What to eat (part three)

There are several flours that make a frequent appearance in my kitchen. Here is a list of the most common ones, and why they are chosen. The starch amount listed is per 100 grams, which is just a bit shy of 1 cup.

Almond flour
5 grams of starch (blanched)
6 grams of starch (unblanched)
One of my favorite flours, this is sometimes called almond meal. The main difference is whether the almonds have been blanched before grinding. This has a rather subtle flavor, and I often use it in savory or strongly flavored dishes. This, or any nut flour, can be made by grinding the nuts in a coffee grinder if you can't find it commercially. Just be careful not to turn it into nut butter.

Pecan flour
0 grams of starch
This is also a favorite flour. I usually use it with chocolate, stone fruits, and poultry.

Walnut flour
4 grams of starch
I don't use this that much because it often becomes too oily. However, it works well in naturally moist things like banana bread, zucchini bread or pumpkin bread.

Coconut flour
1 gram of starch
This is another common flour, especially in baked goods. It doesn't have a strong coconut flavor at all, and is useful in just about any kind of baked good. The main trick to using this is to let any batter rest for 5-10 minutes to ensure that it doesn't become grainy. I have the best results with Bob's Red Mill brand coconut flour, and this is the brand that I've used unless noted. If you use another brand, you may need more or less liquid than called for in the recipe, so please keep this in mind.

Flax meal/ground flax seeds
0 grams of starch
For appearance I prefer golden flax meal, but I haven't noticed much difference in the quality or texture of baked goods, so feel free to use either variety that you have on hand.

Buckwheat flour
58 grams of starch
Because this is somewhat high in starch, I use it sparingly. However, occasionally it is well suited for the recipe in very small amounts.

Oat flour
59 grams of starch
Again, this is somewhat high in starch so it is used sparingly. It has a much more mild flavor than buckwheat flour, so it is my flour of choice when I need a small amount of starch in the recipe.