Life tends to lose some of its pizzazz when you can’t eat regular bread. Like when you go out to eat with all of your friends and they slather heaps of soft butter on a warm, crusty loaf the way God intended, talking and laughing while you sip on water secretly crying inside and longing for the days of yesteryear when you took the joys of gluten for granted.
But let’s not dwell on the past, dear readers. Let’s find a way to move forward together. And I have just the recipe to cheer us up and bring that old spark back into our lives.
The recipe in question: World Famous Sandwich Bread. This recipe is not our own. It comes to us from one of our favorite paleo cookbook authors named Danielle Walker from her book Against all Grain. We’ve made a ton of recipes from her book (chocolate chip banana bread, blueberry waffles, snickerdoodle cupcakes and more), all of which are dairy and gluten free and have worked out quite nicely in our kitchen. But it’s plain bread that holds a special place in our hearts. We miss the comfort and convenience of a loaf to smear with jam for breakfast, to layer with bacon, lettuce and tomato for lunch and to smash with avocado for snacks. And this bread delivers on all counts and has the extra bonus of tasting fantastic – even flaky – when warm and toasted.
Regular bread relies on yeast for rising and gluten for its structure and chew. But this bread is different. For its height, two ingredients come into play: baking soda, a natural leavener, and egg whites whipped to soft peaks, which lighten the batter, creating air pockets that allow the bread to rise. In fact, in her book, Walker says the whipped egg whites help the loaf rise to almost twice the size as adding the eggs whole.
Instead of gluten, cashew butter makes up the base of the bread. We find cashew butter to be smoother, creamier, less grainy, less viscous and more mild in flavor than other nut butters. These characteristics give the final product a neutral (non-nutty) taste and a soft texture. (We were able to find creamy cashew butter by the peanut butter at our local Whole Foods.)
Coconut flour also gives the bread structure. While ¼ cup might not seem like a lot, fiber-rich coconut flour has an incredible ability to absorb moisture. A little coconut flour goes a very long way (any more, and the bread would turn out dry).
But, friends, this is not a dry bread after all. It’s a soft, spongy bread with a delicate crumb. And thanks to the protein-rich ingredients (cashew butter, coconut flour and eggs), it is quite satiating, too – which is much more than we can say for the regular stuff.
- Coconut oil, for greasing pan
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1 cup creamy cashew butter
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 2½ tsp. distilled white vinegar
- ¼ cup cashew milk
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- Heat oven to 300°F. Place small heatproof dish filled with water in bottom rack of oven. Grease 10” loaf pan with thin layer of coconut oil; line bottom of pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, add egg whites. Beat until soft peaks form (peaks will barely hold their shape when lifted with whisk); set aside.
- In large bowl, using wooden spoon, mix together egg yolks and cashew butter until well combined. Stir in honey, vinegar and cashew milk until well combined. Then, stir in coconut flour, baking soda and salt until combined.
- Using spatula, stir about 3 tablespoons reserved whipped egg whites into bowl with cashew butter mixture until well combined. Gently fold in remaining whipped egg whites until well incorporated (batter will be light and fluff)y. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan.
- Bake until bread is puffed, golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Transfer pan to cooling rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Run thin knife around edges of pan to release bread from sides. Invert pan onto plate, then flip onto cooling rack to cool completely before serving.