Sometimes you just want bread. Freshly sliced and topped with fork-mashed avocado, a sprinkle of lemon juice and freshly ground rock salt. Lightly toasted, then lathered with mayonaise, a sliver of smoked salmon and a fennel frond. Rubbed with fresh garlic, smeared with tomato paste, dressed with ribbons of proscuitto crudo and grilled to Bruschetta perfection. Warm bread trickled with honey and sprinkled with crushed walnuts. I could go on, but you know what I’m talking about. Sometimes you just want a loaf of grain free, nut free Paleo bread to put stuff on. Nothing fruity. No vegetables hidden inside. No exotic flavours or interesting textures or difficult ingredients. Just a decent loaf of bread. Like this one.
Paleo Bread with Cassava Flour and Linseeds – Grain Free, Nut Free
One of the problems with grain-free baking, as I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, is that the quantities can leave you disappointed. Grain-free alternatives to wheat flour are expensive, and they don’t have the amazing gluten-inspired rise factor. I feel a little let down when I click through a gorgeous image that I’ve found on Pintrest, only to find that the cashew-cream cheesecake or the sandwich loaf has been made in a tiny tin. It’s like when Gino’s is closed and we try our luck at a different Osteria, where the grilled ribs are as tasty but the servings less generous. We want to eat. We like feeling full.
I got around the problem in the wonderful Apple Cake recipe by adding a handful of dried mulberries, which sort of dissolve into the rest of what’s going on. But for this bread, I just wanted something plain. And I didn’t want to bulk up with ground almonds – in the interest of keeping my immune system tamed, I ration my use of nuts and seeds. While my biscuit tin is full of All Day Biscotti, for example, I won’t use ground almonds for other recipes. But linseeds – also known as flax seeds – I don’t use so often, and they’re wonderful because they double in quantity when they’re ground. I’ve also read – but I have no idea where – that if you want to receive the nutritional benefits of linseeds – such as the Omega 3 – you must grind them first, otherwise they’ll just pass right through, intact.
In this recipe, the Linseeds add lovely texture to the bread. It’s like a light wholemeal. And the quantity is okay. It’s not a high, fluffy sandwich bread, but nor is it a pumped-up flat bread. It’s good. It has flavour, consistency, it slices beautifully and toasts to a golden crispyness. We like it.
In the baking mood? You might also like this recipe for Apple Chutney. And this one for my famous All Day Biscotti.
This recipe has been shared on Allergy Free Thursday, and was a featured recipe here.
Are you able to live without bread and baked goods? Not for the 30 days of a Whole 30 – but long term? I find it’s a pleasure too good to give away completely – definitely part of that complex interplay between food and emotions. How is it for you? Let me know in the comments, and if you happen to make this recipe, be sure to give it a rating, take a snap and tag me on Instagram @paleomantic.
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- 2 cups Cassava Flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- ½ cup linseeds (flax seeds)
- 100 grams butter or coconut butter
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup (60 mls) water
- Preheat oven 180°C / 350°F, and grease a 25cm x 10 cm (10inch x 4 inch) loaf pan with a little of the butter or coconut oil.
- In a bowl, lightly combine the cassava flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Using a coffee bean or spice grinder, whiz the linseeds until they resemble a course flour. Cut the butter or coconut oil into small pieces.
- Place the ground linseeds and the butter into a food processor fitted with the 'S' blade and process on low speed until they are well creamed.
- Add half of the flour with half of the beaten egg and continue processing on low speed.
- Add the other half of the flour and egg, followed by the honey, vinegar and water. Process until well combined, stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then process lightly again. The result will be a sticky batter, as opposed to a dough.
- Spoon the batter into the loaf pan, spreading it out evenly and smoothing the top with a rubber spatula.
- Bake for 40 minutes. The bread is cooked when golden and crusty on the top, and when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Wait 10 minutes before turning out.
- Enjoy!
Ciao Angie,
Che cosa è cassava farina ?
I like your blog. You always have interesting articles. And nice recipes.
