Stephanie Doan has always had a natural gift for smell and taste. While studying at the University of California, Davis, she realized she could put this gift to use. 

“I realized that this ability, when combined with different food and beverage pairings, could create truly unique flavor experiences,” she said. 

Doan grew up in the Salina Valley of California, surrounded by fresh fruits, vegetables and spices, and developed an appreciation for healthy and flavorful ingredients. 

“This passion led me into product development where I could explore new ways to create great-tasting, nutritious foods — from tomato sauces and spice blends to fruit-based products and almonds. My goal is always to craft delicious, wholesome experiences.”

Today, Doan crafts those experiences at Blue Diamond Growers, where she serves as senior manager of product development. She has spent eight years at the company, also holding roles as senior food scientist and senior corporate quality manager. Doan has worked in the food industry for more than 25 years.

Asked what she enjoys most about her job, Doan said it’s always about the people. 

“I love collaborating with others, whether it’s delivering exceptional customer service, solving complex problems or driving creative innovation,” she said. “I also find great satisfaction in mentoring colleagues and helping them grow in their careers.”

Doan develops new and innovative products made with almond ingredients, and she noted today’s consumers expect to see these innovative products on shelves faster than ever before. 

“This creates challenges for developers, who are tasked with producing truly innovative, groundbreaking items within increasingly tight timelines and at competitive price points,” she explained. 

While the use of artificial intelligence (AI) can help generate new ideas more quickly, Doan said, product development and commercialization cycles still often take longer than businesses like, risking products that hit the shelf after a trend has already peaked.

“On the supplier side, we must be even more proactive — anticipating customer needs and bringing new products to market within our own expedited timelines,” she said. “Staying ahead of this fast-moving industry can often be a challenge.”

Here, Doan shares how bakers can create innovative products using almond ingredients.

How does the use of almond ingredients help bakers meet better-for-you trends? 

Recent better-for-you (BFY) baked goods claims and features include enhanced nutrition, higher protein content, functional ingredients and baked goods that address allergen concerns and dietary restrictions. 

At Blue Diamond, we define BFY baked goods as those that meet individual health and lifestyle requirements. While these requirements are different for everyone, they can include attributes such as gluten-free, vegan, keto, paleo, higher protein, higher fiber, lower carbohydrates, minimally processed, whole grain or items that are more nutrient-dense.   

Almonds can help formulators meet these attributes by contributing higher amounts of protein and fiber and lower amounts of carbohydrates than typical flours. Additionally, almonds are packed with heart-healthy fats, including mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, and provide a significant source of vitamin E. 

We offer almonds in various formats for use in baked goods, including different flours, butters, sliced, diced and slivered almonds, and our higher-protein partially defatted flour. These different items combine well with typical baked goods ingredients and can be used across various bakery platforms, including pancakes, cookies, cakes, muffins and bars. 

What benefits do almond flour/ingredients bring to a baked good? 

Selecting the suitable almond ingredient depends upon the BFY attributes that consumers are looking to obtain. For consumers looking to hit certain nutritional or lifestyle goals, eating products with almond flour or almond meal can help reach those targets. 

Partially Defatted Almond Flour (PDAF) can also be used in these applications, boosting protein and insoluble fiber content and helping meet specific diet targets like keto. This ingredient has also been shown to help retain moisture in some applications which may be an added benefit for shelf-stable items. 

Another option for food manufacturers when creating a minimally processed or more wholesome-looking product is to use natural almond flour or natural almond particulates, be that sliced, diced or slivered. These go a long way toward emphasizing that “natural” product look as they contain the skin of the almond. Blending natural and blanched flours can achieve the right look. Adding texture to baked goods can be achieved by using diced almonds within a batter. 

How can bakers ensure taste/texture is not compromised when replacing traditional flour with almond flour?

Combining almond flour and PDAF with other gluten-free flour provides an opportunity to replace wheat flour in gluten-free, BFY bakery applications. 

When using almond flour to replace traditional wheat flour, start with a 25% replacement in a formulation. For a gluten-free recipe, backfill with a blend of preferred gluten-free flours, then adjust from there. Almond ingredients can make incredibly delicious baked goods, but sometimes it takes a bit to refine the formulation to meet the consumer’s expected texture. Almonds have a higher amount of fat, so reducing the amount of fat or water can help achieve that target texture in some formulations. 

PDAF has a higher water and oil holding capacity than other almond ingredients, so achieving the desired texture can take some finesse. Food manufacturers may be limited in the amount used in any formulation, or liquid levels may need to be adjusted in a recipe. 

With that in mind, we have created several high-protein bars and cookies with higher levels of PDAF that deliver texture and flavor expectations.

When is it best to use almond flour vs. almond inclusions in a baked good? 

Almonds as an inclusion or topping can enhance the sensory experience of eating baked goods. Using almond flour in the batter can strengthen nutritional properties and help product developers create gluten-free options that do not compromise taste and flavor. 

For the natural added texture that most nuts bring to baked goods, diced almonds are typically used within the batter, whereas slices are added topically as they can be more fragile and lose their elegant shape in the mixing process. 

What types of almond flour are there, and how do they differ in functionality?

PDAF is a label-friendly protein powder derived by removing most of the oil from pasteurized and blanched California-grown almonds and grinding them to a fine powder. It can partially replace all-purpose flour for baked goods that are looking for a boost in protein or fiber over traditional almond flour. This powder can produce a finer crumb structure and cleaner flavor compared to other plant-based proteins. It also enhances fiber content to help achieve targeted thresholds, and it helps deliver levels of several essential minerals to foods that lack them.

If you want to use almonds to help you reach your nutritional or lifestyle goals, you should choose a source with higher usage potential, like almond flour or almond meal.

PDAF can also be used in these applications to boost protein and insoluble fiber content and help consumers who are on keto or gluten-free diets. This ingredient has also been shown to help retain moisture in some applications which may be an added benefit for shelf-stable items. 

What almond flour/ingredients do you offer? What benefits do they offer?

Blue Diamond’s product portfolio includes a variety of forms and flavors that come natural or blanched, diced, sliced, slivered or whole. They provide unique texture and enhance nutritional profiles for a wide variety of applications. Almonds as toppings or inclusions help manufacturers balance healthy and indulgent attributes in baked products without adding artificial or highly processed ingredients consumers seek to eliminate from their diets.

Almond flour mixes easily with other ingredients with a rich flavor profile and higher fat content. It creates a soft texture that emulates baked goods made with traditional flours while meeting many consumers’ personal health and lifestyle requirements. The higher protein and fiber content, fats and nutrient-dense almond superfood can enhance the nutritional profile of other baked goods, blending well with typical bakery flavors such as vanilla, chocolate and fruits.

With a lower fat content, PDAF offers a gluten-free, higher protein, higher fiber, nutrient-dense alternative to combine with traditional flour or other gluten-free flours. It is label-friendly and has a superfine texture, making it easy to incorporate into batters without a gritty texture. 

If you want to leverage almonds’ healthy fats outside of a dry format, consider almond oil or almond butter as your fat source. We are now offering a lightly roasted almond butter with a less nutty taste and lighter color that has worked well in nondairy recipes.