How I love bread. You’d say the same right? Last week my hubby persuaded me to watch a documentary about extreme bodybuilders. Bodybuilders with a diet restricted to pretty much eggs, turkey and broccoli. A diet that any reasonable person would struggle to handle for more than a couple of days. One guy said he missed bread so much that he’d often just have a mouthful and chew it for the flavour and then spit it out. Of course this is extreme. But, in reality, with the rise of low carb, gluten free and increasingly paleo diets more of us are giving up or restricting bread. Personally I keep bread for the occasional treat (usually in the form of homemade pizza dough) but I really miss having something to dunk into pumpkin soup and soft boiled eggs.
That’s where this post comes in – I’m sharing a recipe from my new cookbook – called ‘Going Paleo’ from Pete Evans. I’ve looked at different paleo bread recipes and what I really like about this one is the relatively simple mix of ingredients. I tried it a couple of times before drafting this post so I could add some extra tips too.
This paleo recipe is:
- Gluten free (grain, wheat and dairy free)
- Free of refined sugar and vegetable oils
- High in protein and fibre
- Low in carbohydrates
And as if that wasn’t good enough to inspire you then note that this bread takes only 10 minutes to prepare and just over one hour to cook. So what are you waiting for?
Recipe thanks to Pete Evans – Going Paleo
Ingredients
- 100g (1 cup) almond meal
- 50g (1/2 cup) coconut flour
- 4 tbsp psyllium husk powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 8 eggs, beaten until fluffy
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp mixed dried herbs (optional)
- Sea salt & black pepper
Newcomer to coconut flour? You can read more about how it’s a fantastic gluten free, low carb substitute for wheat flour on this helpful page at nuts.com
Method
- Preheat your oven to 120C. Tip – a fan setting seems to work better than conventional, perhaps because of the relatively low temperature.
- Grease a standard loaf tin with butter or olive oil, and then line the base and sides with baking paper.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl – be sure to first sift the almond meal and coconut flour. Tip – experiment with the dried herbs (I use thyme & rosemary).
- Beat the eggs. Tip – beat the eggs until they are really light and fluffy.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Tip – Don’t forget to season with salt & pepper.
- Transfer the mixture into the baking tin and spread out evenly.
- Bake in the oven for 80 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the bread comes out clean).
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack.
- Slice and enjoy. Tip – this bread also freezes well once sliced.
Serve as you would standard bread. Just be conscious that it a fairly dense bread and so I’ve found that just a couple of small slices are enough to keep me full for hours. I’ve been enjoying it with my homemade kale pesto.
And I must mention how ironic it is that I drafted this post surrounded by some of Sydney’s best sourdough bread, at Bourke Street Bakery. I stuck to the coffee though……
By Laura (Feast Wisely)
Other recipes you might like:
- Banana & oat cookies – no added sugar
- Flax seed & chia seed detox crackers
- Fruit, oat & nut loaf
- Italian pizza dough
- Pumpkin pie – the ultimate recipe
Oh my goodness do I relate. I was on an extreme bodybuilding diet for a full year! Chicken, green beans and strawberries. Fun times and believe it or not you just sort of get robotic about it. 🙂 I never thought to chew bread and spit it out! But I did stroll down the bread land in the market and sniff the packages of bread. Did you really like this bread Laura? It looks moist and “intact” unlike some gluten free breads I’ve had. I have everything on hand…I think I’ll give it a go!
Hi Seana – Wow surprised to hear that you’ve been in that position – and funny that you got by on the smell of bread alone! I hope the biceps made up for it? Yes I really like this bread, it is so filling you only need a little. My husband took some to work and his colleagues were super impressed. Give it a go and just be sure to really whip the eggs and then slowly fold them in before cooking – it seems to give the best result! Let me know how it goes….
good tip about the eggs. We are really trying to cut out the amount of gluten we eat. (can you believe how much “glu” is in our everyday diet? Yeah, several years ago I did 4 bodybuilding shows in one year. I dieted for a full year and actually never felt better in my life. It was difficult at times but really you just get use to it, and avoid dinner parties! Not my lifestyle now that’s for sure. I’ll let you know how the bread turns out. Thank you!
Yes I’m also trying to cut down on gluten – congrats on appearing in 4 shows – that admirable and takes lots of dedication! Let me know how the bread goes……
Oh wow! How interesting, what an experience 😀 you are very cool!!
This is so interesting, I keep seeing recipes like this using psyllium husks but haven’t tried any yet. Maybe it’s time I did…😀
Thanks Elaine – yes the great thing about psyllium husks is that they bulk up once wet and cooked – are they are packed with fibre too!
My only concern is whether they would irritate my stomach??
I have never found that to be the case – they are a digestion aid and used in relatively small quantities in this recipe. Perhaps check online to see if anyone has suffered ‘side effects’?
I’ve read a few things and I know they aid digestion..my body tends to work completely opposite to most people’s…I just need to give them a try x
FW – thanks for sharing! I think this is one even my limited diet could accommodate! Be great with some liver pate…
Hi TSL, yes liver pate – now that sounds good. Yes I actually don’t even see this as naughty when I’m eating it – all of the ingredients are so good for you!
I love paleo bread recipes- I could never ditch bread altogether! Thanks for sharing!
xoxo K
http://peeledwellness.com
Thanks K – and yes agree, moderation is key and for me the paleo bread could be the way forward……
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