Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Grain-free Sandwich Bread (GAPS : primal : gluten-free)

After many tries, I have finally perfected my recipe for grain-free sandwich bread.  This bread stays together well, and works great for packing lunches to go. Since it is made with almond flour and coconut flour, this bread is quite filling.  

My family has been very happy to get to eat sandwiches once again with this bread. It works great for both savory sandwiches (like meat and cheese) and sweet sandwiches (like nut butter and jelly). It is also good with hamburgers (although I've gotten so used to eating them bunless that I prefer only one piece of bread with my burgers now).   This bread can be made into toast by using a toaster oven on 250 degrees for about 15-20 minutes (make sure the bread is not directly over the heating element, or it will burn). 

Grain-Free Sandwich Bread
Makes 1 loaf
  1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat.  Turn off heat and allow to cool a bit.  Then stir in the honey and vinegar.
  2. Break the eggs into a medium bowl.  Add the salt, baking soda, almond flour, and butter mixture.  Mix together with an immersion blender or hand mixer. 
  3. Measure out the coconut flour.  It will need to be sifted if you are not using an immersion blender.
  4. Using an immersion blender or handheld mixer, mix the coconut flour into the other ingredients very well.  There is no worry of over-mixing this recipe since there is no gluten in it.
  5. Pour the batter into a well-buttered loaf pan.  I used a 9X5 glass pan.
  6. Bake at 300 degrees for about 50-60 minutes.  It will be done when it is set in the middle (you can lightly tough it, or check to see if a toothpick comes out clean).
  7. Let cool for about 15-20 minutes, and then use a spatula or knife to go around the edges.  Invert the pan and move the bread to a cooling rack.  Cool completely.
  8. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Store in the fridge or freezer. I like to slice it fairly thinly with a Rada bread knife, place parchment paper between the slices, and store it in the freezer.
This post is part of Fat Tuesday, Monday Mania and Pennywise Platter!
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103 comments:

  1. We're nut free in our home. Do you think we'd be able to substitute either a sunflower seed flour, pumpkin seed flour or garbanzo bean flour (or a mix of the three) for the almond flour? We've grain free for a couple months and my kids are DYING for bread. Thanks!

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    1. I've never used any of the flours you listed, so I'm not sure. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!

      Delete

    2. The blog "Loving Our Guts" has a nut free sandwich bread that's really good.

      I'm looking forward to trying this one, too.

      Delete

    3. You could maybe try buckwheat, amaranth or quinoa flour? I haven't used quinoa before, but I've heard that it's easy to work with. I'm gluten free, but thinking of going grain free (too many tummy issues). I'm an absolute bread freak, so I'm going to test this out this week. Thanks!

      Delete

  2. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I tried a similar one using only coconut flour and there was something about it that was not good. Hope my daughter will like this one better.

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  3. I make a sunflower seed bread following the GAPS recipe and I soak and dehydrate the sunflower seeds and grind them myself. It comes out dense, but it is really delicious and I high recommend trying it.

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  4. Thank you!! I, too, tried a coconut flour bread and I just didn't care for it. This one looks amazing and it's easy to boot! My 2 year old just started daycare and I'm sending food for him to eat. I was hoping to give him a sandwich once a week and this will work perfectly! Maybe my 7 year old will take to it, as well...

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  5. What a great idea - using both coconut and almond flour. The photos make it look fairly light textured; not as heavy or dense as the last coconut bread recipe I tried. Thanks for posting!

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  6. Sarah, you are awesome! I can't wait to try out this recipe. I have been on the hunt for something just like this and viola, you present it today! Thanks!

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  7. This recipe looks great, I'll have to try it! And you ingredient list is right up my alley :)

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  8. ohmigosh! What about grilled cheese sandwiches?

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    Replies

    1. I'm not sure about grilled cheese. You'd need to use very low heat to keep the bread from burning. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!!

      Delete

  9. Made this today as I was REALLY wanting a sandwich. So yummy! I will admit, I used Honeyville Farms Almond Flour instead of the crispy almonds flour. Didn't have any crispy almonds made, and have never successfully ground them into flour. How do you do it? Have you ever tried making this with coconut oil instead of butter? I'm not doing so well with dairy right now...in fact I've avoided it completely for the past 3 weeks. But caved when I saw this recipe :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. I use a cuisinart food processor to grind my almonds. They do not get super fine like store-bought flour, more like a coarse corn meal in texture. But they still work fine in all of my recipes.

