Bob's Red Mill vs. Honeyville Farms Almond Flour?
 

Hi All :) I'm fairly new to low carb baking using the alternative nut flours and special ingredients. I've noticed a few recipes that specifiy using ONLY Bob's Red Mill almond flour or ONLY Honeyville, and specifying the other brand doesn't work as well. An example is Maria Emmerich's Healthified Sub Rolls. Can any of you who bake a lot clarify how the two brands of almond flourv are different in character? In other words, does one tend to be coarser, more oily, flakier, more dry, etc., than the other?

The reason I ask: I'm from the US but live in Guatemala 3/4 of the time due to my husband's work. I can't get almond flour here in Guatemala, so I have to bring it in my suitcase, and whatever I bring is all I can get till the next trip back to the US. At the moment, I only have Bob's Red Mill on hand. If I want to make a recipe that specifies using only Honeyville, I'd like to know how the flours are different so I can maybe tweak the recipe at my end for the difference in character. Thanks for any advice :)

Celeste

I know nothing about Bob's Red Mill flour.

That being said Marie makes her rolls with blanched almond flour because this is what worked. Other people tried other flour ( unblanched almond flour) it didn't worked.

I used Honeyville and still coudn't get it to work but I will. I use Honeyville because your baked goods come out so much better.

But years ago I used Trader Joe's unblanched almond flour because that's all I could afford or made my own.
Unblanched I think is grainer, blanched is finer , smoother, and makes everything come out with a better crumb.

I don't know if I'm confusing you more.

I have never made the rolls you are talking about but I have used both and they are both good flours, I personally would choose the one that costs the least....which is probably going to be the Honeyville Farms. I usually buy 25 pounds at a time. When I get it I put it in gallon zip-lock freezer bags and I keep the bag I'm using out of in my frig and store the rest in my freezer. It will last me a year and it costs less buying it that way.

I also only use the blanched almond flour.

From my own observations of home ground almond meal, BRM Almond Flour and Honeyville Almond Flour, the Honeyville brand is finer which results in a nicer crumb.

I have used all of them and find my results are much more consistent with the Honeyville, although I started out by just grinding my own in a coffee mill. As far as costs go, I think the home ground and BRM is going to be the more expensive and as Chicken Lady suggested, the Honeyville is probably going to be your least expensive.

HTH

the blanched almond flours have a little more carb because the skins, which are included in something like the Trader Joe's almond meal, are pretty much all fiber. in fact someone is selling ground almond skins as "almond bran" to be used for fiber.

I agree the fine stuff is better for many applications, but given how much more expensibve it is, I only use it about 25% of the time. of course I don't use almond meal all that much at all. I find it is really high calorie for the results it gives, which tend to be very dry.

the coarser almond meal is great for things like "polenta" or "cornbread" muffins where you want the slight graininess, like cornmeal has. it can be appealing in some things.

I do exactly what you do. Love Honeyville

Hi All,

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it! I agree the Honeyville is great stuff. I purchased the 25# box and left it in the freezer at my home in the US, just before I came back to Guatemala last month, that way it will be there waiting for me when I'm back in the US. But here in Guatemala at the moment I only have the Bob's. RVCook, you mention the Honeyville is "finer". Maybe what I'll try is running a little Bob's through the blender for a minute or two to see if I can get it finer, and then trying Maria's rolls. Hopefully I won't end up with almond butter :)

Rosethorns, I know what you mean about getting things to work. Here in Guatemala I can't find the kind of mayonnaise I like. So I decided to make my own. The first recipe I tried was a disaster, and I almost quit then and there. But several days and recipes later, along with some you-tube "how-to" videos, I finally achieved a cute little bowl of great tasting mayonnaise. Except it wasn't white, it was very pink (!) due to the yokes here being a deeper color and the bit of paprika the recipe called for.

Celeste

I thought the almond flour from nuts.com had a really nice texture and was very white. Even though the Bob's Red Mill was also excellent, I think I prefer the nuts.com.

I think for Maria's recipe for the sub rolls she says to use blanched almond flour as opposed to unblanched or homemade, which can be wetter. I think bobs red mill blanched almond flour would work well for the rolls.

Love Honeyville

I've used both kinds (BRM and HV) and honestly can't tell a difference. After hearing all the talk about HV, I was totally excited about giving it a try. Then, I was disappointed because there wasn't a difference. Maybe I was expecting too much?
I've used both kinds to make Maria's buns, and really can't tell a difference. They both turned out good.
I still have quite a bit of both BRM and HV. I buy the BRM from the bulk bins at a local store. But, I like the convenience of just ordering the HV and having it delivered, and will probably just order it when I get low.

In Maria's blog she states to not use the Bob's red mill...I don't know why and I don't think she does either...she states that it just doesn't work as well. I find the honeyville a much finer grind. I wonder if you just ground the bob's in a food processor if it would be a bit more fine and work better...I have ground bob's in my ninja in the past and it did help with the texture a bit.

I use BRM in both her sub rolls and pizza crust without a problem.