Do you have food allergies, gluten intolerance, Celiac Disease, an autoimmune disorder, digestive problems, leaky gut? Do you have a child with ADD, ADHD, autism or Asperger’s Syndrome? Do you follow GF/CF Diet (gluten-free, casein-free diet), SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet), (SCD), paleo diet, or primal diet, or generally limit or avoid grains?
The gluten-free baker's challenge
Have you tried gluten-free bake mixes, commercial gluten-free baked goods, gluten-free flour blends, or tried modifying your favorite recipes to make them gluten-free? If so, you know the challenge of creating the flavor, texture, appearance, and mouth feel you’ve come to expect in recipes.
Gluten-free chemistry
No single grain-based flour can replicate the texture or flavor of flour made from wheat. Most gluten-free cookies, cakes, pie crusts, breads, and crackers required a fairly exacting combination of at least three different gluten-free flours to get the right consistency and texture. Even then a recipe might require multiple tests to come out just right.
Elana Amsterdam to the rescue
I found visited Elana Amsterdam’s blog, Elana's Pantry sometime in 2008. I perused it, book marked it, and eventually made a fabulous almond butter brownie recipe from it that my friend Heather raved about. When Elana’s new book came out, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, I knew I wanted to review it.
A new way to bake
What makes her book different from other gluten-free books is that the recipes don’t contain any grains or beans. They don’t rely on rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca, potato starch, quinoa, amaranth, soy, garbanzo, fava, or any other grain or bean flours. Instead they rely on blanched almond flour (not the same as almond meal, trust me and the author). Made from 100% pure blanched almonds with no additional ingredients added, this flour is higher in protein and lower in carbs than grain-based flours and lends an exceptional texture to baked goods.
Fabulous features
Before I tell you about how to choose the best brand of almond flour, let me tell you more about this amazing book and then how you can enter win a copy of it (below).
This 7x8-inch soft cover book is populated inside and out with stunning, mouth-watering photographs, engaging head notes featuring appetizing descriptions, serving tips,and notes about ingredients. It contains clear and concise directions and a diverse collection of recipes from breakfast dishes, breads, and crackers to entrees and savory pies, and from pastries, pie crusts, and cakes to cupcakes, cookies, and bars. In the final section you’ll find toppings. including a gorgeous fluffy, marshmallowy frosting that looks like something you’d find in gourmet magazines, plus syrups, and sauces.
The small trim size makes it easy to work with in the kitchen, propped open in an acrylic book holder. You could even take it shopping with you. It answers the basic questions you’re likely to have about working with almond flour and the other ingredients called for in the recipes.
Another unique feature of The Almond Flour Cookbook is the notation by each dessert about the sweetness, ranking it LOW, MEDIUM, OR HIGH. I like this because many dessert recipes I find in books, magazines, and on line use far more sweetener than I like to use and taste too intensely sweet for me. With coded recipes readers can select recipes that fit their preferences. If you plan to bake for people who tend toward super sweet treats, you can select recipes rated HIGH on the sweetness scale.
I like that The Almond Flour Cookbook contains more than just desserts. Recipes for fish, poultry, eggs, and vegetables make for an interesting and intriguing read and enough recipes to keep you from getting tired of almond flour. Many of the recipes are dairy free. Some contain goat cheese rather than cow's milk cheese.
Almond inspiration
I’ve never been wild about eggplant and yet the photo and description of Elana’s Eggplant Parmesan made me want to give the recipe a try. I quickly made a list of no less than 16 recipes I wanted to make from the book. So far I've made seven of them, which is more than I usually make from a book I review and I'm not done yet!
Here’s what I’ve made and shared with friends so far. I marked my favorites with an asterisk:
In the front of the book the author explains the difference between meal or flour made from whole almonds and flour made from blanched almonds. She says her recipes will not work with unblanched almond flour, in fact, they will be miserable failures, so I do not recommend even trying unblanched. Photo right: Rachel Albert Matesz © 2010
I got the distinction but thought I could save money by making my own blanched almond flour using blanched almonds. Bob’s Red Mill blanched almond flour cost $15 a pound at a natural foods store near me and $10.50 a bag at a supermarket near by but blanched almonds only cost $5.49 a pound.
