Crumbly. Crusty. Sweet. Savory. Whole Wheat. Seedy. Airy. Dense. Brown. White.

Loaf. Baguette. Rolls. Croissant. Toast. Dough. Sandwich. Butter. Bakery.

The idea of bread is ancient.  It represents life, the essence of our humanity.  Bread is a symbol that transcends all cultures, languages and centuries.  The breaking of bread brings people together, gathering at the table to share, laugh and eat.  Bread means fellowship.  A food that brings comfort.  Bread is something so essential that the thought of it not existing in life would change so much of our daily routines.

For many people, such as myself, bread is something I miss the most when changing to a grain free diet, due to my health.  People always ask if this way of eating is difficult or restrictive, but to me, its not.  It simply requires creativity and learning to enjoy my favorite foods from a new perspective.  I choose to celebrate life at the table, recreating the foods I love with grain free ingredients.  Food to me is not just a mundane activity, but rather a chance to nourish your heart and body, focusing on the spirit that abounds at the table—gathering with friends, family and even strangers to break bread together.

You may read the ingredients and start making this bread thinking it won’t work—but put it in the oven and be patient as it bakes because it rises, slices and tastes amazing!  If you are looking at the ingredients thinking to yourself, psyllium husks?  Psyllium is a fiber that expands and gels when exposed to liquids creating an airy inside, allowing the bread to hold together and not crumble.  And for all those of you who are skeptical of coconut flour, this bread doesn’t taste like coconuts! I have served it to many people who don’t eat grain free or paleo and with a little butter or jam they loved it. Just slice, toast, butter and enjoy!

I put my heart into this recipe, testing, re-testing and making changes along the way.  Creating a recipe, especially from a grain free perspective, it a process that takes time, commitment and lots of love!

To me, I want my table to be a genuine and safe place for those who comes to gather—serving healthy food that taste delicious but also bring joy to a person’s day.  I have been testing this recipe for a while, making changes along the way, but I wanted it to be grain, nut and starch free for those with allergies or sensitivities to nuts or starches.  This grain and nut free paleo sandwich bread is simple to make, requiring only a handful of ingredients.  To me this bread is more than just a recipe, but a way to bring people together connecting over food.

I hope the smell of freshly baked bread brings joy to your kitchen today, passing the bread and butter around the table once again!

Grain and Nut Free Sandwich Bread

The perfect Paleo sandwich bread loaf with a slightly crusty outside and soft, airy center.  A grain, gluten, nut and starch free sandwich bread that slices and holds together perfectly.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs separated
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 cup whole fat, plain yogurt or coconut milk/cream for dairy free
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
• 1/4 cup psyllium husk powder**
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

**Update: you can substitute this for 2 tbsp psyllium husk powder plus 2 tbsp arrowroot flour.

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan (8.5×4.5 size) with parchment paper cut to fit.
• Separate the eggs into two bowls dropping the whites in one and the yolks in another.  Use a hand blender to whip the egg whites until soft, foamy peaks begin to form.
• Add the yogurt and butter to yolks and blend till smooth.
• Sift in the dry ingredients to the yolk mixture and blend again, scraping down the sides of the bowl so that all ingredients are incorporated.  This will be dense.  Pour in apple cider vinegar and blend one last time.  (Make sure to use a spatula to get any sticky flour off the sides and bottom of bowl as you don’t want clumps in your bread).
• Fold in the egg whites until bread batter is smooth.  You don’t need to do this gently, just make sure it is well incorporated.  The egg whites will fall as you mix, but this is fine.
• Pour into loaf pan and use a spatula to gently smooth out the top.
• Bake for 48-52 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing.
• Slice, butter, serve and enjoy!

This & That

• Make sure to preheat your oven first as you want to put the bread into the oven immediately after mixing—once the baking soda is activated by the vinegar, its important to place in the oven.
• Baking soda is activated by an acid (apple cider vinegar or lemon juice) and will start working once it hits the eggs, which is why I recommend adding it last.
• Sifting and carefully measuring the coconut flour and psyllium husk powder is very important as these are dense and high in fiber therefore the wrong amount will greatly alter the recipe.
• I recommend using psyllium husk powder, but if you have whole psyllium husk you can grind it to a powder in the coffee grinder (just make sure it is very finely ground).
• Using a 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan rather than a larger loaf pan will produce a good sized bread loaf.

{If you like this bread recipe, try making it into my grain free & Paleo pumpkin spice French toast!}

Nutritional Value

I don’t normally calorie count, but so many people were asking for the carb and calorie count, so I did the math for you all!  If you slice the loaf into 14 servings here is the nutritional value per slice:

• 77 calories, 3.7g carbohydrate, 3.2g protein