Have a nice day
Hi, Sthar, thanks for dropping by. Farina di Cassava è una farina dal tubero, Cassava. Chiamata anche ‘Tapioca’, o ‘Manioca’. Si trova nei supermercati Asia/Africa qui in Italia, e anche nei negozi biologico. L’unica cosa importante è d’essere sicura che stai prendendo ‘Farina’ di Cassava/Tapioca/Manioca, e non la Amido. L’Amido è molto bianco, come un amido di potato. Invece la farina e come…. farina! Best, A
English: Cassava Flour is flour made from the tuber, Cassava. It’s also known as Tapioca or Manioca. Here in Italy you can find it in the Asia / Africa supermarkets, and also in Organic stores. The important thing is to make sure you’re buying the Flour and not the Starch. The starch is very white, like a potato starch, whereas the flour is like… flour!
Thank you
I really like the look of this bread! I’ve been struggling to track down cassava flour in London, but when I find some this is on my list of things to try!
Hi Monique, Thanks for dropping by – I’m sure you could find Cassava Flour in any Asia / Africa supermarket – that’s where we get ours from here in Italy. It might be called Manioca Flour or Tapioca Flour. I’m curious to know whether Whole Foods in has it – I’ll be scouring the store from top to bottom next time I’m in London for all sorts of Paleo products that are hard to find here! Best, A
Amazon do Tiana brand cassava flour in the UK.. I have used it and it is very good
Hey! Thanks for the receipt, I was waiting for a Cassava bread receipt for a long time.
I just tried it and the mix came out super dry… I tried adding some more water but didn’t help, any thoughts?
Hi Eli, I just responded to your message on Facebook. Yes, the mix is quite dry – that way, when baked, it’s a bread as opposed to having a cakey consistency. You need to smooth it into the pan with a spatuala, you can’t pour it. But it should hold together well when it’s baked – as you can see in the photo’s, I can slice mine easily. I wonder if the brand of Cassava flour makes a difference? I’m using flour, not starch, and I buy bags from the Asia/Africa supermarket. I would add water just a tablespoon at a time to reach that sticky consistency. Next time I make it, I’ll take a photo and add it to the post – thanks for your feedback! A
Hi Angie, thanks for your reply! (on both places).
The mixture ended up very dry and didn’t hold together at all… after baking it didn’t raise at all and was more like a biscotti then a bread 🙂
(not as dry though)
I used the Otto Cassava Flour which I got online here in the US – I might try it again with another egg as you suggested.
Thank you very much!
Hi Eli, well, that’s really interesting, and I’m so sorry it didn’t work for you – I hope it was edible, at least – I know Otto’s isn’t cheap. I can’t get it here, but I’ll be in Australia for Christmas and I’ll buy some there. I wonder why it didn’t rise? Maybe your baking powder or baking soda has lost it’s oomph – have a look at this post which explains the chemistry, and why it might go wrong: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/the_difference_between_baking_soda_and_baking_powder/ Anyway, I’ll make the bread again in the next couple of days, and add some step-by-step photos, and hope it’ll solve the problem. Best, A
Hi Angie, I tested the baking powder as suggested and it’s ok (it’s paleo home made/blended baking powder) – i’m going to try the receipt again with 2 changes – i’m going to add another egg and mix it manually rather then using my food processor (I have a Cusinart, maybe it’s not strong enough?)
Thanks again for the receipt and for the quick reply – i’m sure it will work eventually – it looks really good in your pictures!
Good luck!
Eli, Angie
Was really interested to hear how your modifications turned out. My first trial also turned out like biscotti. I followed the instructions to the T. It turned out with a sticky consistency just as described. But mine also did NOT rise. I was disappointed and thought that it may be the cassava flour because I tried the Wolfgang Puck recipie in the bread maker with yeast and it ALSO did not rise. At any rate, however, I’ve enjoyed eating this bread as a snack because it’s so flavorful. I can’t help but wonder how perfect this bread would be if it only would rise. I want to make more, but I’m hesitant until I can find a more specific description of getting it right. By the way, I am disappointed that I tried to rate it as 3 stars and it only lets me make it 4 or 5. Sorry, but you need to fix this.
