Looking around the internet, there are several variations of Paleo Bread; a loaf of bread built primarily around nuts, aerated eggs and leavened by a chemical reaction occurring between sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and acid (apple cider vinegar). Because I always like to give credit if the inspiration comes from another source, I like to credit someone. In this case, I’ll give credit to Danielle Walker of Against All Grain fame! Her specific paleo bread recipe served as the basis for this one, even as this is a fairly common ratio for Paleo Bread.
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Healthy grain-free gluten-free low-carb alternative to wheat bread. Give this paleo bread recipe a try! You won't be disappointed.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. (5g) Coconut Oil
- 1 c. (256g) Smooth Almond Butter
- 4 Large (200g) Eggs, Separated
- 2 1/2 tsp. (12g) Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/4 c. (60g) Almond Milk, Unsweetened
- 1/4 c. (28g) Coconut Flour
- 1 tsp. (4g) Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp. (2g) Celtic Sea Salt
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 300 F (149 C).
- Grease an 8.5” x 4.5” (21 x 11) loaf pan with the coconut oil.
- In an electric mixer, whip the egg whites with the vinegar. Whip until peaks form. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, beat the almond butter, egg yolks and almond milk until lighter in color and nicely aerated. Will look like a beige pancake batter.
- Add coconut flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until lumps are gone.
- With a large plastic spatula, remove approximately 1/4 of the egg white mixture and add to the almond mixture. Fold the mixture in, until most of the lumps are gone. Be careful and thorough to scrape the bottoms and evenly fold the mixture.
- Take a second 1/4 of the egg white mixture and add to the almond mixture. Again, fold the mixture until the lumps are gone.
- Repeat this process 2 more times, until the egg white mixture has been evenly folded into the almond butter mixture.
- Gently pour the batter into the loaf pan. Give the pan a small jiggle to smooth the top. Place the pan in the oven.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Like a soufflé, this is somewhat sensitive, so be careful not to bang around or open the oven door and create a big change in temperature within the oven.
- Do not open the door for at least the first 35 to 40 minutes.
- Once the top is nice and golden and a toothpick comes out clean, remove from the oven and place on a rack.
- After about 20 minutes, turn the pan over and carefully remove the loaf from the pan.
- Allow to cool, fully, before slicing.
- Enjoy!
Notes
This recipe works best when working with room temperature eggs and almond butter. While being easier to work with, more air will also be trapped by the mixture during the beating and folding processes.
This recipe has been tested with the listed ingredients. Please consider, if a substitution is recommended, it will be included as a note in the recipe.
Nutrition Information: 16 slices - per slice - 126 calories 10 g fat, 4 g carb, 3 g fiber, 5 g protein
The following recipe has been altered from its original source to decrease the number of impact carbs, while still staying within Paleo guidelines.
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I notice that I was instructed to whip the egg whites with the vinegar and then it is supposed to be mixed with the almond butter mixture. Am I to divide the vinegar – some in each step? Or which step to I put the vinegar in the recipe? As soon as I know that – I am making this recipe.
Hi Laura, the vinegar will help stabilize the whites and actually allow more air to be contained within them. It boosts volume. However, if you’re uncomfortable with that, feel free to add the vinegar separately. It won’t make a HUGE difference, but … a little nudge here and a little nudge there will help create a slightly lighter and larger loaf. I hope this helps!
OK – that makes sense about the vinegar in the egg whites.
But your recipe also says to put vinegar in the almond butter mixture. Am I to add the vinegar only to the egg whites (all 2.5 teaspoons)?
Maybe I am being dense but I need additional clarificationl
Laura, I’m so sorry! I write so many of these and I read them and re-read them, but after a while, it gets hard to spot even the most simple thing. That second mention is a complete and total typo. It doesn’t belong there. I’ve just emailed Vanessa to ask her to remove it. I’m so sorry for the confusion! * RED FACE *
Can I make this with peanut butter, I don’t like the taste of almond butter
Nancy, I’m not 100% certain, but I strongly suspect that it would work. The recipe originated with cashew butter. Almond butter works. I’d suggest a natural, no-sugar added peanut butter. Something like a sunbutter would likely work as well. If you do try it, please report back. I’m curious!
If you use sunbutter the bread will turn green. There is a harmless chemical reaction between the baking soda and the chlorophyll in the sunflower seeds.
