How to make and use nut flours

Nut flours (finely ground nuts) are a great way to vary the flavour and texture of your baking. They not only add moisture thanks to the natural oils they contain, but also

a richness of flavour that wheat flour alone doesn’t provide. Ground almonds and hazelnuts are easy enough to buy but they also aren’t hard to make yourself – and if you’re after, say, ground pecans, the DIY approach is your only option.

THE RAW INGREDIENTS For ground almonds, it’s more common to start with blanched (skinless) nuts, though some other nuts are ground with their skins on, which gives the flour a darker colour and more robust flavour. The flavour can be intensified by roasting the nuts before grinding.

THE PITFALL TO AVOID

is processing the nuts so vigorously that they turn into nut butter. Heat is the enemy here: with almonds, in particular, it helps to start with nuts that are already flaked or sliced, reducing the time needed to break them up. Try a spice grinder to pulverise small batches quickly without the oils separating and turning the nuts to paste.

IF YOU’RE USING A FOOD PROCESSOR,

make sure the nuts and bowl are at room temperature and pulse just long enough to grind them. The longer you process, the more likely it is that the nuts will overheat and give up their oil, turning to butter. If your recipe includes flour and/or sugar, pulsing a little of it with the nuts will help keep things powdery.

HOW TO USE NUT FLOURS IN BAKING

Although there are some classic cakes that use only ground nuts and no wheat flour, it’s more usual for there to be a combination of the two. If you want to experiment with nut flours in standard recipes, start by swapping a quarter of the wheat flour in the original for a similar weight of nut flour.