      I haven't tried this with coconut oil yet. I would think ghee would work better flavor-wise (it is supposed to be good for avoiding dairy since the milk solids are removed). Let me know if you try ghee or coconut oil, and how it turns out! I'd like to add that as an option on the recipe for those avoiding dairy.

      Delete

  10. Hey there . This bread looks awesome!! I was just wondering if it would be easy to digest with the almond flour being in it. I have been on Gaps 7 months and after intro have had a hard time digesting nuts and nut butters even when soaked . Also by the was i messaged you a while back concerning my pregnancy and a fluke from the Dr.s office about diabetes , well as it turn out i never had it the whole time and the doctor became more interested in the diet!! Also i had a healthy 8 lb 2 oz baby girl on April 2nd .

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    1. Congrats on your baby, Leah!

      This bread could be hard to digest depending on if you have a hard time with nuts. My family specifically had a hard time with almonds for at least the first year on GAPS. I think it is mostly the almond skins that caused out problems. But I know others on GAPS who had no problems with nuts at all.

      You could try it using crispy pecans or cashews instead, and that might make it easier to digest. There are lots of other recipes out there that use only coconut flour (for instance, Health Home Happy has one), but we never liked the all-coconut-flour breads enough to make them more than once.

      Delete

    2. Don't know if ur still out there but nutflours like pecan and almond are much easier on the digestive system. Please see www.pecan.com for more info. Coconut flour quite high in fibre so harder to digest. :)

      Delete

  11. So excited to try this! Thank you so much for sharing!

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  12. I made this over the weekend... YUM! I think I need to use a smaller loaf pan, I used a 9.25 x 5.25 and the loaf ended up being really really short, not so good for sandwiches. I think I am going to try again with an 8x4 pan. Anyway, thank you for the recipe, me and the munchkin have been enjoying it with butter and jelly. MMMMMMM!

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  13. Great, Laura! I used the same size pan as you, so maybe mine is fluffier or something? It is definitely smaller than store bread, but so filling that I wouldn't want it bigger. I'm glad you like it!

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  14. Made this this morning and it came out great! My first time making bread since I started GAPS and I couldn't be happier. I just threw whole crispy blanched almonds in my Vitamix with the eggs and all. I used an 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan and it made a perfect sized loaf. The bread is moist and holds up very nicely when sliced. I'm eating a piece now with coconut butter and cinnamon :) Thanks for the recipe!!

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    1. Great, Tiffany! I'm glad it turned out well for you, and thanks for letting me know!

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  15. Thanks for this great recipe. We are going to Destin, FL for the Memorial Day Weekend, and I plan to make some there as a special treat for sandwiches. I can hardly wait. Also, thanks for the special tips in your blogs.

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  16. I have a little one who's allergic to eggs. I suppose this wouldn't work with an egg substitute since it calls for so many. Any thoughts?

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    1. I've wondered the same thing. I could use egg yolks, but the whites are problematic for me. It would be so nice to have a bread recipe, but as you said, it calls for so many that I'm not sure they could be replaced.

      Delete

    2. Sorry Tara and Christine,
      I've never experimented with egg substitutes as that isn't something my family has any problems with. If you do find anything that works, please let me know so I can give that as an option! Here are some links to a few egg-free recipes that I hope will help (no breads, but maybe these will be good for you guys anyway):
      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/02/apple-raisin-snack-bars-gaps-legal.html

      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/11/coconut-and-fruit-granola-grain-free.html

      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/01/apple-snap-granola-gaps-friendly-gluten.html

      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/01/red-crackers.html

      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/07/chewy-cinnamon-almond-cookies-gluten.html

      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/01/peanut-butter-bars-gaps-friendly-grain.html

      Delete

  17. Thankyou so much for this recipe, my whole family loves it, although I did use only about 1 tsp of mild honey for a more savory bread. My nearly 3 year old son is a bit of a grain addict, always asking for toast for breakfast lunch and tea but this morning after I offered him a slice of this he asked for 2 more slices, he loves it!

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  18. I've made this bread twice now and I really love the flavor and texture-- thanks so much for this wonderful recipe! The only problem--and not really a problem, I guess--is that it takes 90 minutes to bake. Is 300 degrees really the correct temperature? I know it's not my oven or baking pan because I don't have any problem with any other recipes I use.

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    1. Yeah, sorry, but 300 is the right temperature. Coconut flour and almond flour both tend to burn easily, so if you raise the temp, then the top burns before the middle is done.