Oh nuts!
I gave the blanched almonds a whirl in the food processor (I think the Vita Mix would have worked better). I think it clumped up too much and that’s where I ran into difficulty. The first time I made Elana’s Ginger Macadamia Brownies, the lumps of nut meal failed to get evenly distributed in the bowl when mixed with a wire whisk (I think the food processor would have worked better for mixing the batter). The batter never thickened. Instead it overflowed the pan and remained horribly under baked (and indeible) except for the burnt edges. My mistake! The first time I made her Pear Crisp using my homemade blanched almond flour, it took longer to bake than the suggested time, never really crisped up, and didn’t look like the version in the picture. Another oops! (Yes I do have them.)
Back to the book
After a little more reading I found out that if I purchased blanched almond flour on line I could get it for half or less than half of the retail price including shipping. It’s still expensive compared to grain-based flour, but it’s packed with protein and flavor and free of common allergens so I think it’s worth the cost. When I remade the brownies with one of the brands of almond flour Elana recommended, they came out great and everyone I shared them with was impressed and amazed to hear that they didn’t contain any grain.
Picking the best brand of almond flour
Elana recommends buying blanched almond flour on-line, where you get a better price per pound
buying it in 5-pound bags. She recommends the following brands: Honeyville, Nuts online, and Lucy’s Kitchen Shop. I’ve tried Honeyville and Nuts on Line and love the freshness, flavor, and consistency of their products. The companies offered prompt delivery. Their almond flours do not go through any chemical treatments. The only process that occurs, other than milling is a hot water bath used in the blanching process to remove the skins from the almonds. Photo right: Rachel Albert Matesz © 2010
What not to buy
Elana recommends against using the blanched almond flour made Bob’s Red Mill. She says it yields poor, runny results when used in her recipes and that compared to other almond flours it has a very coarse texture. (It sounds comparable to my experiments making my own blanched almond flour.)
My results
The Savory Vegetable Quiche came our gorgeous and delicious even with my homemade blanched almond flour. Will try another time with store bought almond flour thought.
Sesame Crackers were a huge hit with everyone I shared them with. One of my taste testers is still talking about those crackers a month later! I made the Cheddar Cheese Crackers late last week and haven’t had a chance to share them with friends. I thought they went well with both soup and salad.
Olive-Rosemary Bread has got to be my favorite so far. It challenged me the first time around because I didn’t have the unusual 7x3-inch bread pan size she calls for. I poured the batter into one 3 1/2 x6-inch mini loaf pan, placed it a larger baking tray to catch any drips (a good thing since and it overflowed the pan!). Still it tasted fantastic, even the odd shaped part that rippled over the edge, and it sliced beautifully without crumbling.The second time I used two mini loaf pans. If you do this, cut bak on the baking time and check the bread at 20, 25, and 30 minutes to avoid over cooking.
The Cod Picata Paprika, also featured on Elana’s blog, had a marvelous mix of flavors and textures. I loved the combination of almond meal, sea salt, and smoke paprika in the crust paired with the lemon, olive, parsley, and chicken stock sauce utilizing the crispy scrapings from the skillet. I served it over a crisp green salad. Photo right: Rachel Albert-Matesz ©2010
Thumbs up
I think this book provides a great introduction to gluten-free and grain-free cooking and baking. You don’t need to buy as many specialty ingredients to make the recipes either. You probably have many of the ingredients already: baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, olive oil, roasted almond butter, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla.
Modifications
If you follow a Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), you’ll want to replace agave nectar with honey (you can do that even if you don’t follow that diet) and avoid recipes that call for arrowroot, a starch that’s off limits on that particular healing diet.
