How to grind Coconut Flakes into Coconut Flour
Turn VitaMix machine on and quickly "walk it up" to 10, then put on HIGH and let it run for 30 seconds. The coconut will be whirring through the container. Stop.
Tamp down the sides, to get all the coconut back on the bottom of the machine. If you fail to do this, you will have chunky coconut flakes on the sides, and coconut flour in the center. In 15 second intervals, grind coconut down, on HIGH. Scrape sides of Vita-Mix down, blend again on HIGH if needed, until the coconut flakes turn into a chunky flour.
Don't grind for more than 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or you may begin to release the moisture in the coconut. This won't greatly affect pancakes, but it is worth watching out for!
About 1 cup of dried coconut flakes will grind into about 1/2 cup of coconut flour.
Keep in mind, as you are grinding coconut in the VitaMix, it is creating a product similar to almond meal, but finer and lighter. Coconut flour is very dense! You are not going to get a fluffy fine flour like a regular wheat flour.
Congratulations - you have just successfully ground your own coconut flour from dry, dessicated coconut flakes! Isn't it beautiful? It may not be quite as fine as what you would buy in the store, but it will certainly work!
Use as you would coconut flour - remembering that coconut flour is used in SMALL doses and reacts VERY differently than regular GF flours! A little bit of coconut flour goes a LONG way!