      Delete

  19. I look forward to trying this! I have been makiing a grain-free sandwhich bread for a while that is slightly similar to this one. So delicous!

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  20. I love this site and all the wonderful recipes. I'm just starting the process to make crispy almonds and was wondering if it would work for walnuts too. Love all nuts but have trouble with digesting most of them...this could be the answer! Thanks
    Beverly

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    Replies

    1. Hi Beverly,
      I think that there is more of an issue with rancidity when walnuts are cooked because of their high omega 3 content. But I bet pecans or cashews would work in place of the almonds.

      Delete

  21. Thanks Sarah. I'm soaking the almonds for crispy almonds to eat and for flour. I'm hoping this will do the trick, but want to try pecans and cashews too. Almonds and cashews are my favorite to eat, so if this works I'll be one happy camper!! I just like to use walnuts for some of my baking. I love this website and am so excited to find it. I was so tired of using so much rice flour. Do you use any of the starches...tapioca or arrowroot in your baking?

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    1. I don't use tapioca or arrowroot so far, but may at some point. I've been starting to experiment a bit with rice flour and potato flour as I'm transitioning off the GAPS diet.

      Delete

  22. Another question....When you eat them as a snack,do you add the oil and salt after the nuts have finished in the dehydrator? Also how do you know when they're finished?

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    1. Crispy nuts are GREAT with a bit of oil and salt on them! Sometimes I get around to adding those, and sometimes just eat them plain. I actually don't eat many nuts by themselves unless my supplies of homemade snacks are running low. But my husband and daughter do like eating nuts fairly frequently.

      To check for doneness, pull a couple nuts from the dehydrator and let them cool to room temp. They are done when they are completely dry and crisp. Almonds seem to take quite awhile, usually 20-24 hours for me.

      Delete

  23. I've made this recipe just once and loved it - thanks so much! One things I've wondered is - should I measure the coconut flour before or after sifting it? I think it must make a big difference since it seems that amount increases after it's sifted.

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    1. Measure befor you sift, for sure! I'm glad you like the recipe.

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  24. Can I just throw all ingredients into a bread maker?

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    1. I've never used a bread maker. But I highly doubt this would work in a bread maker, since there is no kneading necessary.

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  25. I've made this several times, and my little gaps guy always likes it. I am wondering what the purpose is of the ACV? I've seen it called for in other baked good recipes, thought it was a raising agent, but baking soda is also used . . . ?

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    1. Hi Laurie,
      I'm glad your little guy likes it!

      I added the ACV to this recipe for flavor. It gives the bread a little more depth to the flavor, rather than tasting like almonds and coconut.

      Delete
  26. Replies

    1. Large-ish. I buy from a friend that has chickens, and they seem to average out to around a large egg.

      Delete

  27. Hi there,
    Is it fine if i put ground almond (almond meal) instead of crunchy almond flour?

    Thanks...
    Lisa

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    Replies

    1. Hi Lisa,
      I've never tried almond meal, but I bet it would work just fine. Let me know how it turns out!

      Delete

  28. I'm so glad to get to visit this site. Thank you for sharing this interesting and informative post. I'll be looking forward for your other posts as well. Keep it up! Nice post! These gluten free breads are baked using no preservatives, chemical additives, milk nor eggs. They are GMO Free and Kosher Certified.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Devona Bell SherwoodSeptember 5, 2012 at 12:17 PM

    Hi, do you think that this recipe would work w/o the coconut flour and with only almond flour? I'm not a fan of shredded coconut (love the milk and oil though).
    Thanks for your great posts!!
    Devona

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    Replies

    1. Hi Devona,
      Unfortunately you can't sub almond flour for the coconut flour, as they behave very differently in baked goods. But, you might like recipes from Elana's Panrty, that use almond flour. Here is one of hers:
      http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-bread/

      Delete

  30. Sarah I've been making this bread for some time now and wanted to let you know that this is the best GAPS bread I have tried, and I did try a lot of them!
    I use almond meal though, I find the texture better.

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    1. That's great! Thanks for letting me know, Evi!

      Delete

  31. Sarah, THANK YOU for this bread! We recently transitioned to the full GAPS diet after having been gluten-free for a year and a half...I suppose that made the transition a little easier, but it was hard on my little guy to have to give up bread. He absolutely LOVED this bread and has asked for "bread and butter" for breakfast every day since I made it! Hubby and I both loved the taste and texture too. Thanks again.

