Cooking with nut flour, whether you do it because of allergies or for other health reasons, is an excellent alternative to cooking with grain flour. It can give your cooking a nutty flavor and still let you make all of your favorite dishes, from savory to sweet ones.
If you've ever used nut flour, you know it's a lot more expensive than wheat flour. To save money and make sure your nut flour is fresh, you can learn how to make homemade nut flour — it's easier to do than you might think!
To learn how to make nut flour at home, follow our easy steps below.
Prepping the Nuts
First, you need to choose which type of nut flour you want to make. Some of the most common nuts used to make nut flour are almonds, cashews and hazelnuts. Each of these different nuts will give your cooking and baking a slightly different taste, so you should experiment with different types to find the one you like the most. Once you find your favorite, you can start making it regularly.
Fill up a medium pot about half full with water. Bring the water to a boil. While you're waiting for the water to boil, rinse your nuts in hot water. Doing this will remove any leftover debris, like shells, dirt or other particles.
Once the nuts are rinsed and the water is boiling, add the nuts to the pot. Let the nuts stay in the boiling water for only about 10 seconds, then put them onto a clean towel. Rub the nuts in the towel to remove their skins. If any skin is leftover, you can remove them using your fingernail or a small, sharp knife.
Grinding the Nuts
Ideally, you should use a nut grinder to make your nut flour. But, if you don't have a nut grinder, you can use a blender.
Put 1/2 cup of your nuts into the grinder or blender at a time. Pulse the nuts so they break apart and look like breadcrumbs. Be careful not to over-blend your nuts! If they go too long in the grinder or blender, they'll turn into nut butter instead of nut flour.
Use a sifter or similar tool to put the ground nuts through. If some pieces are still too large, you can put them through the grinder or blender again.
Repeat these steps until all your nuts are the right consistency.
Storing Your Nut Flour
Now that your flour is done, you need to make sure you store it properly! Keep your nut flour in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. You can make it last even longer by storing it in the freezer.
Store-bought nut flour has a shelf life of about six months, so your homemade nut flour will have a shorter lifespan because it doesn't have any preservatives. If you're concerned about whether your nut flour has gone bad, give it a small taste. If it tastes bitter, it's gone bad. For the highest freshness, only make small batches of homemade nut flour at once.
If making your own nut flour at home sounds like too much of a hassle, you can find your favorite nut flours at Sincerely Nuts! From almond flour to hazelnut flour, our products have exceptional quality and freshness at reasonable prices.