I am thinking of making it with tahini though, that should be interesting.
regards,
Theresa
Theresa, please report back! I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t work, but would still love to hear about the taste from the tahini. As a bread, I suspect it would be divine! Really a fantastic idea!
I made the bread today using tahini instead of almond butter. I also used coconut milk instead of almond milk, I forgot to put almonds to soak last night and didn’t want to wait until tomorrow.
The batter came out too thick, so I added water until it looked like pancake batter.
The taste was excellent, a whole wheat sort of taste, the crumb was good too. I misread the recipe and turned the loaf out immediately instead of waiting 20 minutes so it fell.
I made open face sandwiches with lechon ( Cuban style roast pork), homemade mayo, and topped them with mojo de ajo (onions and garlic marinated in sour orange then cooked in olive oil). Not quite a media noche but close enough.
Thanks again for a great recipe.
regards,
Theresa
Theresa, that sounds fantastic! Regarding the “resting” period, that’s a big deal for me and is something I do in LOTS of my recipes. There’s something called “carry over cooking” which suggests that even when something is removed from the oven, the outer layers are still hotter than the inner layers, which has the effect of continued cooking of the middle of “whatever it is”. In terms of breads, this can really help prevent falling. In something like a cheesecake, this can prevent cracking. In something like a meat roast, this can help the roast get a more consistent temperature throughout, while also letting the muscle rest and the fats and juices to be reabsorbed back into the muscle, as opposed to leaking out when a roast is sliced too pre-maturely. A proper resting period is an important part of MANY recipes. In any event, it sounds like you’ve got something that will work for you. Thank you for checking back and sharing with us. I’d LOVE a bit of your sandwich! 🙂
Will this still work with cashew butter? Almond sensitivity 🙁
Gina, I don’t see why not! The method is a bit different, but … short of the missing honey, the ingredient ratio is the same. Give it a shot!
Since this doesn’t have honey or any sweetener do you know if it’s 21DSD compliant?
I am not 100% certain whether it does or not.
Is there a mistake in the almond milk quantity?? I put 1 cup of almond butter, 4 egg yolks, and 1/4 cup of almond milk…. and when I mixed it, it made a thick brown texture……. it most definitely not look like a pancake batter :S
Hi Rebecca. No, it’s definitely not a mistake. That amount is correct. However, I’ve seen some almond butters which are almost like liquid in the jar and others that are almost like a “hard pack”. The key to this recipe is added air. If your mixture is TOO thick to fold into the whites, then I feel comfortable saying you can add a small amount of almond milk, until the mixture is loose enough to fold into the whites. From there, the whites will continue adding moisture and will continue thinning the mixture out. I hope this helps!
I had the same problem and had to add quite a bit more almond milk to the mixture. About a cup total, I believe. 🙂
I’m going to try out this recipe today but I have to work with what I’ve got. So, you think it would make a difference if I used 1. Almond Coconut butter, 2. Almond flour, 3. Unsweetened Coconut Milk. I have everything else. Thanks!!
Anya, that … miiiiiiiight work, but you’re taking a bit of a risk going into it. I really feel that the swap from coconut to almond flour is where this exchange of ingredients most quickly breaks down. You’re also increasing the fat quantity, which is fine from a health perspective, but it throws the ratios a bit out of whack and it may simply not work. I suspect it won’t work, but that with the coconut flour it’ll probably yield something close and is far less of a risk, but …. still a bit on the risky side. Should you choose to venture down any of these roads, please report back. I’m curious!
Could this recipe be made in a bread maker also?
Hi Ashley, most bread makers are designed to essentially dump the ingredients into them and then the machine mixes, proofs the dough and then bakes it. In this case, there’s a very specific mixing method, which a bread maker would be incapable of. If you wanted to actually bake the batter in a bread machine, I assume you could do that, but if you’ve already got the batter … might as well just finish it in the oven!
Does it have to be roasted almond butter or can I use raw almond butter? Thanks!
Kathy, that’s an excellent question. I wish I had an excellent answer for you! I just looked to see what I used and I used a smooth roasted almond butter. It had never even occurred to me to think about raw vs. roasted. Ultimately, the primary difference would be water content, which would still be minimal. Beyond that, it’s just very finely ground nut powder, floating in pseudo emulsified water and nut fat. I feel very confident that it would work, but might suggest holding back on the almond milk. If the mixture is a nice consistency without adding the almond milk, then … leave it out. Add almond milk until it’s the right texture. THEN, fold it, in stages, into the whites. I hope this helps!
