Tuesday, October 07, 2008

GF Almond Bread

I just tried the Simple Bread recipe from Elana's Pantry, using blanched almond flour and a few eggs. The loaf is small and nutritious but also dense and a little heavy on the stomach.
Though it tastes good, it is not something I'll bake too often because it is rich and let's face it: almonds and nuts in general are a little pricey (especially organic ones).
You can save some money by grinding your own nut meals/flours though. I am still willing to give it a try with other nuts like hazelnuts. And maybe add a teaspoon of oil, because the bread is a little dry.
The recipe also requires 3 eggs for a small 6 x 3 in. loaf...If you wanted to bake a regular size loaf, you'd need about 5 cups of almond flour and 6 eggs!
A luxury loaf it is ;)!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi :). I've baked with nut flours for years and years and I've tried Elana's recipe also. The almond flour she uses is by Honeyville mills and costs about $6/lb of flour. This is less expensive than buying non-organic nuts and grinding yourself for $7-8/lb unless you're finding really cheap nuts somewhere :).

You can make a full size loaf with only 2-3 eggs, but it needs about 1/4-1/2 cup oil also to keep things moist and it has more of a breakfast bread texture this way. Unfortunately, most GF breads tend to be a tad dry except with nut flours. Just how it is.

Zenseer said...

I bought her own blanched almond flour to try. I usually don't mind having ground almonds with their skin, but I thought it might affect the flavor and since it was my first try...

It was good but as I said it was a little too rich & heavy for my stomach. As much as I love nuts, I really can't have too much (probably because of their fat content).

I have no problem cooking and baking with gluten free grains & flours...I'm just trying to use less of them. Nuts are just a nice alternative once in a while.
I enjoy them better as homemade nut milks and nut butters though.

Thanks for sharing ;).

Antoinette said...

This looks wonderful! I'm always on the lookout for recipes like this one. Particularly if it improves upon the dryness of GF bread...

Kitty said...

I love this bread so much. I was making a lunch the other day for my family as well as 2 friends of mine and there families. Between all of us I think we have counted to date 28 different food intolerances and this one avoids them all.
I guess it is a bit heavy for those that are more used to the lighter mixed flour breads, often very starchy and high in carbs and I guess many people would feel a bit of a protein overload if they are not used to a high protein diet which my family needs to stay healthy (as well as avoiding a multitude of ingredients)

Price of course is a factor but often when using such high energy ingredients like this nut based bread you after a while adjust your eating habits because your body does not need as much food in volume, with a lower amount of food it is getting all the energy and vitamins, minerals ect that it needs. After starting our elimination and high protein diet (we do have carbs just limit them to complex healthy carbs, not more than our bodies need and then the occasional treat) I first noticed a huge rise in our grocery bills, then it lowered quite a bit because we didnt need all that filler anymore. Its still more than in our pre mostly free eating but less than my friend f.ex who is just GF..

Zenseer said...

Everybody has different likings and tolerances.
I'm grown to like this bread a little more (I've sliced it and froze the slices so I just toast a slice when I need it).
It is true that it's nutritious and filling but as I said before it is still a little heavy on my stomach and I'd have a hard time digesting a few slices of the same bread...But 1 slice here and there is fine and I plan on experimenting with other nut meals/flours as well...And why not, as somebody suggested, try half almond flour and half rice flour.
The gluten free diet suits me fine since I've always loved grains but I'm also trying to reduce the amount of grains I eat...This diet has tremendousely stabilized my hypoglycemia (I've had it pretty much all my life) but I'm not ready yet to go completely grain free, esp. since I've never been too big on meat (yet I know when I need to eat some).
I'm currently exploring the world of root vegetables, they are also very nutritious and filling...

Kitty said...

Hmmm after getting an email alert that another comment was made adn re reading my comment I realised that I left out a sentence.
"Ilove this bread so much."
Because of its simplicity, there are few allergens and basically if you tolerate eggs and almonds its ok.
"I was making a lunch the other day for my family as well as 2 friends of mine and there families. Between all of us I think we have counted to date 28 different food intolerances and this one avoids them all."
Of course my love for this bread grows with the fact that it is the only bread recipe I have found that does not have ANY of those 28 ingredients I have to avoid when our little group gets together once every 2 weeks for lunch :)

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