I had been reading quite a bit about coconut flour and how adding it to the low carb flours can help even out the flavor that some people find so off putting. I decided to try to make my own considering that unsweetened shredded coconut was half the cost of the coconut flour. Searching the net I found various discussions from its not possible to it works great, even on the same recipe. Gleaning the information from the various discussion I believe I found the best way to create coconut flour in your home from unsweetened shredded coconut. An exciting by line is that during the process it creates a bit of coconut oil and unsweetened coconut milk. Another pro is that, if you buy something labeled, coconut flour it apparently has quite a few carbs per serving, ranging from 19g to 28g per serving whereas the same amount of unsweetened shredded coconut has a mere net of 2g of carbs per serving, so this final product is much more low carb friendly. It also seems that coconut flour actually has different meanings to different producers as well, from finely chopped coconut to a ground coconut powder. The product I created in this recipe is a coarse ground flour similar to almond meal.
When it's all done, my total weight comes out to around 11.2 to 11.3oz. Some of the coconut sticks to various things during the process and I just don't take the time to scrap and pick to get every piece. So, by my estimations this batch contains a total of 86.6g with 43.3g of fiber for 43.3g net carbs. 1 cup of coconut flour is approximately 4.12oz or 116g. This is the average of three similar weighings.
By the powers that be, the recommendation for using coconut flour in baking is that it should replace no more than 20% of the flour in a recipe and increase the liquid in the recipe by an equal portion (4oz coconut flour = 4oz liquid). If leavening is an important part of the recipe you may need to add an egg or two. Keep in mind that eggs also add liquid so you might not need to add as much of other liquids to the recipe. Two large eggs will add approximately 4oz of liquid. If you scrutinize my recipes you will notice that often, more than 20% if my flour mixture. I guess it's something you just have to play with and see what you like. I like the flavor and meal of the coconut.
Many people claim to have a difficult time finding unsweetened coconut and so do I. I buy mine from Amazon, like many other items. They have Bob's Red Mill Shredded Coconut Unsweetended that I buy on subscription. It comes in four 12oz packages that I set up to be sent once every two months. The cost for the 48oz of coconut is only $9.93 and I don't pay shipping with my prime account. If that doesn't work for you, you might try Netrition. What I can't find on Amazon, I find on Netrition and vice versa.
Ingredients:
12oz bag of unsweetened shredded cocount
1 quart of boiling water
Pour the whole bag of unsweetened shredded coconut in a large metal bowl. After the quart of water comes to a boil, I pour it over the coconut, stir it gently and cover. Place a large plate or cover of some sort over the top of the bowl and let it sit for about an hour.
At the end of the hour, place a strainer over the top of a 2 quart pitcher and pour the coconut-water mixture through the strainer, pressing and squeezing as much of the liquid as possible from the flakes. When the strainer is full, empty out the flakes onto a half sheet. I read on some instruction that people used a cheesecloth for this part of the process which would probably work great but I don't have one.
After all the liquid and flakes are separated, cover the pitcher and place it in the fridge. When it is chilled, the coconut oil will sit on top. Scoop that out and place it in a resealable container and store that in the fridge until needed. The coconut milk can be used in recipes or sweeten it for a beverage.
The flakes on the half sheet should be spread as evenly as possible and placed in the oven set on warm. This process takes about 4 hours. A few of the instruction read that you could do this at 250 degrees but when I did this it started to toast the coconut before it dried.
Before storing or grinding the coconut it should cooled completely. It will make a better candidate for grinding. If the coconut flakes are the least bit warm the oils are too fluid and the coconut grinds into something more like a paste. Because the coconut and oils have been exposed to heating by boiling water and oven, it is probably best kept in the fridge or freezer.
By the powers that be, the recommendation for using coconut flour in baking is that it should replace no more than 20% of the flour in a recipe and increase the liquid in the recipe by an equal portion (4oz coconut flour = 4oz liquid). If leavening is an important part of the recipe you may need to add an egg or two. Keep in mind that eggs also add liquid so you might not need to add as much of other liquids to the recipe. Two large eggs will add approximately 4oz of liquid. If you scrutinize my recipes you will notice that often, more than 20% if my flour mixture. I guess it's something you just have to play with and see what you like. I like the flavor and meal of the coconut.
Many people claim to have a difficult time finding unsweetened coconut and so do I. I buy mine from Amazon, like many other items. They have Bob's Red Mill Shredded Coconut Unsweetended that I buy on subscription. It comes in four 12oz packages that I set up to be sent once every two months. The cost for the 48oz of coconut is only $9.93 and I don't pay shipping with my prime account. If that doesn't work for you, you might try Netrition. What I can't find on Amazon, I find on Netrition and vice versa.
Happy flour/meal making!
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