:S
My almond butter mixture also made a VERY thick texture so i added more milk…….. a lot actually……
I ended up with a batter somewhere between cake and pancake batter….. but when mixed with the eggwhites it seemed so runny……
Cant wait to se the result – its in the oven now….
Jette, keep us posted! I’m a little concerned that your end result was too runny. It really shouldn’t be “runny” when folding into the egg whites. Let us know how it turns out!
I made this yesterday and it was the best recipe of any low carb bread that I have ever made. I did use heavy cream because I was out of almond milk. I also used my own eggs and after reading the recipe again, I don’t think they would be considered large, so I may add an extra egg white next time because it was only 2.5 inches high. Thank you!
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing, Misty! 😀 One thought … fat is a bit of the enemy when it comes to volume, with egg whites. I’m a big fan of fat and the almond butter has loads of it, but … the addition of cream may have been enough “extra” fat to deflate the whites a bit more than they would’ve otherwise been with the almond milk. I have zero idea if this actually played a role in the “height challenged” loaf, but … it’s the first thought I had when I read your response. Ultimately, though, you sound quite happy with the results, which can only be described as a great thing! Thanks, again!
I just make this using chunky almond butter. It worked, but didn’t rise as much as in DJ’s photos, I suspect because the mixture had to lift the chunks of almond. My batter also was nowhere like pancake batter after mixing the almond butter, egg yolks, and almond milk, so I added an extra tablespoon or so of almond milk. After I started folding in the egg whites, though, it did loosen up (by about the third addition of egg whites), and was fine in the end. This tastes great, by the way. I think I might experiment with other butters, too.
I doubled it and used 1% milk instead of almond milk and used xlarge eggs instead of large and , this is my 2nd time and the bread rose a lot higher. I also fold in all the eggwhites at one time to prevent overmixing.
Hint:: if you cut the loaf in half then cut lengthwise you will get nice perfectly squared bread that toasts well
I’m hopefully trying this recipe this week!
Does help with the stability of the bread if you let it sit in the pan before you put it in the oven? I have some experience in making macarons, which are also made of mostly egg whites (and almond flour) and those are helped greatly by letting them sit for 10-15 minutes before you put them in the oven or until they don’t stick to your fingers when you touch them.
I wonder if this would also help the bread? or would it just make it not rise like it should?
Hi Madeline, I can’t imagine that helping. Macaroons are very different animals. In this case, I can’t imagine it doing much more than potentially losing some of the air trapped in the batter. I think it would be better to get it in the oven as soon as possible. I haven’t tried it, but … I tend to think that would be the better bet. Good luck! It’s a tasty loaf! 😀
Hi! I didn’t end up doing that but the bread was fantastic. Ate it all up and I’m making another loaf this week. Thanks for the recipe!
How would you recommend storing this? Fridge? Freezer? Container on the counter?
Hi FriggFerguson, I’d store it in the fridge. I think it’s got too many volatile oils in it to last long on the counter. This is a good thing, but also makes it more likely to have a shorter shelf life. I’d suggest the fridge and … the freezer if you’re not going to get to it in a few days. I hope this helps! 🙂
I tried out your recipe tonight! I am a bit concerned; as many comments above, mine did not turn out like pancake batter. It was thick and brown (I did use tahini, but I saw above others have had success with that as well). I added in water, but at the very end so maybe I chemically threw something off! It’s in the oven now and so far hasn’t risen at all 🙁 Fingers crossed it turns out decent- thanks for the recipe!
I’m sorry about your troubles, Cami. I know you can add a bit of almond milk or water to thin it out, if the almond butter happens to be a particularly thick one. In any event, how did it turn out? A lot of this has to do with the initial whipping and folding of the egg whites. While the baking soda will help create “lift’, the bulk of the leavening is going to come from air already whipped into the eggs. My fear is that the whole batter fell, because of an attempt to get the texture right. I’d be curious to hear more on this, even if it fell flat, just so that we can all learn a bit more about your experience. I know I’ve always had good luck with it, as well as others. I do think some nut butters are different than others, but I have yet to determine a good method for pointing out the differences to people. Maybe you have some insight? Again … sorry about your troubles! :/
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