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I saw a recipes that called for almond flour. As I am allergic to all nuts except peanuts an coconut, what can I use to substitute for the almond flour? I have tried using coconut flour in recipies but it never seems to turn out right, either to wet or to dry or too dense. If I used sprouted whole wheat flour, what would the ratio be to replace the almond flour? Can you do a 1:1 replacement? Thanks, Michelle

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Coconuts aren't nuts btw. But yes, a 1:1 replacement is the way to go, but make sure you add MORE oil and/or egg whites to the recipe otherwise it's going to be dry. – BoneBrothFast Oct 17 at 14:27
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If you have to add more liquid, it isn't a 1:1 ratio, Bone. I would start with no more than a quarter of the amount of required almond flour if substituting coconut flour. I recommend avoiding the wheat flour, even if sprouted. – MathGirl72 Oct 17 at 14:30

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My suggestion would be to explore coconut flour recipes that are built for coconut flour. Substituting coconut flour will not work in recipes built for nut flours, they are totally different and coconut flour requires a lot more liquid.

Baking is a science, and I'm glad others out there are smart enough to do the work for me. There's nothing worse than baking something with high expectations (and cost!), only to have it not work out in the end.

Good luck!

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The issue with coconut flour and almond flour is that they do completely different things. Coconut flour absorbs a LOT of liquid, and almond flour does not. For reference, actual grain flours fall somewhere in between the two. Elana of Elana's Pantry did a ratio for almond flour quickbread/muffins that ends up being 4:4:1 almond meal:eggs:honey by weight (or about a cup of almond flour to 2 large eggs to about a tablespoon honey).

Almost every coconut flour recipe I've come across has been something akin to the ratio in this recipe: http://nourishedkitchen.com/coconut-flour-bread/ That is, about 3/4 cup (3 oz.) coconut flour to 6 (12 oz) eggs to 1/2 cup fat (not sure of the weight off the top of my head), with a little honey or something to sweeten. See what I mean? Really, really big difference there.

Overall I'd probably tend toward finding recipes specifically for coconut flour (like Karen P suggested), since subbing across the two won't work. (You'd end up with hockey pucks instead of cupcakes.) There are a lot of blogs out there with good coconut flour recipes.

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Hi Michelle Peanuts are a legume, not a nut. Anyway, with the coconut flour (I had the same results as you) I have learned to use flax meal, about 1:1 with both.

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I don't think flax is Paleo. paleohacks.com/questions/103762/… – Renee Oct 17 at 15:21
@Renee, thanks for that link. That is one fascinating thread. – Karen P. Oct 17 at 16:18
Aside from the PUFA, I cannot see how it would not be paleo since it is not a grain. – Aili Oct 18 at 6:22
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First....Coconuts are now classified as a tree nut. Second, when People Have allergies to peanuts it is usually refered to as a nut allergy...and if you go to a restaurant and say you have a nut allergy most will assume peanuts. Not sure why people felt the need to "educate" to original poster who had a simple question.

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Sharing facts, data, information and anecdote are what this site is all about, Violet. Welcome aboard! – Canis Minor Feb 23 at 14:33
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Hi there, Michelle!

I'm not sure how long ago this thread was posted, or if your question has been answered, so forgive me if that's the case. Anywho, considering you have a tree-nut allergy, how about SUNFLOWER SEEDS? If you're safe with those [make sure your source doesn't have traces of nuts], I find this works wonderfully as a 1:1 substitute for almond flour. It's also loaded with vitamins+minerals, and is a FRACTION of the price of almonds/almond flour - I've heard in the USA ≈ $1.50/lb.

To make the sunflower seed meal/flour, simply grind them up into a fine powder in a blender/food processor/coffee grinder/mortar and pestle.

Really hope this helps and good luck! Jen

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To piggyback on Jen's answer: Paleo Parents has a few recipes for sunflower seed flour:

http://paleoparents.com/featured/nut-free-almond-flour-replacement/

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Does Brown Rice replace Almond flour?

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every flour has its own unique properties. some are more protein-based, some are more starch based. so it depends on what you are cooking. if you just need something to throw in meatloaf, sure you can just swap them out. but if you are baking, you should really start with a recipe already tweaked for the flour you want. otherwise you will waste a lot of ingredients trying to get it right. from experience, FWIW! – RK May 17 at 11:00

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