I found it. It does exist. Gluten free, grain free bread, that I can EASILY and quickly make at home. Without any crazy ingredients that are super hard to find.
For any of you out there eating gluten free, for whatever the reason, I think you are going to hear me on this one:
I miss bread. Like REALLY miss bread.
Not for the carbs (ok, a bit for the carbs). But because so many quick, easy, and tasty meals include bread or bread like products. Wraps, rolls, crackers,etc. And most of the time they are at least partially made from wheat.
There of course are alternatives. Many taste terrible. And include heavily processed flours, starches, and gums. Making gluten free bread less then healthy option!
I thought bread might be gone from my life forever.
Until I found it!
I have been preparing food that is gluten free for a long time (have a look at this article on what I call food inclusion). But my gluten free diet only began five months ago. A few days before Christmas I was sitting in the doctor’s office. After many visits, test, and finally genetic testing, I had my answer.
Sort of.
I didn’t have Coeliac Disease. Great news! Yet, I did have several markers for it. And words in bold print said I had a high likelihood of developing Coeliac Disease. I am not an expert on genetic testing, so I’m not going to dive into the details any further. But if you want to know more I suggest you check out here and here.
My doctor was a bit different then doctors I’ve seen in the past. He believed that lifestyle factors could influence genetic predispositions. While I was used to doctors in my health coaching studies addressing this topic, I was not used to experiencing it in person. Dare I say he was speaking to me about my life, holistically?
The long and the short of it was this. My doctor advised patients with test results like mine often benefited from removing gluten from their diet. His suggestion was a three month trial, and monitor how I felt during that time.
(for all the #bustingnutritionmyths folks out there, don’t worry. We discussed my ability to meet my nutritional needs. He also recommended I contact the WA Coeliac Society here. If you choose to remove key food groups from your diet, do so with the support of a medical professional you trust! Ok, back to the post).
A Guide to Eating to Reduce Inflammation
Starting Gluten Free
I decided in that moment to start my three month trial right there and then. Yep, a few days before Christmas! Even the doctor said I could get started in the new year. But for the first time in years I had even a sliver of actual confirmed evidence why I was feeling so crappy. And if there is something I have learned from my own health journey. Particularly my experiences with chronic pain. People who are truly ready to make a change don’t wait until next week. Spontaneous motivation in ‘the future’ does not exist. When the course of action is clear, people who are ready and motivated to make a change do so. Right now.
So I started my gluten free journey! While I had been eating gluten free-ish on and off for years, this time I went all in. No cheating, no exceptions.
But I still found myself a little bit confused. I didn’t have Coeliac Disease. And I was not allergic to wheat. I was this elusive third option: intolerant. What does that even mean, intolerant to gluten? Or intolerant to anything?
What is gluten intolerance?
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (say that five times fast!) define the difference between a wheat allergy, gluten intolerance, and Coeliac Disease as the following:
Wheat Allergy: the immune system overreacts to wheat causing symptoms that are potentially serious or even live threatening.
Coeliac Disease: an inherited autoimmune disorder that can damage the small intestine.
Gluten Intolerance: Food intolerance such as gluten involve the digestive system.
The diagnosis of gluten intolerance is controversial because there is no real test of it that gives a confirmed diagnosis.
If you think wheat, gluten, or any food might be causing issues for you, my recommendation is to talk to your doctor. Once you know what the problem is, there are lots of simple dietary changes you can make to help you feel better!
Gluten Free Bread
Not long into my gluten free journey, I made a discovery similar to many who have come before me. A couple of discoveries really:
Affordable gluten free breads sold in the supermarkets are terrible
Expensive gluten free bread is often not much better
The primary ingredients in store bought gluten free bread contain some or all of the following:
- Brown rice flour
- White rice flour
- Potato Starch
- Corn Starch
- Tapioca Starch
And that’s the good bread. The majority of products sold as ‘gluten free’ are full of all kinds of crap.
If you have Coeliac Disease, or a wheat allergy then these ingredients might not be an issue. But if you have a gluten intolerance, you might be experiencing digestive issues. I have a history of digestive issues and poor gut health, so this was my issues. Introducing heavily refined flours and starches into my diet did not do anything good for my digestion.
Instead, I started looking up recipes – because if you make it from home it must be healthy, right?
Well, it turns out heavily processed flours have the same impact on me, regardless if I buy the flour myself and make the bread. I quickly found the majority of ‘Amazing Gluten Free Bread!’ recipes online (and on my beloved Pinterest), contained pre-mixed flours. Or other combinations of the flours and starches listed above.
I don’t have a problem with rice, or corn, or potato. As wholefoods. But the role they play in my diet right now, in the quantity they are currently in, is fine. It works. But once I started added them to further replace other foods, I think that’s when my diet gets out of balance.
The second ingredient category I found was in most of the flours was the gums. These can also cause issues with digestion for some people. I found this blog post to be a great resource if you are finding gluten free bread is just not agreeing with you!
Where did this leave me?
My search for gluten free breads brought me to the following conclusion:
Most store bought gluten free breads contain ingredients by body dislikes as much wheat (lots of heavily processed non-wheat grains, starches, and gums).
Many of the ‘best homemade gluten free bread recipes’ contained the same ingredients as the store bought.
Buying ‘the good stuff’ at specialty stores was really expensive and super inconvenient.
