At The Flaky Tart in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, owners Matthew Rosenzweig and Laura Martelli are devoted to creating sweet and savory delights with a worldly flair. Their bakery menu features delectable croissants, brioche, muffins, cookies, tarts and savory selections such as frittatas and topped focaccia. Almond and chocolate almond croissants are favorites, and “we use a lot of sliced almonds,” Rosenzweig says.
 
Almonds continue to be a popular mainstay on the ingredient lists of retail bakeries across the country, and according to the Almond Board of California, there are nine distinct forms in which almonds are available. As the board likes to point out: “There’s an almond for that.”
 
Almond Flour

Almond flour is gaining more popularity as its availability expands. Blue Diamond almonds offer many benefits to baked goods and the company’s almond flour is perfect for gluten-free baking. With this product, artisan bakers can easily transition from traditional flours in recipes without compromising taste or texture. 

 
Not only is Blue Diamond’s almond flour naturally gluten-free, but it provides nutrients that are often lacking in baked goods such as calcium, fiber, iron and protein. It has an amazingly smooth texture, unlike many gluten-free flours that tend to be gritty and rough. Blue Diamond almond flour offers a smooth mouthfeel and adds a rich, buttery flavor to baked goods, making it an optimum flour substitute. 
 
Blue Diamond almond flour offers versatility to a wide array of applications—from cakes and crusts, to breading and sauces. 
 
• Bakery applications such as cakes, breads and muffins
• Almond flour in crackers helps them stay crispy longer
• Coatings applications for fish and chicken
• Thickening agent for sauces and soups, adding nutrition in this growing category
 
Blue Diamond has three almond flour options available: Extra Fine Natural: With exceptionally fine granulation, it is as versatile as blanched flour while maintaining a natural light tan color. Extra Fine Blanched: The finest granulation almond flour available with a powder-like consistency that is perfect for delicate cookies, breads and cakes. Fine Blanched: Gives nutritious texture to everyday baking and cooking, and toasts to a rich golden color.

Almond Paste

Almond paste is a baking staple and one of the core products at American Almond, which offers nut pastes, nut butters and nutmeats and flours to accommodate a wide variety of bakery and pastry applications. Almond paste is a key ingredient in Italian macaroons, almond croissants and frangipane tarts.

Pastry chefs are fond of the finely milled blanched almond flour, available from American Almond, when preparing French macarons.
 
Further, American Almond’s ready-to-use “Schmear” fillings are the secret behind craveable rugelach and Danish pastries. The bake-stable fillings are available in three distinctive flavors that won’t bake out. Bakers can fill yeasted sweet dough for coffee cake, sticky buns, babkas, croissants, brioche or Danish pastries with almond, cinnamon or chocolate Schmear.