Hazelnut Milk (and how to use the leftover hazelnut pulp)
Hazelnut milk is super tasty, versatile and probably my favourite dairy milk alternative - it works well in coffee, tea, porridge and just a cold glass on its own. And after finding a new favourite way of using the leftover hazelnut pulp as well, I had to share with you!
If you thought it was hard making your own milk alternatives, you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
Making hazelnut milk takes no time at all. Especially if you choose not to roast the nuts beforehand - I’ve done both versions and love both. Raw nuts probably provide a more smooth, milky taste, whereas with the roasted nuts you go closer to a fully nutty taste. Both great!
Hazelnut milk
Makes 1 large bottle
Ingredients
2 cups hazelnuts, raw or roasted (skin on is fine!)
3-4 cups of water
1 tsp of sweetener: maple syrup, honey or 1 medjool date (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract) (ps: you can omit the sweetener, is totally fine without too!)
Optional: a pinch of salt to elevate the taste even more (I usually skip this)
You also need:
A nut milk bag (fine mesh strainer, like this one for example)
Instructions
Soak the nuts for a couple of hours, or longer if you have time, and then rinse them gently.
In a blender, drop in the nuts, water and sweetener (and salt if you’re adding it), and blend. You honestly just need to pulse it all - if you have a proper blender - for a few seconds. And you’re good to go! Transfer the milk carefully in to the nut milk bag, which you have placed in a large jug or bowl (that will be easy to pour in to a bottle after). Slowly and patiently, strain the milk through the bag until you’ve got as much of the liquid out as possible. Then pour the milk from the jug in to a clean, empty bottle and put in the fridge! All done!
Be aware that the milk will separate after a while. All you need to do is give it a good shake before you use it.
Now for the leftover hazelnut pulp!
There are tons of options for how to use the leftover hazelnut pulp you get - you can add some in a muffin dough mix, or mix in a bit with your smoothie (nuts make smoothies lovely, thick and flavourful!). My new favourite way to use the pulp though, is to add it in to my bread dough when I bake bread. Mixed in with the other flours it doesn’t overpower the taste, but adds a beautiful nutty goodness to your bread (which makes it smell amazing when it’s baking too!). In fact, you can dry the pulp and store it as hazelnut meal - but if you’re using it straight away or the next day, you can even save yourself the trouble. Most things you would use it for are wet anyway (muffin batter, bread dough, smoothie), so simply mix it in to your next recipe and enjoy the awesome taste.
I’d love to see how your hazelnut milk turned out! Did you use raw or roasted nuts? What did you do with the pulp? Share your result with me on Instagram and tag @TheFromScratchBody and hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!