Many of the recipes online are ‘free from everything’. Just because I can’t eat gluten, doesn’t mean my food needs to be vegan, soy free, nut free.
So the search and experiments continued.
I got very good at baking bricks! Breads that didn’t rise, fell apart, had a concrete like outer with a hardly cooked inner. I used the breadmaker. But I didn’t find much success.
The recipes that did work were the fermented ones. I made some fermented Buckwheat bread. And I am soon to be taking a sourdough class. Which will be amazing!
But the thing is, none of those options are quick and easy. None meet my criteria I have for bread, I would like to make some and be able to eat it in an hour, max. Made from food I have in my cupboard. While I do enjoying having fun and experimenting with food, regular stables in our diet must fit into our busy schedule.
Then, I happened upon this post from Mind Body Green . It looked like all the others – a lovely looking loaf of bread that mine never resembled. But I have been using a lot of buckwheat groats in my cooking and baking recently (links) and I love the taste. So I took the original recipe and gave it a few tweeks.
This bread is amazing! It rises. It can be cut like regular bread! And it works in the toaster as well.
The Bread
The prep was about three steps, and took maybe 5 minutes.
It is gluten free and grain free. I made it using butter, but it can be made with coconut oil as a substitute. This would make it dairy free as well. The recipe is not vegan as it uses honey, however a substitute could be used to make this bread vegan (with further notes on egg below)
Buckwheat, for those who are not familiar with it, is not actually wheat. It’s a seed, and in whole form is called a groat. This recipe uses raw whole buckwheat groats. Unlike many ‘superfoods’ that have become popular recently, buckwheat groat are inexpensive and widely available.
Substitutions
Other substitutions that can be made in this recipe. I used Hemp seeds as a topping but any seed would work, such as pumpkin, sunflower, or poppy seed.
Egg substitutes. I have not made this bread with egg substitutes. And I find it is integral ingredient to making the bread actually rise and stay firm. However, if you don’t eat eggs it might be worth a try! If you do make this recipe with an egg substitute, please reach out and tell me how it went.
About the bread
Like most gluten free and grain free breads, the dough is more cake like. I was a bit worried – most of the dough I have worked with that look this way going into the oven come out like bricks. But not this one!
A key to this recipe is cooking it covered until it’s mostly cooked. I wait until the outside is firm, and then take off the cover to toast up the top.
And the bread? It’s awesome.
Final test was the toaster. This is where many breads fail. But- it toasted up nicely!!! And didn’t fall apart.
The BEST grain free bread you can have in the oven in minutes
This recipe has been adapted from the original found here on Mind Body Green.
Recipe makes one loaf of bread.
Bread tin size = 23cm x 12 cm (if you want a taller loaf then pictured, a narrower tin)
Ingredients:
Whole raw buckwheat groats 1 ¼ cups
Flaxseed meal (or a heaped tbsp of whole flaxseed) 1 tbsp
Coconut flour 1/2 cup
Water (reserve 3/4 cup of this to mix with the chia seeds) 1½ cups
Chia seeds 1/4 cup
2 eggs
Melted butter (can use butter of choice or coconut oil) 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp
Bicarb soda 1 tsp
Sea salt 1 tsp
Apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp
Honey 1 tbsp
Ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp
Ground clove ⅛ tsp
Nutmeg ⅛ tsp
Hemp seeds (topping, can substitute seed of choice) 1 tbsp
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 190ºC/325ºF
2. Place your raw buckwheat groats and flaxseed meal or whole into a food processor. Mill on highest setting until the groats become flour. Some remaining larger pieces of groat is desirable as it gives the bread texture. The time this will take varies between devices, in a high powered food processor or Thermomix approximately 5-10 seconds.
3. Place the chia seeds and 3/4 cup of the water in a bowl to allow the chia seeds time to absorb the water. Stir occasionally to avoid clumping. This will take about 5 minutes, slightly longer if using cold water.
4. Add all the remaining ingredients (except the hemp seeds). Mix slowly increasing speed from low to medium-medium/high until fully combined. It will have the appearance of batter (it will look more like cake batter then dough), about 2 minutes. Due to the thickness of the batter, it is essential to monitor the food processor to make sure the batter is still being mixed by the blade. If the blade is moving too quickly, it will spin the batter away from the blades and onto the sides of the food processor. If this happens, stop the blending and scrape down sides. Speed 5 in a Thermomix was perfect.
5. Line a bread tin with baking paper. Spoon your mixture into the tin. Using a wet spatula, flatten the top of the batter. Next sprinkle the hemp seeds on top. Cover with foil or lid.
6. Place your bread in the oven and cook covered for 30 minutes (until the top is firm). Then remove the cover and cook another 15 minutes (until the bread is toasted on top and springs back when gently pressed). 45 minutes total in oven.
7. Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes in the tin. Remove from the tin and allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. I found two days is the window before it starts to dry out. You can also slice and wrap individually to store in the freezer for 3 months.
8. Enjoy as toast, sandwich bread, or with some butter of choice!
This recipe has worked so well for me as is, the only substitution I have been game to make was coconut oil in lieu of butter. But if you try a variation I would love to hear!
Are you looking to make a change, in the way you eat, or in your lifestyle? Not sure where to start? Click on the link below and find out how you can get some free coaching from me!