In recipes that calls for grapeseed oil, I recommend using unrefined or extra-virgin avocado oil, extra-virgin coconut oil, butter or melted butter, or palm shortening to avoid excess omega 6 polyunsaturated oils. Although grade seed oil is touted as having a high smoke point it is much higher in PUFAs than olive oil, which has a low smoke point. From all I have read, to reduce inflammation in your body and diseases associated with it, it’s wise to limit or avoid all oils high in PUFAs. Occasional use of grape seed oil won’t kill you but the other fat and oils sources I’ve listed are more stable at room temp, when heated, and when metabolized in the body.
To learn about why I think honey is preferable to agave nectar, click here for my recent blog post.
To enter to win a copy of The Almond Flour Cookbook, check back in a couple of days when I post the rules and requirements for rules and requirements. If you haven't already subscribed to receive updates on my blog, click the button for that halfway down this page on the left side.
The gluten-free baker's challenge
Have you tried gluten-free bake mixes, commercial gluten-free baked goods, gluten-free flour blends, or tried modifying your favorite recipes to make them gluten-free? If so, you know the challenge of creating the flavor, texture, appearance, and mouth feel you’ve come to expect in recipes.
Gluten-free chemistry
No single grain-based flour can replicate the texture or flavor of flour made from wheat. Most gluten-free cookies, cakes, pie crusts, breads, and crackers required a fairly exacting combination of at least three different gluten-free flours to get the right consistency and texture. Even then a recipe might require multiple tests to come out just right.
I found visited Elana Amsterdam’s blog, Elana's Pantry sometime in 2008. I perused it, book marked it, and eventually made a fabulous almond butter brownie recipe from it that my friend Heather raved about. When Elana’s new book came out, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, I knew I wanted to review it.
A new way to bake
What makes her book different from other gluten-free books is that the recipes don’t contain any grains or beans. They don’t rely on rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca, potato starch, quinoa, amaranth, soy, garbanzo, fava, or any other grain or bean flours. Instead they rely on blanched almond flour (not the same as almond meal, trust me and the author). Made from 100% pure blanched almonds with no additional ingredients added, this flour is higher in protein and lower in carbs than grain-based flours and lends an exceptional texture to baked goods.
Fabulous features
Before I tell you about how to choose the best brand of almond flour, let me tell you more about this amazing book and then how you can enter win a copy of it (below).
This 7x8-inch soft cover book is populated inside and out with stunning, mouth-watering photographs, engaging head notes featuring appetizing descriptions, serving tips,and notes about ingredients. It contains clear and concise directions and a diverse collection of recipes from breakfast dishes, breads, and crackers to entrees and savory pies, and from pastries, pie crusts, and cakes to cupcakes, cookies, and bars. In the final section you’ll find toppings. including a gorgeous fluffy, marshmallowy frosting that looks like something you’d find in gourmet magazines, plus syrups, and sauces.
The small trim size makes it easy to work with in the kitchen, propped open in an acrylic book holder. You could even take it shopping with you. It answers the basic questions you’re likely to have about working with almond flour and the other ingredients called for in the recipes.
Another unique feature of The Almond Flour Cookbook is the notation by each dessert about the sweetness, ranking it LOW, MEDIUM, OR HIGH. I like this because many dessert recipes I find in books, magazines, and on line use far more sweetener than I like to use and taste too intensely sweet for me. With coded recipes readers can select recipes that fit their preferences. If you plan to bake for people who tend toward super sweet treats, you can select recipes rated HIGH on the sweetness scale.
I like that The Almond Flour Cookbook contains more than just desserts. Recipes for fish, poultry, eggs, and vegetables make for an interesting and intriguing read and enough recipes to keep you from getting tired of almond flour. Many of the recipes are dairy free. Some contain goat cheese rather than cow's milk cheese.
