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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Almond-Flax Low Carb Gluten Free Quick Bread


This is a take-off of this almond bread recipe.  I added another egg, separated the eggs and whipped the egg whites until stiff, and also I used buttermilk, or kefir, whichever you have on hand.  Buttermilk seems to actually work best but Kefir works also.  Together this seems to give it a nicer rise. I also used 1/2 cup of flaxmeal in this recipe and all together I thought it came out with a nice texture. It's very moist inside and crispy on the outside.  If you don't want it as moist, you could try using less oil with it, or using coconut flour instead of the flaxmeal.  I use this for my sandwich bread.  It makes good grilled cheese sandwiches!  I also toast it and have it with my egg in the morning.  It's not wheat bread but it's pretty good bread and has only 2 usable grams of carbs per slice.


                      
* Exported from MasterCook *

                         Almond-Flax Quick Bread

Serving Size  : 16    
Categories    : Bread

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  1/4       cup  coconut oil -- melted
  1          cup  buttermilk -- (or kefir)
  4          large  eggs -- separated
  1          packet  Truvia
  1          teaspoon  baking soda
  1/4       teaspoon  salt
  2          cups  almond flour, Honeyville -- (or almond meal, I used almond flour from Honeyville
  1/2       cup  flax meal, Golden -- (1/4 cup seeds ground makes 1/2 cup meal)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (180 C.)

Beat egg whites until stiff and they form a peak. Set aside

Mix all remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix with electric mixer until well incorporated.

Gently fold in the egg whites without breaking them down. Pour into a small loaf pan, (I use a 4" by 8" pan)  that has been generously sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 1 hr. and 30 min. approximately or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  It is very moist in the center, and crusty on the outside.  I find the best results at this temperature and time.  Folding in the egg whites, adding an extra egg, and also using buttermilk or kefir gave me a better rise with this bread and a better texture I think.  

Description:
  "this is a take-off from the Lois Lang Almond bread recipe."
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 152 Calories; 13g Fat (73.2% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 47mg Cholesterol; 148mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 Fat.

NOTES : 2 g. usable carbs per slice



47 comments:

  1. Ah, this looks very nice. I have a question: if I added some yeast, do you think I might get the yeasty smell? I know it won't result in a "yeast bread," which would involve a whole bunch of other steps and some flour and sugar, etc. I just need that yeasty odor!

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  2. Ha ha... Oh I know what you mean! I miss that yeasty odor too. I've never tried adding yeast. Maybe I'll give it a try sometime. If you try it let me know how it turns out for you. I did try making a "sourdough" bread with this once, by soaking the flours for a day in kefir. It had a nice flavor but did not rise very well. I think my mistake was that I needed to add more liquid when I put it all together the next day. The problem with experiments is that I am using such expensive ingredients!!

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  3. This looks really good Ginny. I will have to try this really soon. Keep up the good work.

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  4. Thanks for the bread recipe now get to work PLEASE PLEASE on a good replacement for the southern ice cream we call GRITS and I will take you and the family out for a low carb dinner sometime

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  5. Ha ha, being a northerner, I never have eaten grits, so that may take some doing. ;) I may not be the right one to try that one.

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  6. I couldn't separate an egg if my depended on it so I bought egg whites in the dairy case worked fine for me. And wonder of wonders a ham sandwich followed after 5 years of no bread "Lordy was it good"

    Thanks,
    B. LaBelle

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  7. I'm glad it worked out well for you! :) I cannot separate eggs all that well either. I use an egg separator. Much easier. Jut plunk the egg in and it does the work for you. :)

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  8. yeast needs sugar to grow on, so you'd have to add some carbs to get it to grow. it grows on wheat flour or any carb, but it likes sugar best.

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  9. I've made several attempts at a yeast loaf, using enough sugar for the yeast and a little cornstarch, but so far just did not come out like I wanted it to, though it rose. But so far I like it better without the yeast. I haven't given up though! ;)

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  10. Has anyone tried this without the eggs. Maybe sub it for chia seed mixed with water ??? I have allergy to egg and also wheat, gluten and dying for bread !!!!

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  11. I don't have flax meal, but I'm wondering if I added coconut flour if I'd have to add more eggs?

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    1. Lisa, I've never tried it with coconut flour so it's hard for me to advise you. This is a really moist bread anyway, so I'm not sure that you would need to add another egg at all if you use coconut flour. Since coconut flour is so absorbent also, you could try half the amount in place of the flaxmeal. I often do that. I hope it works for you!

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  12. Do you think I can substitute almond milk for buttermilk?

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  13. Hello Ginny, woudl I be able to use Almond milk to make this dairy free as well?

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    1. Yes, I'm sure almond milk would be just fine!

