Coconut Flour Bread (Vegan + Gluten-Free) - Rhian's Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Which is better for baking almond or coconut flour? ›

As a stand alone flour, coconut flour does not yield crunchy baked goods the way almond flour does. Coconut flour does work incredibly well in cake and muffin recipes. Because many do not consider coconut a nut, coconut flour is a great alternative to almond flour for those with nut allergies.

Coconut flour can be used in a variety of recipes as a substitute for wheat flour and is a popular gluten-free and grain-free flour alternative used in baking. Keep in mind, however, that it cannot be used as a 1-to-1 replacement for wheat flour in a recipe.

Coconut flour is extremely high in fiber, which means it absorbs a lot of liquid during baking. This makes it critical to follow the recipe exactly without making additional substitutions. Dough will often be much thicker than expected when baking with coconut flour.

1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds soaked in 3 tablespoons of water can replace 1 egg, and just a little bit of the gums can add an extra binding element that mimics gluten, adding a stronger “bite texture” to baked goods. Coconut flour can also be easily mixed with other flours.

Nutrients: Both almond flour and coconut flour are popular ingredients in low-carb baking, but almond flour contains about twenty-one grams of carbohydrates per one hundred grams, while coconut flour contains about sixty-four grams of carbohydrates.

A study in 42 women who were considered overweight found that consuming a low calorie diet that included 26 grams of coconut flour per day for 9 months reduced total cholesterol and blood sugar levels. In turn, this may reduce heart disease risk ( 15 ).

Replacing wheat flour with coconut flour

Cakes and muffins, which need to be light and fluffy, will be very different than something more dense, like cookies. But when working with coconut flour, you always need to decrease the flour and increase the eggs and baking powder.

Coconut has no gluten, so it won't give you the texture and rise of wheat or rye. It also absorbs a lot more liquid than many other flours, so you need to experiment to figure out exactly how much extra milk or water to add.

Brown rice flour is about as close to a 1:1 substitute for all-purpose flour as it gets since it provides structure and a “wheat-like” flavor.

Coconut flour is naturally high in fiber and protein, so it's perfect for healthy baked desserts like this cake (and others on this list of 50 Healthy Desserts). It is also grain free and gluten free, making it an excellent resource for those with dietary restrictions, and it is Paleo diet approved too.

Can you taste coconut flour in baking? ›

I've found that it depends on the recipe, and raw recipes do carry the flavor more so than baked and cooked recipes using coconut flour. I do sometimes taste a bit of fiber, depending on how much coconut flour I'm adding to a recipe and the other ingredients, but to me that fiber is a good thing.

Just throw in more flavor when baking with coconut flour. If you're making sweet recipes, such as shortbread, chocolate chip coconut flour cookies, coconut flour muffins or pie crust, use extra chocolate, cocoa powder or vanilla extract.

Coconut flour develops no gluten and so provides essentially no structure to support the rising of the dough due to fermentation by the yeast. You can get a little rise that is will be more consistent than a yeast rise by adding baking powder, but coconut flour bread will still be rather more like a cake.

The rule of thumb is to substitute only 20 percent of coconut for wheat flour. Flour made from coconut becomes dense and soaks up a lot of moisture when it bakes. To compensate for the moisture imbalance, try adding 2 tablespoons extra liquid for every 2 tablespoons coconut flour you substitute for regular flour.

Because it doesn't contain gluten like many flours, coconut flour doesn't stick together as well as traditional flour – this means you'll have to use extra eggs. Also note that coconut flour is relatively high in fat, causing the different texture.

Baking with coconut or almond flour is very easy and both are great substitutes for wheat and refined white flours. Coconut flour also can be used as a substitute for almond flour in a recipe. Coconut flour can replace almond or wheat flours in any recipe.

Coconut flour can be baked at the same temperature as other recipes, no need for adjustment. The best ratio is 3:1 almond flour to coconut flour.