Almond inspiration
I’ve never been wild about eggplant and yet the photo and description of Elana’s Eggplant Parmesan made me want to give the recipe a try. I quickly made a list of no less than 16 recipes I wanted to make from the book. So far I've made seven of them, which is more than I usually make from a book I review and I'm not done yet!
- Olive-Rosemary Bread (made twice)*
- Cod Picata Paprika*
- Cheddar Cheese Crackers*
- Ginger Macadamia Brownies (made twice)*
- Sesame Crackers
- Savory Vegetable Quiche
- Pear Crisp (made twice; once with pears, once with apples)
In the front of the book the author explains the difference between meal or flour made from whole almonds and flour made from blanched almonds. She says her recipes will not work with unblanched almond flour, in fact, they will be miserable failures, so I do not recommend even trying unblanched. Photo right: Rachel Albert Matesz © 2010
I got the distinction but thought I could save money by making my own blanched almond flour using blanched almonds. Bob’s Red Mill blanched almond flour cost $15 a pound at a natural foods store near me and $10.50 a bag at a supermarket near by but blanched almonds only cost $5.49 a pound.
Oh nuts!
I gave the blanched almonds a whirl in the food processor (I think the Vita Mix would have worked better). I think it clumped up too much and that’s where I ran into difficulty. The first time I made Elana’s Ginger Macadamia Brownies, the lumps of nut meal failed to get evenly distributed in the bowl when mixed with a wire whisk (I think the food processor would have worked better for mixing the batter). The batter never thickened. Instead it overflowed the pan and remained horribly under baked (and indeible) except for the burnt edges. My mistake! The first time I made her Pear Crisp using my homemade blanched almond flour, it took longer to bake than the suggested time, never really crisped up, and didn’t look like the version in the picture. Another oops! (Yes I do have them.)
Back to the book
After a little more reading I found out that if I purchased blanched almond flour on line I could get it for half or less than half of the retail price including shipping. It’s still expensive compared to grain-based flour, but it’s packed with protein and flavor and free of common allergens so I think it’s worth the cost. When I remade the brownies with one of the brands of almond flour Elana recommended, they came out great and everyone I shared them with was impressed and amazed to hear that they didn’t contain any grain.
Picking the best brand of almond flour
Elana recommends buying blanched almond flour on-line, where you get a better price per pound
buying it in 5-pound bags. She recommends the following brands: Honeyville, Nuts online, and Lucy’s Kitchen Shop. I’ve tried Honeyville and Nuts on Line and love the freshness, flavor, and consistency of their products. The companies offered prompt delivery. Their almond flours do not go through any chemical treatments. The only process that occurs, other than milling is a hot water bath used in the blanching process to remove the skins from the almonds. Photo right: Rachel Albert Matesz © 2010
Elana recommends against using the blanched almond flour made Bob’s Red Mill. She says it yields poor, runny results when used in her recipes and that compared to other almond flours it has a very coarse texture. (It sounds comparable to my experiments making my own blanched almond flour.)
My results
The Savory Vegetable Quiche came our gorgeous and delicious even with my homemade blanched almond flour. Will try another time with store bought almond flour thought.
Sesame Crackers were a huge hit with everyone I shared them with. One of my taste testers is still talking about those crackers a month later! I made the Cheddar Cheese Crackers late last week and haven’t had a chance to share them with friends. I thought they went well with both soup and salad.
Olive-Rosemary Bread has got to be my favorite so far. It challenged me the first time around because I didn’t have the unusual 7x3-inch bread pan size she calls for. I poured the batter into one 3 1/2 x6-inch mini loaf pan, placed it a larger baking tray to catch any drips (a good thing since and it overflowed the pan!). Still it tasted fantastic, even the odd shaped part that rippled over the edge, and it sliced beautifully without crumbling.The second time I used two mini loaf pans. If you do this, cut bak on the baking time and check the bread at 20, 25, and 30 minutes to avoid over cooking.