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  14. Has anyone else tried this with good results?? This bread looks amazing, Ginny! Now that I have introduced eggs back in my diet, I am just dying to try this bread! Is it easy to slice once it is cooled?? How long did it take to get that stiff egg white? Just to get an idea. I might make this sometime this weekend. Did you measure the flour using cups or scale? Only 1 tsp baking soda? Really? It rose so high though. Is it the same height as a regular bread sandwich i.e. Wonder bread? How come no baking powder? I dont have truvia, could I use regular sugar and how much? Sorry bout all the questions! Can you tell I am excited about making your bread ?! :-) THANKS, Farzana

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    1. Ha ha, I'm glad you're so excited! :) It does not raise as high as a yeast bread, but more like a quick bread would. It is dense and moist on the inside, and it gets crusty on the outside. If you want a softer crust, you can make an aluminum foil tent over it half way through the baking. I measured with cups and leveled it off. Yes, 1 tsp baking soda... I think either baking soda or baking powder would work, but in this recipe I use buttermilk or kefir which works together with the baking soda. The eggs also help it to rise. You may use whatever sweetener you like in this, I used Truvia because that's what I had. I hope the bread works well for you! Oh... I don't know how long it took to get the egg whites stiff but make sure you don't have any yolk at all in the whites, and that you have a very clean bowl. If anything gets in the whites they will not make stiff peaks. They should whip up fairly quickly and make sure they make stiff peaks before folding them into the dough, carefully so as not to break them down, but to incorporate them well. Hope that helps!

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  15. Hi:

    I am still waiting to hear some say that this bread is delicious. Is tasty or not?
    really need to know before I give it a try.

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  16. I stumbled across this post last night while looking for a bread recipe that wasn't Revolution Rolls. While they do the job, they have the texture and flavor of a crèpe because that's basically what they are. Really happy I found your recipe.

    For full disclosure, I admit that I did not make them exactly as written. I changed three things:

    1. I did not separate the eggs, whip the whites and then fold them in. Although I'm perfectly capable of doing all of this - I didn't want to. Furthermore, I knew it would also mean that, if I liked it, I would never make the bread again because of that one extra step. So instead, I put 4 eggs into my KitchenAid bowl and let it rip on "High" for 10 minutes. Then, I added everything else, except the almond flour and the flax, and mixed for about 30 seconds. I then added the remaining two ingredients and blended them until just combined and proceeded to pour into the prepared pan.

    2. I used 1/2 cup butter instead of coconut oil I am very sensitive to the coconut taste and, while I like it, I did not want my bread to taste like it. I used butter as in the original recipe.

    3. I added 1/4 tsp of baking powder hoping for a little extra lift.

    The bread came out of the oven about 2 hours ago. I used my instant read thermoter at 55 minutes and it was the bread-making-standard 200º, so I pulled it out at that point, let it sit for about 15 minutes and then turned it out onto a rack to cool completely. I had heavily sprayed the pan with nonstick spray and the bread came out without a hint of resistance.

    To "Anonymous" above: yes, it is delicious. There are absolutely no "off" flavors. If someone presented this to you with just a bit of butter you would happily eat it and wonder how many carbs there were. That being said, I agree with Ginny's post: this is not wheat bread. There is no yeast, after all. Rather, it kind of reminds me of an unsweet banana bread (which it very strongly resembles) with a bit of a pound cake texture. I tried it three ways: plain with butter, toasted with jam and as a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. All three applications turned out perfectly and I will defintely be using this as "my daily bread".

    Based on the pictures provided in your blog, your bread had greater rise than mine. But for me, the easier prep makes up for it. Many, many thanks for a terrific recipe. I'm thrilled I can again have bread any time I want to.

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    1. Thank you so much for your review! And for the tweaks! :) I'm glad you found a way to make it easier for yourself and that you like it. It sure helps on a low carb diet when we can have our daily bread.

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  17. Hi Ginny, Thanks for sharing this recipe. I would love to eat bread again. I am concerned about the naturally occuring phytic acid on the almonds. Maybe that's a reason you tried soaking the almond flour? You said that after your "sourdough" experiment, you thought more liquid would have worked better. Do you have anything more to share on this? I have discovered that after eating the phytic acid on legumes, nuts and seeds all my life, my body will no longer tolerate it and my stomach lets me know that with dramatic results. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

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    1. I haven't really done any more with this bread. My sourdough experiment was to try to get that yeasty sourdough flavor somehow but it did not work. But my "Cheesy Loaf of Bread" has that, which you can find in the search engine or on my bread page. But it also uses almond flour. I've read somewhere that when you bake the nuts that that takes care of the phytic acid, but I don't know. I'm no expert on that, sorry. I really don't know much about it.

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  18. Hi Ginny~ I found your blog and this recipe when searching for a low-carb bread recipe that called for butter-milk. I made this today, and the bread is lovely and delicious. I substituted the Truvia packet for a quarter cup of vanilla whey protein powder (Jay Robb brand- which I'm crazy about), and my loaf was done after 70 minutes baked in a 9” x 4” Pyrex dish with a fabulous consistency and looks just like your lead photo. Thank you much for sharing! Cyndi

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  19. Thanks so much for sharing your results!!! I'm so glad it turned out wonderful!

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  20. It looks amazing! Instead of the Truvia, I will try to blend some dates with the buttermilk or use some agave syrup. Thank you!

