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Baking, Bread, Breakfasts, Cakes, Dairy Free, Desserts, GAPS, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Lunchbox, Lunches, Naturally Sweetened, Nut Free, Nuts, Paleo, Thermomix, Tips, Vegetarian
Grain Free Bread Formula
Almond Pumpkin Bread or Apple Sultana Spice Bread – same formula, different variations
Do you ever wish you had a few simple recipe formulas that you could learn, so that everyday meals and baking are so easy you hardly have to think about them? Basic formulas that can be changed around to use whatever ingredients you have on hand?
This is how I mostly cook. I have a basic formula in my head for a meal (or bread, smoothie, etc), then I ‘tweak’ it to make it a bit different every time. It really simplifies your cooking – and as you may know, ‘Simplify‘ is my word for the year!
A couple of weeks ago I was a speaker at The Wellness Breakthrough, and I taught a workshop called “Simplify Your Cooking”. I divided everyone into 5 groups and gave them each a basic formula for a simple recipe, with lots of possible variations: a one pot meal, a smoothie, a salad and dressing, a grain free bread, and chocolate. Each group had a tray of ingredients and either a Thermomix or a burner with a pot, cutting boards, etc. And they had 30 mins to make their recipe. The results were great, and it was awesome to see everyone thinking up different variations of the recipes! (And we had a lot of fun!!)
Photo credit: Total Capture Photography
So in my newsletters I’ve been sharing some of these ‘Recipe Formulas‘, with lots of tips for ways to change them around. And since this Grain Free Bread recipe is very popular and I get asked about it a lot, I thought I’d better share it on the blog as well.
(If you have a suggestion for a recipe formula you’d like help with, just comment on this blog post, and then keep an eye on my newsletters, and you might see your suggestion pop up!)
So here it is – a recipe formula for making all sort of grain free breads, both sweet and savoury, muffins, loaves, fritters, fruit or veggies, nuts or seeds, with or without dairy, paleo, gaps, fodmaps… The possibilities of variations are endless! Have fun!!
Note: You can find fine sea salt for this recipe in my online store!
Almond Pumpkin Bread Muffins; Toast; Pumpkin Fritters; and Apple Sultana Spice toast
Print
Thermomix Method
Grain Free Bread Formula
Ingredients
Units
230g activated nuts or seeds (or a mixture)
150g raw veg or apple, peeled and cubed (see notes)
3 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
spices/herbs (optional)
60g fat/oil, plus extra to grease loaf tin (see notes)
optional additions (seeds, dried fruit, etc)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 170C. Grease the loaf tin with fat of choice and set aside.
2. Mill nuts or seeds 10 sec/speed 8. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Clean and dry bowl.
3. Place egg whites into the bowl and insert butterfly. Whisk 3 mins/speed 4. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Remove butterfly.
4. Return almond/seed meal to bowl, ad cubed veg/fruit, egg yolks, salt, spices/herbs if using, and fat/oil. Mix 10 sec/speed 5.
5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Mix another 5 sec/speed 5.
6. Add 1/3 of the egg whites and mix for 30/sec speed 5. Turn the batter out into a large bowl, and gently (but thoroughly) fold through the remaining egg whites and any additions to the batter you’d like.
7. Place batter into the greased loaf tin and cook in the preheated oven, for 40 – 50 mins at 170C, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Or cook in greased muffin tins, for 20 mins at 170C.
Non-Thermomix Method
1. Mill almonds/seeds in a food processor until finely ground, or use bought nut/seed meal.
2. Add veg/apple, egg yolks, salt, spices/herbs (if using) and fat/oil, chop and mix until veg/apple is finely ground and the mixture is like a thick batter.
3. Whip egg whites in a clean bowl with an electric mixer.
4. Add 1/3 of the whipped egg whites to the food processor bowl and mix until combined. Turn the batter out into a large bowl, and gently (but thoroughly) fold through the remaining egg whites and any additions to the batter you’d like.
5. Cook as above.
Storage
1. Store the bread in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or wrap well and freeze for up to 4 months. Don’t leave it out at room temperature or the bread may go mouldy within a few days.
Notes
Nuts & Seeds: Use activated almonds, macadamias, cashews, pecans, or a mixture; or pepitas or sunflower seeds (or a mixture) for nut-free. Activated means soaked and dehydrated, to make the nuts/seeds easier to digest. If you want to use raw, increase the weight to 250g. (Activated nuts/seeds are lighter.)
Raw veg or fruit: Use raw pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini or cauliflower for veggie bread: or raw apple for sweet bread. Butternut pumpkin is also great with spices and sultanas for sweet bread.
Fat/oil: Use ghee, butter, coconut oil, duck fat, lard, macadamia oil or avocado oil.
Apple Sultana Spice Bread: add spices (2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves) and a cup of sultanas, using apple, sweet potato or pumpkin for the fruit/veg. Stir sultanas in after blending.)
