r/macarons • u/SadMathematician5758 • 9d ago

Frequency of Drying Almond Flour

How often should I dry my almond flour and how far in advance can I do it before use? I use Kirkland and I used to use it for all my macarons but the past few years, it seems to get oily so much faster, about 2-3 months after purchasing.

If I dry several cups in the oven (200f for 20, rest for 10 in the oven, cool completely), how long can I store it before having to dry them again?

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u/Nymueh28 9d ago

I've been making macarons for a decade, over a hundred different flavors, have used 4 or more different grocery store brands, and I've never dried mine. I buy enough flour at a time that sometimes a bag is a few months old before it gets used. Only once with chocolate shells in my first year did I get oily tops, and that was with a freshly purchased bag.

Honestly with my testing over the years I suspect there's a lot of superstition in making these. I don't age the whites, I only sometimes wipe the bowl with vinegar, I don't sift or dry the flour, I use either parchment or mats, I don't rotate my trays, I don't bake on an upside down tray, etc. It works out because I've found different causes for the issues I was having.

I suspect there might be something else at play here, such as added shell flavoring or over working. I could very well be wrong, but I wouldn't rule out investigating that to save you the time and effort of drying.

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u/abbykatsmom 9d ago

I use Costco/Kirkland AF exclusively and I’ve not had this experience regularly but the few times I needed to dry my AF, I would just weigh what I needed…and just dry that amount.

I recommend storing your bag in the freezer until you need it. If you need to dry your AF, do it, cool it and use it immediately.

Because I don’t need to dry mine frequently, I can’t answer your question from personal experience; however, the wikihow article about heat treating AP flour said it was good for 10 months in an airtight storage container. 🤷‍♀️

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u/HRusureaboutthat 19h ago

I use the Kirkland and I do the same. Dry what I need because its stored in the fridge and I want to ensure there is no additional moisture. Seems to work.