet and 72 percent of them are classiﬁed as people

from browning too quickly. After baking, let the items stand for

without celiac disease avoiding gluten. This growing consumer

30 minutes. The center may not seem "set" but will ﬁrm up as

interest in gluten-free cooking and paleo diets makes almond

it cools. Baked goods made with almond ﬂour are very moist

ﬂour a high-demand ingredient.

in the center. Freezing and thawing the baked goods can help
improve this texture.

Jeff Smith, director of marketing, Blue Diamond Almonds Global Ingredients Division, points out that Blue Diamond Almond

In most cases, almond ﬂours can be used interchangeably.

Flour is a popular alternative to traditional ﬂour for baking

However, for items requiring a golden or light-colored appear-

because it contains the same nutritional properties as whole

ance, blanched almond ﬂour is available. Natural almond ﬂour

almonds, is low on the glycemic index and is naturally gluten-

is ideal when the requirement for a lighter color, such as in

free. It's also important for bakers to scoop and level when

brownies or chocolate chip cookies, is not as evident.

be spooned lightly into the measuring cup, scoop your measur-

The great thing about Blue Diamond Almond Flour is that it

ing cup directly into the almond ﬂour then level off. Don't pack

produces moist baked goods. Unlike traditional baked goods,

down, but use a heavier hand than you're used to. Remember

those made with almond ﬂour have more moisture. However,

to bring the measurement of almond ﬂour you want to use up

do not store in airtight containers. Instead, store on a tray very

to room temperature before baking.

lightly covered, or in a container with a loose-ﬁtting lid. Sealing
the container will make the food too moist and soft over time.

Generally, almond ﬂour cannot be substituted cup-for-cup
in baking applications. As a rule of thumb, fats and oils can

The extra moisture provides a key beneﬁt - while traditional

be reduced by approximately 25 percent when baking with

baked goods may become dry and stale in a day or two, those

almond ﬂour as the ﬂour itself has a higher fat content com-

prepared with almond ﬂour stay moist for days.

10 < DEC 2017 | bakemag.com

BLUE DIAMOND ALMONDS

measuring almond ﬂour. Unlike traditional ﬂour, which should

http://www.bakemag.com

bake - December 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of bake - December 2017