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  32. I'm not sure if you could advise but im on gaps diet but also have fructose malabsorption. Do you have any ideas to substitute apple cider vinegar? :-) i miss bread! Thank you so much and have a great day. Bambi :-)

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    1. Hi Bambi,
      I just include the apple cider vinegar to help balance the flavors in the recipe a bit. You could just omit it if it is problematic for you.

      Delete

  33. Sarah my bread came out very nice but with one problem. The lower 1/4 of the bread had a blue/green color. Do you know what happened to do that? Other then that my daughter and i enjoyed the bread very much! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Hi Carol,
      Wow, this is definitely the most interesting problem I've ever heard of in baking! I've never seen anything like that in my bread, but I'm wondering if it is possible there was some action between the batter and the pan...did you happen to cook it in an aluminum/other metal pan? If so, I'm guessing that is why. You could avoid that in the future by lining the pan with parchment paper to keep the batter from touching the side of the pan. Or try omitting the apple cider vinegar, which is probably what is reacting with the pan.
      I hope this helps!

      Delete

    2. Thanks for the quick reply! Haha...I know its weird right!

      I made it in a Kitchen Aide stainless mixer. I baked it in a pyrex glass 9 x 5 bread dish.

      I will try leaving out the ACV if this one thats baking now comes out like the first one.

      Delete

    3. So sad...it did it again. I will leave out the ACV for the next one and see how that goes.

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    4. How utterly strange! Let me know how it works out without the ACV...

      Delete

  34. Thank you for the recipe! I just made it and it looks so beautiful I had to post it on my FB page https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151124895388543&set=a.10150634507558543.382615.527798542&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

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  35. Instead of apple cider vinegar, I used Coconut vinegar.

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  36. I forgot to mention that I used ghee in place of butter. Eating a slice with ghee on it as I sit hear typing this. It is so delicious I just can't get over it! Thank you again for this wonderfulness!

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  37. Hi, would this bread recipe work with ordinary almond meal if I don't use the cripsy almond flour?

    ReplyDelete

  38. The recipe looks great! But do you think I could use coconut oil instead of butter here? If so, how much?

    Natalie.

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    Replies

    1. Hi Natalie,
      I haven't tried it, but I bet you could use coconut oil in place of the butter with no problems. I'd use refined coconut oil instead of unrefined, otherwise the bread will probably taste too coconut-y.

      Delete

  39. MUST a person use all those eggs? Is there Anything else to substitute for most of them? Scd diet and egg allergy desperate person!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Sorry, but yes the eggs are essential to hold everything together. I know some others have tried substituting chia seeds and gel in some of my baked goods with poor results. Sorry. Some egg-free recipes you may like:
      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/02/apple-raisin-snack-bars-gaps-legal.html

      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/11/coconut-and-fruit-granola-grain-free.html

      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/01/apple-snap-granola-gaps-friendly-gluten.html

      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/01/red-crackers.html

      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/07/chewy-cinnamon-almond-cookies-gluten.html

      http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/01/peanut-butter-bars-gaps-friendly-grain.html

      Delete

  40. It definitely looks real! Have to try this recipe!

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  41. I used coconut oil instead of butter, no dairy for this nursing mama, and it is wonderful!!! Thank you for your awesome blog:-)

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    Replies

    1. Yay, I'm glad it worked for you! Did you use unrefined or refined coconut oil, just so I can list that as a substitution?

      Delete

  42. Good day !

    Any one knows how to make bread with meat in it ?

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  43. This recipe looks great for our grain-free household. I am confused about this and several other recipes I have seen on different sites all containing baking soda being listed as GAPS-friendly when baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) is not allowed on GAPS. Is the baking soda optional?

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    1. Hi Suzanne,
      Sorry for the confusion. I, too ,used to think bicarbonate of soda was not GAPS-legal. But, in the 10th edition of the GAPS book, it IS listed as legal! On page 164 of my GAPS book, under foods to avoid, it says "baking powder and raising agents of all kinds APART FROM bicarbonate of soda".

      Delete

    2. I have a much older edition, so that explains it! Wow, that really opens up a TON of new baking options! Thanks!

      Delete

  44. hi my bread didn't rise very much, it's only about 2 inches high. Also the batter that went into the pan was quite thick, i.e. I couldn't 'pour' it in. Where did I go wrong?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. It sounds like perhaps there was too much coconut flour used. My way of measuring may be different from yours...

      Delete

  45. I made this and like it, but was hoping for more of a bread to make pb & J or with turkey..it tasted like corn bread. I used almond meal/flour and sifted the coconut flour..what did I do wrong?

