Whether or not you eat only gluten-free, you’ll love this bread.
One of the issues with most gluten-free breads it that they are so highly processed, and to be honest, not any better for you than most wheat bread.
I’ve been playing with almond flour bread for a few weeks now and I’m really happy with this recipe. It ends up being similar to the texture of banana bread – thick, dense and satisfying. (And minus the banana flavor, of course.)
Almond flour is dense; keep in mind that 2 tablespoons of almond flour is about equal to a handful of almonds. The eggs in this bread make it even more dense, so a small slice or two make the perfect sized snack.
I was so thrilled when I recently found really well-priced organic almond flour (and organic coconut flour!) at Costco. Times really are changing – healthy ingredients are more in demand than ever. Ask your local store to start carrying these ingredients if you have trouble locating them. You can also find them online.
I’m in love with the combination of fresh thyme and fresh rosemary. They’re both hearty herbs that stand up well to baking. You can use any mixture of fresh herbs that you like, or leave them out if you prefer for a plain (but delicious!) loaf of almond flour bread.
I use a food processor to make quick work of mixing the dough, but you can mix it by hand if you prefer. Just mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir well to combine. From there, follow the recipe below.
Dry ingredients- 2¼ cups blanched almond flour*
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine texture sea salt (such as Real Salt)
Wet ingredients - 5 eggs** (4 if they are jumbo)
- 1.5 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Fresh herbs (optional) - 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a food processor, combine the dry ingredients and pulse them until well combined, about 10 pulses.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix until well combined, about 20 seconds.
- Scrape down the edges and add herbs.
- Pulse another 5 or 6 times to mix the herbs into the dough without puréeing them. The dough will be like a very thick batter but should be thin enough that it wouldn’t roll into a ball.
- Pour dough into a greased 9×5 bread pan; there will be enough to fill the pan about halfway up.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
- Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes before serving.
- Note: I tried to double this recipe to fill the pan all the way up but couldn’t get it to cook through. So, we’re filling the pan halfway on purpose.
Easy Almond Flour Bread With Herbs (Gluten-Free)
Hands on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Makes about 10 slices
Use organic ingredients whenever possible
Dry ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups blanched almond flour*
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine texture sea salt (such as Real Salt)
Wet ingredients
- 5 eggs** (4 if they are jumbo)
- 1.5 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Fresh herbs (optional and recommended)
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Recipe: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a food processor, combine the dry ingredients and pulse them until well combined, about 10 pulses. Add the wet ingredients and mix until well combined, about 20 seconds. Scrape down the edges and add herbs. Pulse another 5 or 6 times to mix the herbs into the dough without puréeing them. The dough will be like a very thick batter but should be thin enough that it wouldn’t roll into a ball. Pour dough into a greased 9×5 bread pan; there will be enough to fill the pan about halfway up. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes before serving.
Note: I tried to double this recipe to fill the pan all the way up but couldn’t get it to cook through. So, we’re filling the pan halfway on purpose.
*Instead of using 2 1/4 cups blanched almond flour, you can use 2 cups blanched almond flour plus 2 tablespoons coconut flour. I actually prefer this way, but I know that coconut flour can be more difficult to come by so I wanted to give you an option without it.
**A few of you have asked for an egg-free recipe like this. Right now, I don’t know how to make it hold together without the eggs. Yeast and gluten in traditional wheat bread come together to bind and make bread rise, and since we don’t have either of those things in this recipe something has to hold it together. I think eggs are a wonderfully nutritious whole food, provided you aren’t allergic of course.
Happy Baking,
