On Mon, 9 Jan 2006 17:11:37 -0500, Greg Davis <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Re: using nut flours as replacements for white flour in recipes. I've
>tried this a few times now (only been eating paleo for a few months) and
>I can't seem to get good results. I tried this pancake recipe and I
>think I'm doing something wrong because they basically turned to mush
>when I tried to flip them. Is there some sort of trick to cooking with
>nut flour? ie. lower temps for longer or higher temps etc.? I used pecan
>flour by the way, maybe almond flour is more appropriate?? I've had
>similar problems trying to make pumpkin bread where it stays mushy inside...
>
>Also concerned about cooking using nut flour because of the unsaturated
>fat potential to be ruined by the heat.. but I'm not sure exactly how
>that works 'cause I've heard different opinions.

Hi Greg,  I've been using nut flours for quite some time now. I blend
several, don't think you'll find anything special about the cooking
properties of almond vs pecan. Pancakes are difficult no matter what the
batter is made of. I don't use a hard recipe. Oh, but let me get to the
punch line first, the pan needs to be hot, 3.5, medium, hot. Otherwise, the
batter sticks to the pan and it's more of a scraping than a flipping.

I make the pancakes for one. One egg and enough flour to make it pretty
thick, stiff and not really runny anymore. I use salt, cinnamon, sometimes
nutmeg and finely diced apples or blueberries when in season.

I think the pan cooking is bad in that the polyunsaturates are over-cooked
and leave the potential for transfats. That's why I usually make the
pancakes into muffins. Same ingredients. I know that oven temperatures above
300deg harm vitamins, so I cook the muffins, and everything I make, at 300
and just cook it longer. Started using a timer (big help! ;-)) and it takes
45 min to nicely cook the muffins. You probably just need to cook the bread
longer.

Micke