Savoury Breads: add 1 tsp mixed herbs, and fillings like olives, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese or chives for a savoury bread/muffin. (Stir in after blending.)
Seed Bread: add 50g activated (or 60g raw) seeds at the end (stir in after blending) if you’d like a bit more texture.
Veggie Fritters: make the batter with pumpkin or zucchini, then stir through cooked/ leftover chopped veggies, and some cooked bacon or leftover meat if desired. Fry spoonfuls in frying pan in some ghee or macadamia oil, over med-low heat.
Egg Free: I haven’t tried an egg-free version yet, but you could probably use “chia eggs” (3 Tbsp milled chia seeds mixed with 6 Tbsp water) plus 1 tsp baking powder. Or try your favourite egg replacer, but remember that egg whites help this bread to rise, so any egg replacers will result in heavier bread.
Just made this with zucchini and onion, herbs and cheese! So good! Thank you for a bread recipe that is LCHF friendly!
just made this with sunflower, linseed, papitas, almonds and sweet potato. Yumm. My partner has a very limited diet – this is such a versatile recipe which has just opened up a a heap of options. Thank you so much Jo.
Yay!!! You’re so welcome!!
Hi Jo, just wondering what mix you use for plain bread (toast). I am really looking for a bread I can use that is a passable ‘normal’ bread for my 6 and 7year olds!! Thankyou so much. Kerry
Hi Jo! Going to try this recipe tomorrow with pumpkin. I was wondering if I can soak the nuts and seeds overnight and then just blitz them up wet to use in the batter or do I definitely have to dry them out completely first? I think my husband blitzed them up wet for a bread once before and it worked fine but I’m wondering if it affects the benefits of soaking? Thank you as always for your awesome recipes and advice 🙂
Sorry, I think I just found the answer in the back of your book! I think it’s ok to just soak and use without drying first. Let me know if I’ve misunderstood though!
Amy I have been wondering this myself we love the bread but the activating process is so lengthy did you get a good result without drying? I’ve only made the bread once from raw nuts and seeds nut now have my activated almonds ready….drying them in the oven but would like the answer to your question as well!! Thanks
Hi Jo, do you think it would work if I swapped the seeds/nut measurements with half besan and half potato flours?
Hi Jo,
I made your bread today with pumpkin, it tastes really yummy but seems to be a very flat loaf, could I double up the recipe to get a bigger/higher loaf? We have moved to a Paleo lifestyle but really struggling with getting the kids off bread, if I can’t find a good Paleo alternative I would then rather make them one of your other breads, at least I’d be staying away from all the nasties. I have tried so many Paleo breads but really struggling, honest goods makes an amazing Paleo pumpkin bread but it costs a small fortune to buy. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Lily
Hi Lily, did you use a small loaf tin? If you have a bigger one, you could double the recipe, but you’ll need to cook longer at lower heat, and once it starts to brown cover it with foil, and just check with a skewer until it’s cooked through. There’s also this recipe for a paleo bread on my blog: https://quirkycooking.com.au/2014/11/almond-linseed-paleo-bread/ – you will find it quite different than regular bread though. I found it easiest to just get bread completely out of the diet for a fair while, and just focus on meat, veggies, eggs, nuts, seeds, fruit, etc – very basic foods, no baking at first. Hope that helps!
I love this recipe, I made pumpkin bread with almonds and blitzed onion, parsley and thyme into it. Delicious and it lasted for a few days, staying nice (that’s hard to find with gluten free bread!)
Hello Jo – thanks so much for sharing this. I’ve made a few yummy loaves using this formula now. My only issue is that while the loaf rises really well and tastes great, it splits as it rises. I’m using the same temp you suggested, baked it on the middle shelf and have checked my oven is correct with a thermometer, but do you think it still needs to be a lower temp?
Thanks.
Hi Rebecca, Yes maybe try lower temperature. It is a bit of a trial and error process! Good luck
hi
sorry if this has been answered already but i’m wondering about the activated nuts. How do i do this if i don’t have a dehydrator? and is it 100% necessary? Many thanks
Hi Rek! You can activate nuts (the drying out part) in the oven on a very low temp. No, it is not 100% necessary but activating nuts does make them much easier to digest so if you have gut issues, activating them will be greatly beneficial. 🙂
How long do you dry them out in the oven please? What about in an air fryer?
What particularly were you drying out?
Can I please have your cheese puff recipe
https://quirkycooking.com.au/2019/04/extra-puffy-brazilian-cheese-puffs-pao-de-queijo/
How delicious! What about Kalamata olives and cheese in the seed bread? Would this work?
Also if we put veges such as sweet potato or zuccini are we supposed to grate them or cut them in a specific way?
Loving your recipes so much!!
Yes! Olives and cheese would work just fine and delicious! if you’re adding veggies or fruit blitzing them in the Thermomix so they’re in a rice texture is ideal to help it combine. So glad you’re loving them!