Coconut Flour: Your Questions… Answered

Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to salute this brave ingredient.

It has gone where no flour has gone before. As a pioneer in low carb, low calorie, and delicious baking, coconut flour has come to be a dear friend of mine. Between bagels, cookie dough, cookies, and oatmeal, we’ve had some time to get cozy.

Unfortunately, until now coconut flour has been eaten under the radar. Out of simply not knowing it existed, we have been baking with glutenous and therefore allergy inducing, carb laden, calorie dense, highly processed, and nutrient depleted all-purpose flour. I think it’s such a waste!

So once I discovered coconut flour, I took it upon myself to get it’s name out there. The possibilities are endless.

But when I heard that people weren’t having the success with coconut flour that I was, I was disappointed. Especially when similar problems kept coming up, I knew I had to address them.

I am so honored you try my recipes. I know how much effort and time goes in to that, and you have no idea how much it means to me. I am so grateful to you all for being so amazing. So if you take that effort and time to make one of my recipes, I want to do what I can to make sure you love it. (Here’s a post where I talk more about this.)

Some people have definitely been having the success with coconut flour that I have, but others have not. I’ve been brainstorming solutions, and here’s what I’ve come up with!

Q: I tried one of your recipes with coconut flour, and it tasted great, but the batter was really wet. The final product didn’t hold together or was much too moist. What’s wrong?

A: Thank you so much for trying this recipe, and I’m glad you liked the flavors of it. This problem comes up a lot, and I think it’s very bizarre. I sometimes joke that coconut flour is just a powdered sponge that tastes good because it is very absorbent. In my experiences, it soaks up pretty much any liquid I throw at it, with a little coaxing.

So here’s a few idea of what may be happening, and how to fix it.

• Maybe the absorbency of coconut flour varies by brand? I use Bob’s Red Mill, so I can’t really vouch for other brands. I would think that it doesn’t matter, but maybe it does. If you tried one of my coconut flour recipes and it didn’t work, can you tell me what brand you used? Thank you!
• I say in almost all of my coconut flour to add the liquid, usually almond milk, one tablespoon at a time. I find that this method helps the coconut flour absorb the liquid better, and if you see that the matter is getting too wet, you can stop adding liquid if need be.

Q: Where do I buy coconut flour?

A: Like I said, I buy Bob’s Red Mill, and I get it at Whole Foods. (Love that place! I could go bankrupt there, though…) You can also buy it online here through Bob’s Red Mill or here through Amazon. I bet other health stores and very well stocked super markets would have it, as well.

Q: I made your bagels,  and really liked them, but they stuck to the pan. What should I do?

I’m sorry to hear it! I would always line my baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Q: What does coconut flour look like?

Okay, so coconut flour looks a lot like wheat flour, except it’s a bit more textured. It’s also a lovely cream color, and isn’t as white as all-purpose flour, but isn’t nearly as brown as whole wheat. I think it’s beautiful…but that’s just me.

So I hope this helped! Again, if you’ve ever had a coconut flour recipe not work, can you tell me what brand you used? If you have any other questions, are particularly knowledgeable, or have something completely off topic that you just feel like saying, I’m all ears! Thank you so much!

Enjoy!

-Kelly M.

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