Ginger Macadamia Brownies, when made with store bought blanched almond flour instead of homemade, came out great and the people I shared them with wanted more. Photo right: Rachel Albert Matesz © 2010
Pear Crisp, which I made with apples the second time, didn’t look as pretty as the picture in the book and didn't win any wows among the people I shared it with even though I followed the recipe to a T, except that I replaced agave nectar with honey and grapeseed oil with extra-virgin coconut oil. (I did that for all of the recipes I tried from her cookbook and blog.) Changing the type of liquid sweetener and oil shouldn’t make a difference in the texture. I’ve done that in countless recipes without any problem.
One of my friends agreed with me that the nutmeg flavor was too strong and bitter. If you make that recipe, I suggest replacing nutmeg with apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, or cinnamon, which I did the second time.
Thumbs up
I think this book provides a great introduction to gluten-free and grain-free cooking and baking. You don’t need to buy as many specialty ingredients to make the recipes either. You probably have many of the ingredients already: baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, olive oil, roasted almond butter, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla.
Modifications
If you follow a Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), you’ll want to replace agave nectar with honey (you can do that even if you don’t follow that diet) and avoid recipes that call for arrowroot, a starch that’s off limits on that particular healing diet.
In recipes that calls for grapeseed oil, I recommend using unrefined or extra-virgin avocado oil, extra-virgin coconut oil, butter or melted butter, or palm shortening to avoid excess omega 6 polyunsaturated oils. Although grade seed oil is touted as having a high smoke point it is much higher in PUFAs than olive oil, which has a low smoke point. From all I have read, to reduce inflammation in your body and diseases associated with it, it’s wise to limit or avoid all oils high in PUFAs. Occasional use of grape seed oil won’t kill you but the other fat and oils sources I’ve listed are more stable at room temp, when heated, and when metabolized in the body.
To learn about why I think honey is preferable to agave nectar, click here for my recent blog post.
To enter to win a copy of The Almond Flour Cookbook, check back in a couple of days when I post the rules and requirements for rules and requirements. If you haven't already subscribed to receive updates on my blog, click the button for that halfway down this page on the left side.
Olive-Rosemary Bread
Makes 1 loaf (about 12 slices)
To make a great base for hors d’oeuvres, cut this loaf into thin slices, spread on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven at 350°F for 5 to 10 minutes. The resulting crackers are great with goat cheese, drizzled with a good cold-pressed olive oil, or spread with fig tapenade (find the recipe on my blog).- 3/4 cup creamy roasted almond butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar (I suggest using honey)
- 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (finely ground) sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary*
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 7 by 3-inch loaf pan with grapeseed oil (I use coconut oil, ghee, or palm shortening) and dust with almond flour.
- In a large bowl, mix the almond butter and olive oil with a handheld mixer until smooth, then blend in the eggs and agave nectar (or honey).
- In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt, and baking soda. Blend the almond flour mixture into the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined, then fold in the olives and rosemary. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven, until a knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 1 hour, then serve.
- Note: Reduce baking time if using two 3 1/2 x6-inch mini loaf pans. Check bread at 20, 25, and 30 minutes.
i really like this book,and agree that the photography is lovely. i have tried a few recipes, replacing the grapeseed oil with melted butter and halving the sweetener amount.
i find all of her recipes, so far, to be too sweet for me. i made the carrot cake from elana's book with 1/4 the amount of sweetener, 1/2 the amount of raisins,and 2/3 the amount of carrots(to cut down on carbs) and my 3 picky kids, my 1 year old baby, and my husband loved it.
Posted by: emily- www.mplsrealfoodlover.com | January 08, 2010 at 08:41 AM
Hi Rachel,
I'd love to get some of the Honeywell almond flour for baking but I'm a little hesitant since they are not organic. Since Honeywell says they are not chemically treated does that mean their supplier didn't use pesticides either? Also, do you know if they soak the almonds before making into a flour?
Linda
Posted by: Linda | January 11, 2010 at 09:37 AM
good information
Posted by: Kim | July 11, 2010 at 09:53 AM