Gluten Free Recipes | Elana's Pantry

Nutty Bread

This hearty, nutty gluten-free bread is delicious anytime of day.

Toast it for breakfast and serve with a side of scrambled eggs.  Works great along with a big salad at lunch.   Or, for a quick and easy dinner, it makes a great sandwich with organic turkey, avocado, romaine, tomatoes and dijon.

I think this bread would also be delectable as an after dinner treat with a smear of dairy-free butter (I'm very into this Earth Balance's Vegan Buttery Spread of late) and a dab of jam or honey.  If you're looking for the Earth Balance, I purchase mine at Vitamin Cottage or Whole Foods.

Gluten-Free Nutty Bread
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
¾  cup arrowroot powder
¼ cup flax seed meal
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
¼ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
¼ cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
½ cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup sesame seeds

1. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, arrowroot, flax meal, salt and baking soda
2. In a larger bowl, blend eggs 3-5 minutes until frothy
3. Stir agave and vinegar into eggs
4. Mix dry ingredients into wet, then add nuts and seeds
5. Pour batter into a greased medium sized loaf pan
6. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean
7. Cool and serve

Here's your Comment Zen for the day:

I eat Paleo/Zone for health and athletic benefits, but typically use your recipes for "treats" that don't fall off the plan (too far anyway).  Thanks for the excellent recipes and info, keep it coming. - Steven

What I love about this comment is that he really gets how to use my site and recipes in an optimal way. Amen Steven, couldn't have said it better myself!

Gluten-Free Bread 2.0

I've been a bit lazy in the kitchen this past week --we've had sandwich night twice already.  I slice and toast the gluten-free bread (pictured) and then put it out with organic turkey slices, romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes, dijon mustard, grapeseed oil vegenaise and sliced cheese (dairy for the boys).  I serve the sandwich fixings along with a big tossed green salad (which we each dress ourselves with oil and vinegar).

Alternatively, this gluten-free bread is great toasted and spread with goat cheese (as in the photo above), nut butter or dipped in olive oil.

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
¾ cup arrowroot powder
¼ cup flax seed meal
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, arrowroot, flax meal, salt and baking soda
2. In a larger bowl, blend eggs 3-5 minutes until frothy
3. Stir agave and vinegar into eggs
4. Mix dry ingredients into wet
5. Pour batter into a greased medium sized loaf pan
6. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean
7. Cool and serve

Makes 1 medium sized loaf of gluten-free bread

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy bread; it's full of fiber (from the flax and almond) and tasty in oh so many ways.  I call it "Gluten Free Bread 2.0" because it is my second bread recipe for this site.  The first gluten-free bread recipe was my Simple Bread, made way back when.  I like this one better.

This loaf yields a medium size slice, not as big as a regular slice, though is very filling, so I'm always sure to slice it thinly, as not to overload on bread.  I use this magic line loaf pan for just about all of my bread baking --it distributes the heat evenly and bakes the bread through, which is not always easy when baking with almond flour which tends to be rather moist.

Storage: I wrap my bread in a paper towel and then seal it in a Ziploc bag; stored this way it can keep for several days refrigerated.

Cranberry Walnut Bread

I have received many requests for holiday recipes these last few days, so I thought I'd share one of my Thanksgiving favorites --gluten free, dairy free cranberry nut bread.

In the next week or so, I'll post another one of my favorite cranberry recipes, raw cranberry relish.

I love anything with cranberries.  Tart and super sour, they are also amazingly nutritious.  For this recipe, I use frozen cranberries --you could experiment with fresh or dried cranberries, though I'm not exactly sure how it will turn out since I haven't tried it with either of those ingredients.

For now, here is a coconut flour recipe that everyone in my family likes to munch on.

If you are getting into baking with coconut flour, I highly recommend Bruce Fife's, Cooking with Coconut Flour.  This recipe was adapted from one in his book.

The 4 of us are off to California this weekend to visit a family member who has fallen ill --we are hoping to bring some healing cheer and boost morale.  Given that my boys will be there, that shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

The boys packed their bags tonight before bed and were jumping up and down in anticipation of seeing one of their favorite people in the whole world.  Sometimes children are the best healers, either way, they never cease to amaze me!

Simple Bread

Update: Please see my updated Gluten Free Bread recipe!

We spent New Year's in the mountains and partied a bit too hard with our friends Peter and Patrice. Though I did not drink a drop of alcohol, I somehow ended up with a contact hangover. Everyone around me was imbibing and I must have become intoxicated by association.

As part of my "post holiday" status, I will be baking and sharing recipes that are not dessert until the urge to bake sweets returns. Of late, several people have asked me for my gluten free bread recipe. I am satisfied with it, though not thrilled. It seems though, that so many people are in need of a quick and easy gluten free bread that it is time to divulge mine. May be good for hangovers.

Gluten Free Simple Bread
2½ cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
1 tablespoon agave nectar
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, then add agave and vinegar
3. Stir wet ingredients into dry
4. Scoop batter into a small (approx. 6 x 3 inch) well greased loaf pan
5. Bake at 300° for 45-55 minutes on bottom rack of oven; until a knife comes out clean
6. Cool and serve

Makes 12 slices

This low carb, high protein, gluten free bread is a cinch to make. It is especially tasty toasted with a smear of creamy roasted almond butter, my favorite raspberry jelly and a sprinkle of salt.