With a lovely 'wholemeal' flavour, this grain free Paleo Bread is great for toasting. Make it, slice it, freeze it - it's perfect for weekend breakfasts. Serve it with boiled eggs and homemade mayonnaise. Slather it with butter and honey. Top it with thinly sliced, perfectly ripe avocado and a squeeze of lemon juice. Or finely chop sun dried tomatoes, and let the oil soak in.
Paleo Bread, Great for Toasting
Looking for the recipe? Scroll all the way down! This recipe for Paleo Bread is a revised and improved version of Paleo Bread with Cassava Flour and Flaxseeds. It's much better than before. The wholesome flavour is still there, but this recipe is easier. The ingredients have been tweaked and the instructions refined. This bread rises beautifully, it's very stable, and it's just right for toasting. Do what I do: bake a loaf, slice it, wrap it, and freeze it. Then just pull out a couple of slices when the moment is right.
For some people - myself included - the 'old' recipe worked fine. But for others, nothing was happening. So I got experimenting and researching, and I seem to have come up with a combination of flour, fat, liquids and eggs that results in as good a Paleo Bread as you're ever going to get.
Baking is a Science
Baking is a science, and it's all about ratio's. The ratio's are always measured by weight, not by mass. So, when you see ingredients listed as 'cups', it's just for convenience so you don't have to get out the scales. "1 1/2 cups of flour", for example, really means "150 grams". The standard weight - or 'part' - will then be duplicated or divided, depending on the desired outcome. Different quantities of flour, fat, liquid, egg, and sometimes sugar, will result in crepes or biscuits, pound cake or muffins. The tricky part is that the portion of liquid includes the egg. You need to weigh the eggs, and then add enough water to complete the weight.
Pastry chefs know that a pie dough requires 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat and 1 part liquid, and that a cookie is perfect with a ratio of 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat and 1 part egg. For this Paleo Bread, given that we don't have the elasticity of gluten or the rising qualities of yeast, I've followed the ratio for a quick bread or muffin: 2 parts flour, 2 parts liquid, 1 part egg, and 1 part fat. The '2 parts flour' is a mix of cassava flour, ground linseeds and coconut flour. Whilst experimenting, I discovered:
1 1/2 cups cassava flour + 1/2 cup linseeds (ground to make one cup) + 1/2 cup coconut flour = a light bread with puffy air holes, but which retains a little moisture in the centre.
2 cups cassava flour + 1/2 cup linseeds (ground to make one cup) + 1/2 cup coconut flour = a heavier bread with fewer air holes, but which is drier in the centre.
In both cases - 1 1/2 cups or 2 - you'll have a great bread for slicing and toasting.
Aside from adjusting the quantities of the ingredients, I've simplified the rising agents - no more baking soda and vinegar. Instead, I've just increased the baking powder. Because most baking powders on the market contain cornstarch or other undesirables, I make my own baking powder. Here's how it's done:
How to Make Paleo Baking Powder
Paleo Baking Powder- 2 parts baking soda
- 1 part cream of tartar
- 1 part tapioca starch
A Little Advice
I do think it's important to start the recipe by creaming the ground linseeds and the hard butter or coconut oil. Again, because there's no gluten or yeast here, we need to get as much air into the loaf as possible. The creaming helps with that process.And a Funny Thing
The funny thing is that we hardly ever have the desire for bread any more. It's simply not a daily temptation. What we actually love are the boat-like leaves of witloaf, which are brilliant for filling with a dob of homemade mayonnaise, a quartered boiled egg, a sliver of sundried tomato, or a ribbon of smoked salmon. On the weekends, especially in spring and summer, we'll start our breakfast with eggs and witlof. The hot, toasted slices of Paleo Bread slathered with butter and honey is really just Breakfast Dessert.On the Side
Three Seed Paleo Bread - Try this if you're looking for a deep, hearty flavour reminiscent of a sour dough. Fruit and Nut Bread - This is wonderful! Again, great for toasting, especially in the cooler months. Bookmark this. Banana Bread - An AIP baked treat - don't miss out on the pleasure just because you're doing the Elimination Phase.Hope this recipe hits the spot for you - scroll down and rate it if you love it! Before dashing off, don't forget to sign up for the News and download your Free Printables at the same time. And remember, as a reader of Paleomantic, you receive a 10% discount at Primal Kitchen and Primal Blueprint - just use the code PALEOMANTIC when you're asked for it at Checkout. Big thanks for spreading the Paleo message through all your Shares on Social and for your Pins - when you're snuffling around Pinterest, check out my boards 'On the Blog' and 'Paleomantic Recipes' where you'll find the fun graphics. And thanks so much for choosing to shop through the Affiliate Links here. Affiliate Links are such a cool way to support your favourite bloggers - you never pay more, and the small commissions help keep our blogs sustainable, and keeps the information freely circulating for all. Best Wishes, Good Health and Happiness.