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    Replies

    1. It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong with the recipe. I'm thinking tis is just a difference in your taste buds versus mine. I liked the flavor of the bread with PB&J and turkey, but maybe they don't pair so well for you... I may also be because, when I developed this recipe, we hadn't had any grains at all in over a year, and that seemed to have quite an affect on our taste buds.

      Delete

  46. I just made this using half unrefined coconut oil and half ghee. Also, I put it in my blender, since I do not have an immersion blender. Easy and wonderful. My kids are so thrilled! Thank you very much for sharing this recipe.

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  47. Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe!!! I've gone gluten free last year and just recently grain free. (I have fibromyalgia and this helps) This bread fills my breakfast need/want for bread! It turned out exactly like it shows in your pictures :) I make homemade almond butter and that is my new breakfast. Oh and I can't believe how long I stay full with one slice! I'm making more tonight!!
    Colleen

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  48. Hello, I baked this recipe today. I followed the amount and steps, and yet what I got is a very greasy bread that crumbles apart... Why?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. I'm not sure why, as I've never had that problems with this recipe. Crumbling apart sounds like not enough eggs were used, but greasy like maybe more flour was needed. Or is it possible that the nut flour was overly coarse?

      Delete

  49. I have tried them ALL this is great and will become my go to, so easy and so good I cannot stop eating it Thank You

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  50. Just wanted to give a big THANK YOU for such a great blog! I am on GAPS and am slowly replacing all of my products to natural ones. Your blog is so informative, organized and well-written. I appreciate all of your hard work for us (the readers).

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  51. That was DELICIOUS! We've been paleo for over 2 years and never found a great bread replacement, until now. Burgers WITH BUNS for dinner tonight; super happy!! We're out of the habit of eating a lot of bread, but it's wonderful to have something to spread egg salad or guacamole on, at long last! Thank you SO much.

    ReplyDelete

  52. Can't wait to try this one! One question...I'm supposed to be eating low carb due to pancreatic issues, does anyone have an idea of what the carb count might be?

    Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

  53. This bread is moist, delicious and sooo filling! I used a non-stick steel loaf pan from Sur la Table, so no oiling of the pan was needed. The bread baked evenly in 50 minutes and slid right out when I tipped the pan over. I highly recommend using a metal pan instead of glass to keep the outside of the loaf from overcooking while the inside finishes up.

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  54. How many carbs and calories per slice?

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    1. Sorry, I don't count calories so I don't know these numbers.

      Delete

  55. Baking Soda isn't paleo. Does your recipe work without it?

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    Replies

    1. Without baking soda it will be more dense and will not rise as well. You could try to make up for that by using an immersion blender and blending it extra to get some air into the batter. I've never tried that with this recipe, but it has worked with others.

      Delete

    2. You could also try whipping up the egg whites separately, then mixing them in gently. That would give you the 'lift' without the soda.
      Magda

      Delete

  56. Thanks for this great recipe! I subbed coconut oil for the butter and it worked just great. I don't buy refined coconut oil, so mine was unrefined and it tastes fine.

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  57. Yum! This is delicious! I made this exactly as written but halved the recipe to test it and made one mini loaf and two muffins (For the smaller loaves 325 F was fine). I ate the muffins hot out of the oven and they taste like buttery cornbread mmmmmmm. I just got over a stomach bug and am SCD and needed something plain for my first meal and boy, did this hit the spot.
    I had to sit on my hands to keep myself from eating the other loaf so I could see how it is cooled, and the texture is very firm which is a must for slicing and sandwich-making. I wouldn't say it's anything like traditional bread - it's spongy and sort of cake-y, but it's by far the best loaf I've tried. Thanks so much for a fantastic recipe! Liz

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  58. An amendment: Now I've tried toasting a slice, and that gives it at much more "bread-like" texture, and it's so nice to have something crunchy to spread things on. Thanks again for the recipe! Liz

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    1. Great, Liz! I'm glad you are enjoying it!

      Delete

  59. I just put my batter in the oven and I'm holding my breath, thanking you for the recipe. My batter was quite thin, more like maybe a cake batter than a bread. Is this normal? We just went wheat free a month ago, and the first month we simply cut out anything other than fresh fruit, veggies and meat. I am really needing to expand into baking to make this more livable :)

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    1. Yes, the batter is thin. But if it seems too thin, you could add a touch more coconut flour next time. I hope you like it!

      Delete

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