How to Make Almond Flour at Home and Ways to Use

Almond flour is a widely used ingredient in pastry-making for the preparation of desserts; it is in fact an excellent substitute for 00 type flour for the realization of many recipes. For the preparation of almond flour you can use both shelled and peeled almonds or just peeled almonds; just pass them in the mixer, so as to grind them. The final result will be an oily flour to the touch but that keeps intact all its antioxidant properties and more. So let's find out more.

What is almond flour and how to use it for your recipes

Almond flour is used to enrich desserts or for the preparation of almond paste, excellent for making decorations for cakes and to create drinks. This alternative flour can be obtained from only shelled almonds or shelled and peeled almonds; the almond flour that you find on the market is usually prepared with broken or damaged almonds, so if you want a quality product it is advisable to prepare it at home. But remember that almond flour is a very caloric ingredient, so it is better not to use or eat it very much. Among the uses of almond flour, the preparation of marzipan (made with the addition of granulated sugar) stands out, but it is also possible to prepare almond biscuits, enriched with whole almonds or candied fruit.

How to make almond flour at home

Boil the water in a saucepan, add 500 grams of unpeeled almonds and let them blanch for a little over a minute. Then pass them under cold water, drain and peel them individually. Arrange the almonds on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 200 degrees C for about 7 minutes, or until golden brown, just let them dry well. Once ready, let them cool and then blend them intermittently, to obtain a thick enough flour.

Tips and how to store almond flour

Do not blend for a long time otherwise the almonds will overheat releasing oil and you will get a yellowish paste. A tip can be to put both the blender and the almonds in the freezer for a few minutes, so they will be very cold before use.

If you want to obtain a finer almond flour, perhaps for the preparation of macarons, blend the almonds in a coffee grinder, always intermittently. If the almonds release too much oil, you can add a bit of granulated sugar.

You can store the almond flour in the refrigerator, in a tightly closed glass jar, for a week.