The New Paleo Bread with Cassava Flour and Linseeds
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
With a lovely 'wholemeal' flavour, this grain free Paleo Bread rises beautifully and is great for toasting. Make it, slice it, freeze it - and then pull out a couple of slices for weekend breakfasts. 1½ cups of cassava flour will give you a light, moist loaf. 2 cups will result in a bread which is more dense and dry.
Paleomantic: Angie Brazzale
Recipe type: Breakfast, Baked Goods
This fits: Paleo
Serves: 20
Ingredients
- 1½ - 2 cups cassava flour
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons Homemade Baking Powder (see blog post)
- ½ cup linseeds (flax seeds)
- 150 grams clarified butter or hard coconut oil
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly grease a 25cm x 10cm (10inch x 4 inch) loaf pan and line the base with parchment paper.
- Sift together the cassava flour, coconut flour and baking powder.
- Whiz the linseeds in a spice grinder until they resemble a flour. Place in the food processor with the butter or hard coconut oil and process until creamed.
- With the motor on slow, add the flour in lots with the egg and water.
- Scrape the batter into the loaf pan. Smooth with a spatula dipped in water, and make a few light scores on the surface so that the loaf will split evenly as it rises.
- Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool for ½ an hour before turning out.
Hi. I just read your blog on Primal Health Coaching. Very encouraging thank you. I linked to the bread and wanted to know a substitute on the cassava flour due to the high carbs. Please and thanks.
Hi Tim, Thnak you, I’m so glad you found the post on Primal Health Coaching useful. With regards the recipe, I’m afraid there’s no substitute here for the Cassava Flour. We’re low carb, not no-carb. I make the bread, slice it and freeze it, and then we just pull out a couple of slices when we feel like it. Which isn’t very often – it might happen on the weekend. The rest of our Paleo Diet is so low-carb-high-fat that these couple of slices is really not going to tip us over the edge. It depends where you’re at and what your goals are. If you’re seeking to maintain your ideal body weight, I’d say just incorporate those carbs every now and again without feeling guilty or worrying about it. If you feel like it might set off cravings and carb dependency, it might be a good idea to re-focus with a Paleo Reset. Best in Health and Happiness! A
Hey Angie! I have been on the internet looking for a celiac safe/dairy free (therefore paleo works) sandwich bread to make. I am trying to avoid any processed vegetable oils and most added sugar and it’s in most store bought gluten free breads I find…and I thought avoiding gluten was hard! Anyways, I’m looking to make this recipe but with the lack of reviews was wondering if it holds up well to grilling/manhandling. Paleo bread tends to me kind of soft and eggy and I’m hoping to find something different. Thanks!
Hi Cori, Good question! I think one of the big parts of what we could call the Initiation Period of Paleo is letting go of the idea of Bread as You Used to Know It. Gluten is, well, like Glue. It’s what gives dough it’s elasticity and thus allows bakers to knead it and pizza makers to whirl it around. A gluten free Paleo bread made without emulsifiers and – yes- all those other substances that you’ll find in the ‘gluten free’ section of the supermarket – is never going to have that same quality. So, no, this bread won’t take a lot of manhandling, I’m afraid. It can be sliced and toasted, but needs to be treated with a little kindness. The ratio of ingredients used is basically the same as that for a muffin. So it rises well, and is kind of light… but not robust. And it’s definitely not eggy! Give it a try – it’ll certainly add variety to your weekly menu. And maybe try my 3-Seed Paleo Bread for something with a more pronounced taste and texture. The only other thing I’d add is to make sure you find Cassava Flour – not starch. Cassava Flour looks just like flour, and you can buy it quite cheaply from any Asia/Africa supermarket. Good luck with the recipe, and let me know how you go! Best, Angie
Aweosme thanks for the quick reply. I’m with you on the gluten free things, I totally get the texture of paleo and gluten free breads. Some GF breads are much better than others, texture wise, but that stupid vegetable oil ruins everything…As long as I can toast a sandwich without it disintegrating I’ll be happy. I just have a hard time with lettuce wraps 🙂 And I have a 4# bag of Anthony’s Cassava flour which I use often. Love cassava flour, made some pumpkin gnocchi with it last night! Defnitely not WW flour but does the job. I’ll give this a try today or tomrorow and report back! Thanks so much