We’re going loco about coconuts!! Coconut flour to be precise :)
Coconut flour is a gluten free flour made from dried coconut meat, which is grated coconut that's left over after the milk has been extracted from it. The coconut meat is then dried and grinded to a powder like state- forming coconut flour itself. This flour will have a distinct coconut flavour to it and can also add a lovely coconut aroma to your dishes.
Coming back to the question why you should use coconut flour, this special flour has various health benefits associated to it, such as:
- Gluten free! What makes coconut flour a favourite alternative choice is this specialty, it caters to those who have an intolerance towards gluten or an allergy towards wheat. Coconut flour is low on glycemic index (measure of foods impact on blood sugar)
- High in fiber
- Great source of manganese
Do remember that coconut too is a fruit, its fruit-like property causes it to absorb more water than other flours do. Which means, although coconut flour is a great alternative, you need to keep certain things in mind while using it:
- Remember how we said that coconut flour is absorbent in nature, which means that it can easily dry out your food so make sure you add plenty of eggs to retain the moisture in your baked goodies. You could easily replace eggs with sour cream/yoghurt/buttermilk too (1 egg= ¼ cup or 60ml of yoghurt).
- The absorbent property of the flour also demands that you use less quantity of the flour in the recipe (a quick rule of thumb is to swap ¼ to ⅓ cup of coconut flour for 1 cup all purpose flour).
- For every ¼ cup of coconut flour used, you need to add 1 extra egg or ¼ cup of yoghurt/ any egg substitute of preference.
- Pair coconut flour with other flours like almond or tapioca flour for an enhanced and rich taste.
Our inhouse baker has put together a few enticing recipes for you to try out at home and we’ve linked it for you below along with another tried and tested recipe we found online:
Swap your usual store bought flour for some coconut flour and try out these recipes while you’re at it, we would love to hear how you feel about coconut flour cookies and cakes soon!
Cheers and happy baking!