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  21. OMG....I just made this bread exactly as written and it tastes sooooo good! Seriously, I can't wait to try it toasted for breakfast tomorrow! Thank you so much for posting this.

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  22. I have made this twice and it hasn't risen at all. I used almond milk instead of buttermilk, could this be the problem? The second try I added a tablespoon of baking powder (hoping to get a rise) and some chopped walnuts (for added texture) and it is delicious, but not near as tall as yours. I love it, but i would be over the moon if I could get it to rise and not be as dense. I did take about a half cup of the batter from the second batch (the one with the baking powder added), put it in a mug and microwaved it for one minute...It made a perfect "one minute muffin in a cup" and it seemed to rise more than the loaf. Thanks for posting, I am enjoying it anyway and will make it again.

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    1. Barbara I'm so sorry it didn't rise for you. Two things that could make the difference would be the buttermilk and pan size. I used an 8" loaf pan. Yes I do think using the almond milk could make a difference since the buttermilk works to aid in the rising. You didn't mention your pan size but you might check on that too. I'm glad you enjoyed it anyway and discovered you could use it as a muffin in a cup! Never thought of that!

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  23. Hi there I was wondering if I would still get similar results if I replace the coconut oil with extra virgin olive oil?

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  24. hi ginny I tried this bread today.I used almond milk and melted butter instead of buttermilk and cocunut oil.But when it came out from oven it was greasy and sticky from inside.outer crust was superb.I put it in oven for more time but still the inner side was very soft and greasy.do u think this texture was right?

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    1. Mine was never greasy and sticky. It was moist inside, but I would not have called it greasy, or sticky. Not sure why it would be that way. I have not made it with almond milk, but I don't know why that would have that effect. Sorry I really don't know what to tell you!

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  25. I have been looking at this printed "to make" recipe for almost 2 weeks and finally made it today. O.M.G. - it's GREAT! I think the best way to describe it is, banana bread without the banana! LOL This will be a "go to" bread now forever. It's easy to make too. ONE QUESTION - how do you store this lovely bread? Fridge? Bread drawer? Please let me know as soon as you can?? I don't see any posts on here since May, 2013......so, am hoping this is still an open blog?

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    1. Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it! I have actually made it into banana bread also by just adding sweetener and banana flavoring. You can store it by either slicing it all up and freezing and just taking a few out for a day's use at a time, or keep it in the refrigerator. Makes great grilled cheese sandwiches!

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  26. Just a suggestion for those wanting to get a 'yeasty' flavor in your bread. Try adding some nutritional yeast flakes rather than actual yeast. It adds protein but no leavening ability just a nutty, cheesy, yeasty taste.

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  27. While I love the idea of having a go to "sandwich" bread, I would rather use this as my "sweet" bread option. Anything that I can have with coffee in the morning is a winner for me! I love the idea of turning this into banana bread. As a lover of all things pumpkin, any suggestions for turning this into pumpkin bread? (Did I say that I LOVE pumpkin?)

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    1. That's what I like about this bread... it's very versatile! I've never tried this for pumpkin bread, but what a good idea! I may have to try that. Not sure how I'd go about it... maybe sub the buttermilk for pumpkin? I'd have to experiment before I told anyone what to do. If you try it and like it let us know! :)

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  28. OK, so I tried 3 variations - pumpkin, strawberry, and chocolate. I added 1/4 c of sweetener and 1 tbls vanilla to each, plus the following: for the pumpkin I added 1/4 cup of pure pumpkin, 2 tbls. of pumpkin pie spice and left out the oil; for the strawberry added 1/4 c homemade strawberry puree (simmered fresh strawberries and sweetener reduced by half); and for the chocolate I added 1/4 cup of cocoa powder. They chocolate needed more sweetener but had the best texture. The others were a little moist. All tasted better after sitting in the fridge overnight. Overall, I pretty happy with this first try. I will keep experimenting until I get it perfect. Thanks for the recipe!

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    1. Wow! Thanks Rena! I may have to try the chocolate. I do have a pumpkin bread on this blog I believe, that I really like. I'll have to look it up.

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    2. Actually it was for pumpkin muffins. https://ginnyslowcarbkitchen.blogspot.com/2017/10/pumpkin-muffins.html

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  29. I would jus like to say I made this bread the other day and it turned out lovely, but I had prolemb I did not have any buttermilk so I made my own using 1cup of milk and a tablespoon of lemon juice or you can use white vinegar and I left it for awhile and it was just like cream. I had the bread toasted for breakfast and it was lovely so I will be makring this loaf again Thank you Ginny for the recipe.x :-)

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  30. Hi Ginny love I was wondering if I could make a larger loaf a and how much would I have to increase the recipe. ? 😁🌹 Thank you Jan x

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    1. I have not tried increasing this one so hesitate to give advice on that. I'm afraid you would just have to experiment with it. I do have a larger loaf of bread that I make if you care to try it: http://ginnyslowcarbkitchen.blogspot.com/2017/11/my-very-best-loaf-of-bread-yet.html

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    2. Hi love I may have a go at making this will let you know hnow get on.x :-)

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