There are many reasons why the humble coconut is the beloved produce for millions of Nigerians: it’s affordable, it’s tasty, and it’s incredibly versatile. Coconut oil, coconut flakes, coconut butter, coconut milk and coconut flour are only a few of the ways you can use coconut at home.
Coconut flour has many advantages over other types of flour, especially wheat since it’s rich in protein and free of gluten, which makes it the ideal diet food. Find out how to make coconut flour right now!
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1. Ingredients for making coconut flour
One of the biggest advantages of homemade coconut flour is its affordability. Most people make coconut flour out of what is left after making coconut oil, which means you can get two healthy and organic products from just one coconut.
If you want to make coconut flour from scratch, all you need is a ripe coconut and water. This may be the easiest thing you’ll do in the kitchen this month, but it’s also one of the healthiest and easiest ones.
2. How to make coconut powder
To make your first batch of homemade coconut powder, these are the steps you need to take.
- Make a hole in the coconut using one of the three “eyes” you can find on the bottom of the coconut and a tool like a nail with a hammer or a power drill.
- Drain the coconut water out of the coconut. You can drink it right then and there, use it in a cocktail, or find another way to implement it in your cooking.
- Wrap the coconut in a kitchen towel or plastic bag and break it into pieces using a hammer, rolling pin, or another heavy tool.
- Use a butter or paring knife to separate the white coconut flesh from the hard brown shell. Take out all of the coconut flesh. If the coconut is really ripe, you may be able to remove the flesh using just a metal spoon.
- If there is a thin brown skin remaining on your coconut flesh, take it off using a peeler or a sharp knife.
- Put the coconut chunks into a food processor or blender, chopping them into smaller pieces if needed. Pour in 1 liter of boiling water per 1 coconut.
- Turn the blender on and blend your coconut with water at high speed for 3-5 minutes or until the coconut pulp is smooth and even.
- Cool the mixture down and strain it through a cheesecloth. You can use the leftover milk as a substitute for regular dairy milk.
- Preheat the oven to 80 degrees Celsius. Take a baking sheet and cover it with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Spread the coconut pulp in a thin layer on the sheet and bake at low temperature for 45 minutes. Make sure not to let the pulp get toasted or burned.
- Transfer the baked pulp into the blender and blend until the mixture starts resembling flour. That’s it – your coconut flour is ready for use. Store it in an airtight container in a fridge.
3. How to use coconut flour
Whether you’re making coconut flour to avoid gluten in your diet, to maximize your use of coconuts, or to simply explore new flavors, there are plenty of ways to use coconut flour in cooking. Here are the most popular ones.
The most common use of coconut flour is, of course, baking. You can make all kinds of baked goods with coconut flour, from cupcakes to cakes. Make sure to add more liquid compared to wheat flour recipes, and, in many situations, more eggs are needed as well.
A very delicious way to use coconut flour in your kitchen is to make coconut shrimp or chicken. Dip your shrimp or chicken in egg batter and then coat it with coconut flour, then bake or deep fry the dish.
Coconut makes a very good binder for dishes made with ground meat. Whenever you’re making meatballs, stuffed peppers, or other dishes where ground meat is the star, use coconut flour instead of regular binding agents.
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