How to Store Almond Flour, Bread and Cookies
Almond flour is a wonderful alternative to the more widely used wheat flour. Having a sweeter taste, it’s the perfect baking ingredient for those who wish to stay away from gluten. It’s also ideal for those who like to enjoy almond flour’s health perks, such as its ability to control blood sugar and lower bad cholesterol levels.
An unopened pack of almond flour can be stored in the pantry. An opened pack is best kept in the fridge. It may be stored in the freezer, too. Almond flour baked goods can be stored on the counter like other baked items. If they have easily perishable ingredients, store them in the fridge or freezer.
It’s true that there are many benefits that come with the use of almond flour. Unfortunately, it requires more love and care than wheat flour and most other traditional types of flour. That’s because it can go rancid quite easily.
Worry not if you have a pack of almond flour in your pantry and you are not planning on using it for baking anytime soon.
Below you will come across some of the steps that you need to take on how to store almond flour properly. You will also learn how to store an assortment of baked goodies out of this type of flour.
Getting to Know Almond Flour More
Just like what the name says, almond flour is made from almonds. This is why it doesn’t come as a surprise why it has a sweet and nutty taste and aroma, which it can lend to just about any baked treat that’s baked using it.
Aside from the way that it tastes and smells, many other things also set almond flour apart from wheat flour, which is also more commonly known as “all-purpose flour”.
Leading the list is the fact that almond flour is free of gluten. Needless to say, it’s perfect for people with gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
The following are some other health perks associated with almond flour:
- It lowers bad cholesterol levels by increasing good cholesterol levels.
- It helps keep high blood sugar or glucose in check because it is low in sugar and carbohydrates.
- It helps maintain an ideal weight since it is low in calories.
- It promotes good digestive health as it has prebiotic fiber that helps beneficial gut bacteria to flourish.
- It contains healthy fats that may lower pain and inflammation related to arthritis.
- It reduces oxidative stress and may lower cancer risk due to its antioxidants.
Isn’t it amazing that almond flour can help make a dizzying assortment of baked goodies taste and smell phenomenal as well as improve your health?
The good news is that you can use almond flour for making anything that you can make using wheat flour. However, it has to be stored in a different manner.
But before we talk about how to store almond flour properly to keep it from going rancid quicker than usual, there’s an important matter that we need to talk about first. It’s none other than…
Almond Flour vs. Almond Meal
When shopping for an alternative to traditional wheat flour, you may come across a couple of almond-based products. One is almond flour. The other is almond meal.
Both of them are made from almonds alright. However, they have different textures and uses, too.
The skin — this is what sets the two types of flour apart. Almond flour is free of almond skin, while almond meal still contains almond skin.
Before grinding, almond flour is blanched, a process that gets rid of the skin. This is why almond flour is sometimes referred to as “blanched almond flour”.
Almond meal, on the other hand, still contains the skin. That’s because it didn’t undergo blanching before grinding. It’s due to this exactly why almond meal is sometimes known as “non-blanched almond flour”.
One look and it’s plain to see which one is almond flour and which one is almond meal. Almond flour has a finer texture and lighter color. In contrast, almond meal has a coarser texture and has dark brown specks.
Almond flour is suited for baking a wide variety of baked products, including especially airy cakes. On the other hand, almond meal is ideal for quick breads and cookies.
However, it can be used as a gluten-free alternative to breadcrumbs for coating meats. Almond meal also makes for a wonderful thickening agent in casseroles, soups, and stews.
While slightly different from each other, both almond flour and almond meal need to be stored in the same way. So keep on reading to learn how to store almond flour (and almond meal, too!) properly.
Storing Almond Flour the Correct Way
Failure to store almond flour properly can make it go rancid. That’s because it is an oil-rich type of flour, just like other nut flours. Some common examples are macadamia nut flour, walnut flour and chestnut flour.
Oil can go bad quickly. This is especially true when it’s exposed to the elements like sunlight, heat and air.
