Mention “almond flour” and most chefs think of tiny cakes and pastries displayed in perfect little rows behind the polished glass windows of Parisian cafes. It’s a timeless ingredient beloved by the best pastry chefs working in the French tradition, but also one that is growing in popularity among trendsetters around the world.

Take for example Chef William Werner, chef/partner of San Francisco’s groundbreaking pâtisserie and cafe, Craftsman and Wolves. Chef Werner uses almond flour in 70% of his recipes for a number of reasons that will make you want to swap your wheat flour for almond flour, as well.

Rustic Flavor:

For Chef Werner, almond flour delivers a rich, slightly sweet, and buttery taste to his signature baked goods. He uses Blue Diamond’s Extra Fine Natural (skins on) Almond Flour to achieve a rustic flavor. Chefs switching to almond flour from traditional wheat flour might notice that their recipes require less sugar and butter thanks to almond flour’s subtle flavor and healthy fats. In an age when added sugar and cholesterol are increasingly on consumers’ bad list, multitasking ingredients such as almond flour promise to pack a healthy punch and please a growing crowd. Did we also mention that almond flour is a tasty source of antioxidants and calcium and — drumroll please — it’s gluten-free? You’re probably not thinking about this when you bit into one of the beautiful and delicious cakes from Craftsman and Wolves, but rest assured, those benefits of almonds are there, baked right in with the Blue Diamond Almond Flour.

Smooth Texture, Nutty Crunch:

Part of what makes baking with Blue Diamond Almond Flour so gratifying is the texture. Almond flour has a smooth texture, unlike many gluten-free flours that tend to be gritty and rough. But smooth need not mean overly polished: Blue Diamond’s Extra Fine Natural Almond Flour still bakes to a beautiful golden color and lends foods a satisfying crunch. It just spares you the runny mess of coaxing coarser flours into batters. We like to call it delicate but not fussy — the perfect flour for the kind of chefs who find confidence in their use of quality, from-the-earth ingredients.

If your crowd is into delicate and more traditional pastries, chefs recognize Blue Diamond Extra Fine Blanched Almond Flour as ideal for recipes inspired by the classic French formulations we all learned and will always love. Often praised as having the finest granulation available on the market today, the Extra Fine Blanched Almond Flour’s light, powder-like consistency makes it easy to work with. So even if you haven’t made an almond flour recipe in years, now you can without having to blanch the almonds and grind the flour yourself!

No Nonsense:

Thanks to the ready availability of Blue Diamond’s newest range of luxurious yet affordable almond flours, top pastry chefs from San Francisco to Singapore have access to an endless supply of almond flour for creating fine pastries. Be your own baking style classic or more cutting-edge like Chef Werner’s, you’ll find that almond flour is a perfect ingredient for both. Blue Diamond’s range of fine almond flours makes prepping easy (just open the bag) and ordering ingredients simple (we never run out). Guaranteed fresh and of the highest quality, Blue Diamond Almond Flour is all about no nonsense. And no artificial flavors, cholesterol, gluten…Ok, now back to baking.

Check out Craftsman and Wolves online at craftsman-wolves.com and be sure to visit them on your next trip to San Francisco. In the meantime, you can tide yourself over with any one of our website’s delicious recipes for almond flour sweets such as the Almond Custard Tarts.