Hi Monty, Well, isn’t that strange? This is seriously one of my go-to favorite recipes, and I really don’t know what to suggest, especially if you followed the recipe exactly. I have to say that we’re not talking about bread-as-you-used-to-know-it here – it’s never going to rise in the same way that a wheat flour bread will rise, because it doesn’t have the gluten or any other agents which contribute to that fluffiness. For me, it rises enough to allow me to slice, freeze and toast it, and then to carefully spread it with soft butter and honey. Try my other favorite bread recipe to date – the Three Seed Paleo Bread. Maybe that will work better for you. I hope so. Thanks for the feedback about the rating – I’ll go and check it now. Best, Angie
Hi Angie…I am wondering if i can replace the eggs with chia, flax or gelatin “eggs” do you think it would work? I hate to waste the cassava flour…it’s so expensive.
Thanks
Latifa
Hi Latifa… Oh, I don’t know… To be honest I haven’t played around much with egg substitutes. The flax seeds in the bread are certainly already contributing to its consistency, but I don’t know if it would hold together without the eggs. I doubt it somehow. Have you used egg substitutes for other recipes? The only time I’ve tried using gelatin was following a Banana Bread recipe on Healing Family Eats and it worked! But that was a very moist cake, whereas this bread is quite dry. Try the Asia/Africa supermarkets for Cassava flour if you have any around – it costs much less than the branded flours. Good luck, and if you do try with egg subs, let me know!
Thanks Angie!
Hi – is it possible to do this recipe if you don’t have a food processor? Like beating the ingredients in step 4 together with a wooden spoon?
Thanks, Sally
Hi Sally, Yes, I’m sure you could make it by hand. I still sometimes make my cake batters using a wooden spoon – it’s a different experience, somehow feels like more love is being folded into the batter. If the butter or coconut oil is too hard for creaming, I just massage it with my fingers to get it going. Hope you love the bread! A
If you were allergic to egg whites and wanted to make this without egg would it be possible?
Hi Victoria… Oh. I don’t think it would work without eggs – you really need them as the binding agent. You could try it using gelatin instead, but I think the result would be quite different, and I’m not sure that it would hold together. If you happen to try it with gelatin, let
me know how it turns out! A
This recipe needs some improvement imho. Bread comes out very dry and the dough doesn’t hold up together. Doesn’t look or taste like bread at all.
Margaret, Thank you so much for your feedback. Yes, I am most certainly going to work on improving this recipe. It’s weird – it works for me, but it’s obviously not working for others. I’ll get onto it! Better Paleo Bread can be done! Best, A
This bread is awesome! I had a little oops and accidentally added an extra 1/4 C. of water. After reading the comments and thinking my batter was too doughy and not sticky enough I added a few extra Ts of water and an extra egg. I mixed these in with my hands and kneaded the dough. It rose beautifully and the taste is delicious. I will definitely make again and this will be a go-to bread recipe for sure! The texture is very light and tastes like regular wheat flour bread to me. I did add an extra 5-7 minutes to the baking time, which helped for my extra added water and egg. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Christine, Thank you for your feedback! I’m so glad that your bread worked so well. Your variations are brilliant – both the addition of an extra egg, and hand kneading it. I’m going to try it, can’t wait! I’ve also thought about making it as a round loaf – rather than smoothing it into the tin, just shaping it into a form on a baking sheet. Onwards with the Paleo Bread Experiments! A
I cant seem to get this into a “sticky batter” vs a dough during the blending process. Its very much like a dough and thick. Then it comes out so dense. I dont understand what im doing wrong. Please help. I really want this recipe to work. Thank you so much.
Hi Ariel, Is it possible that you’re using starch instead of flour? Sometimes you find the flour being sold as tapioca, manioca or cassava… so it’s easy to be confused. Starch is very white. Flour is just like flour. I’ve actually simplified and improved this recipe: you’ll find the new version here: Paleo Bread -Great for Toasting. . Give this new version a go. It should work! Good luck! Angie