Since almond flour is rich in oil, exposing it to the elements is a complete no-no. This is why you should take the necessary steps to ensure that it stays in an excellent state. You don’t want to use rancid almond flour for baking!
It’s really trouble-free to store almond flour properly, provided that it’s unopened. You can keep it in the pantry until the best-by date indicated on the packaging. Usually, almond flour’s best-by date can range anywhere from two to four months.
Place a pack of almond flour in the coolest and darkest area available. However, once the packaging is opened, things get a little different storage-wise.
You may still keep almond flour in the pantry once it’s opened.
However, a problem may strike, which involves all sorts of pantry pests. Cockroaches, ants, spiders, weevils, beetles, moths — all of these critters love almond flour.
To keep an opened pack of almond flour off-limits to pantry pests, transfer it to a container with an airtight seal.
Another tip on how to store bulk almond flour, whether unopened or opened, for a longer period of time is placing it in either the refrigerator or freezer. Keep on reading to learn more about this almond flour storage solution.
Keeping Almond Flour in the Refrigerator
The refrigerator can help keep an assortment of perishable food products fresh for a long time. Well, it can also help keep almond flour from going rancid before you have the opportunity to turn it into a baked work of genius.
You can refrigerate an opened pack of almond flour to limit its exposure to the elements. Also, it can help prevent pantry pests from feasting on it. But before you keep almond flour in the refrigerator, transfer it first to an airtight container.
Otherwise, it may collect moisture in the refrigerator, causing clumps to form.
By the way, you can also refrigerate an unopened packaging of almond flour for any of these reasons:
- Your kitchen or pantry is hot because you live where the climate is scorching.
- You are well-aware that some pantry pests can bore holes through product packaging.
- Your unopened pack of almond flour is nearing its best-by date.
If the pack of almond flour is unopened, there is no need to transfer the content to a container with an airtight seal. Never make the mistake of storing an opened pack of almond flour directly in the refrigerator.
Placing Almond Flour in the Freezer
Earlier, it was mentioned that the best-by date of almond flour is two to four months. But did you know that you can extend its shelf life indefinitely? This can be done by stashing it in the freezer.
To store an unopened pack of almond flour, simply place it in the refrigerator. An opened pack of almond flour, on the other hand, should be placed in a freezer-safe container.
This is to protect it from low freezer temperatures, safeguarding it from freezer burn. You don’t want freezer burn to strike as it can change the unique qualities of almond flour.
It is highly recommended that you protect almond flour very well before placing it in the freezer.
You can transfer an opened pack of almond flour to a ziploc bag. Afterward, place it in either a larger ziploc bag or a freezer-safe plastic container with an airtight seal.
Just a word of advice: Before you use a pack of almond flour that you have stored in the freezer, allow it to sit on the countertop until it’s at room temperature.
Using it while it is still cold can cause clumps to form. This can have an unfavorable effect on the consistency of the baked product, especially an airy cake.
Storing Baked Goods Out of Almond Flour
There’s almond flour that needs to be properly stored. And then there are baked products containing almond flour that need to be stored correctly, too. This is especially true if they are not consumed right away.
You may be wondering if the steps on how to store almond flour are pretty much the same steps on how to store almond flour baked treats.
Well, quite frankly, properly storing almond flour baked goods is just like properly storing baked goodies out of other types of flour.
Continue reading to have a better idea of how some baked products out of almond flour should be stored.
How to Store Almond Flour Bread
What’s really nice about almond flour bread is that it doesn’t need any special attention just to keep it from going stale a lot faster than usual.
It’s not like almond flour that can easily go rancid if you fail to take good care of it the right way. For the most part, its storage needs are pretty much like the storage needs of other types of bread.
Your goal should be to keep almond flour bread from drying out unnecessarily. To be honest, it can stay on your kitchen countertop for a week or so with very little to no problem.
Covering it is unnecessary. But it should be covered if you want to protect it from dust, dirt, pet hair and insects. There is no need to get your hands on a cover or container specially designed for the job.
Most of the time, an upturned bowl that’s large enough to accommodate almond flour bread is enough to protect it.
