Gluten Free Baking Alternative Flours

Nut Flour  Made with blanched nuts  Press out oil first  Sandy, dry texture

Nut Meal  Made with whole nuts  More coarse  Makes a grittier, oilier product

This is Nutty….  White rice flour is most popular  Not very flavorful  Pecan  Hazelnut  Walnut  Almond  Easiest to use

DIY: Nut Flours/Meals  Pulse whole nuts in a food processor or coffee bean grinder until sandy  Can blanch or toast nuts before processing

How to Use  Use flour from oily nuts to obtain a moist product  Need to compensate for lack of gluten  Gluten helps trap gas, making products light and airy  Without gluten (or replacer) baked goods can come out dense, dry, crumbly, gritty  Use Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum

A Note on Xanthan  Polysaccharide produced by Xanthomonas campestris via glucose fermentation  Helps to trap air  Stabilizer  Helps to bind product  Widely used to replace gluten  Also use in non-gluten free foods for its thickening ability

How to Go Nuts  For more structure:  Dry milk solids  Evaporated milk instead of regular milk  Flour blends  Use a variety of flours to balance the flavors and characteristics  Blend differs based on needs (structure, chewiness, browning?)

Characteristics Rice Flour Lightness Makes a gritty, dry, crumbly product Brown rice flour adds fiber Wild rice has a nutty flavor

Characteristics Almond Flour Sticks together better Smooth texture, not gritty or dry Lends a sweet, buttery taste to food Finer ground almond flours yield a lighter product Coarser flour yields a crumbly products

Storage of Nut Flours  Store in a cool place  Refrigerate or freeze  This will help avoid oil rancidity

Nutrition: White Rice Flour  150 calories  0.50 g fat  0 g saturated  1 g fiber  2 g protein  0% iron

Nutrition: Almond Flour  160 calories  14 g fat  1 g saturated  3 g fiber  6 g protein  6% iron

Almond Flour  160 calories  14 g fat  1 g saturated  3 g fiber  6 g protein  6% iron White Rice Flour  150 calories  0.50 g fat  0 g saturated  1 g fiber  2 g protein  0% iron

Hazelnut Flour  180 calories  17 g Fat  1 g saturated  3 g fiber  4 g protein  8% iron Almond Flour  160 calories  14 g fat  1 g saturated  3 g fiber  6 g protein  6% iron  150 calories  0.50 g fat  0 g saturated  1 g fiber  2 g protein  0% iron White Rice Flour

Nutrition: Hazelnut Flour  180 calories  17 g Fat  1 g saturated  3 g fiber  4 g protein  8% iron

Nutrition: White Flour  124 calories  1 g fat  0 g unsaturated  1 g fiber  4 g protein  7% iron

Nutrition  Alternative flours have higher fat  Most is healthy, unsaturated fat  Omega 3 Fatty Acids  More iron, calcium, fiber  Nut flours more so than rice flours  Higher protein content  Antioxidants

Summary  Nutritionally dense!  Trial and error to find out best mix of flours for desired product  Xanthan gum, binding agent  Wider variety becoming available now that gluten free diets are recognized

Thank You!

References