Toward the end of the week, you may notice that almond flour bread is harder than usual. But worry not because it’s still edible.
Refrain from wrapping almond flour bread in plastic in an attempt to seal in moisture. You don’t want to trap moisture because it will ruin the texture — almond flour bread will end up damp and gooey.
But just in case you made the mistake of wrapping it in cling wrap or stashing it in a ziploc bag, fret not. All you have to do is pop it in the toaster or oven, and it’s ready to be enjoyed once again.
Worried that it will end up stale quicker than usual because it’s hot in your kitchen or you live where the climate is always blistering hot?
Then you may store almond flour bread in the refrigerator. But before you do that, wrap it in parchment paper first. Again, avoid encasing it in cling wrap to keep its own moisture from causing it to wind up soggy.
How to Store Almond Flour Cookies
Just like most other types of cookies out there, the problem with almond flour cookies is that their characteristics can be easily replaced by the opposite characteristics if you happen to store them improperly.
Soft almond flour cookies, for instance, can end up hard.
On the other hand, crispy almond flour cookies can become soft. If your almond flour cookies have a mild and delicate flavor, they can easily wind up tasting like something else if you stash them in a container together with almond flour cookies with strong flavors.
When storing almond cookies, the goal should be to keep them from going stale and losing their characteristics.
If you want to keep almond flour cookies nice and fresh for several days to a few weeks, all you have to do is keep them in an airtight container, either a ziploc bag or a polycarbonate container.
Place the container in the coolest and driest place in your kitchen. One great example is the back shelf of the pantry or back part of the kitchen cabinet.
Again, do not place different almond flour cookies in the same airtight container. Keep soft and crispy ones separate. Keep mildly flavored and strongly flavored ones away from one another.
To store almond flour cookies for up to three long months, pop them in a freezer-safe airtight container and place in the freezer.
But before storing them inside or outside the freezer, remember to allow them to cool to room temperature beforehand. Freshly baked almond flour cookies should sit on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes prior to storage.
How to Store Almond Flour Biscuits
Biscuits are best enjoyed fresh from the oven while they are still warm and fluffy. However, it doesn’t mean that you should dispose of those that you cannot consume right away.
The good news is that even though almond flour biscuits are soft and delicate, they can be stored to make them last anywhere from a few days to several weeks.
Storing almond flour biscuits at room temperature allows them to stay good for up to a couple of days. As expected, it’s a good idea to keep them in an airtight container to fend off moisture loss.
However, if your almond flour biscuits have ingredients that perish quite easily, such as cream cheese, they should be kept in the refrigerator.
Remember to place them in a ziploc bag or polycarbonate container with an airtight seal beforehand. When placed in the refrigerator, almond flour biscuits can be kept in excellent state for up to a week.
It’s possible to make almond flour biscuits stay fit for human consumption for about three months or even more.
Storing them in the freezer allows them to last for an indefinite amount of time. So, in other words, you can keep them there for as long as you are breathing.
However, they may lose some of their characteristics, especially those that everyone loves about them, after three months.
Just remember to place almond flour biscuits in an airtight container before keeping them in the freezer. You may also count on aluminum foil. This is to save them from freezer burn.
The Takeaway
Many other baked goodies can be made using almond flour. No matter what they are, storing them properly is just like properly storing similar baked products out of traditional flour types.
Almond flour can be quite fussy when it comes to storing it. However, once it is turned into baked masterpieces, storage isn’t that challenging anymore.
So, in other words, don’t be intimidated to use almond flour in the kitchen!
Just Before You Store a Pack of Almond Flour
It’s a must that you store almond flour properly if you want to extend its shelf life or make sure that your baked goodies made from it can impress.
Compared to wheat flour and other traditional types of flour, almond flour requires some special love and care to keep it in excellent condition for a long time.
Baked products made from almond flour, fortunately, can be stored just like most baked goods made from other types of flour. If they have ingredients that perish quickly, however, they should be stored in the refrigerator.