a recipe: coconut flour bread

Coconut flour bread found its way to our kitchen this week courtesy of Ann Marie of CHEESESLAVE and her new Surf & Turf class which focuses on protein-rich and nutrient-dense cooking. About thirty-five to forty percent of Nourished Kitchen readers purposefully avoid gluten or grains entirely either because of a diagnosis of celiac disease or out of dietary preference. So, this post is for you – a beautiful coconut flour bread for all those grain-free readers, or just any of you looking to enrich your diets with wholesome fats and high quality protein.

Coconut flour is remarkably versatile, and I like to use it in otherwise starchy recipes where its spongy, dense and moist texture really shines.  It soaks up liquid readily and just a little bit of coconut flour goes a long, long way.  In most recipes, coconut flour is paired with several eggs and a good amount of fat, both of which contribute valuable vitamins and a favorable fatty acid ratio to the dish you’re making – in this case: coconut flour bread.  By comparison to grain-based flours, coconut flour is richer in dietary fiber, protein and fat which makes it a particularly helpful flour for those that must be mindful of their macronutrient intake levels (which is probably all of us.)

coconut flour bread

Composed of just five simple ingredients, this grain-free bread is remarkably satisfying.  Though the bread is made from coconut flour, its flavor is only slightly reminiscent of coconut and it offers a beautiful dense crumb similar to coffee cake but without the cloying sweetness.  While you could undoubtedly use this coconut flour bread to prepare sandwiches, I think its dense crumb coupled with its very faint coconut flavor would make it the ideal bread for a nutrient-dense and protein-rich French toast.  This coconut flour bread will be featured in the lesson #10′s recipe section of CHEESESLAVE’s new cooking class, Surf & Turf, which focuses exclusively on protein: why we needed, why you may need more than you think, and how to prepare it.

coconut flour bread: ingredients

• 3/4 cup coconut flour (see sources)
• 1/2 cup ghee (see sources), plus extra for greasing the pan
• 6 eggs
• up to two tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt

coconut flour bread: equipment

• stand mixer, food processor or mixing bowl and whisk
• loaf pan

coconut flour bread: method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine coconut flour, ghee, eggs, honey and 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt together.
3. Mix all the ingredients together until they form a smooth paste with no clumps.
4. Grease a loaf pan.
5. Spoon the mixture into the loaf pan, and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes.

YIELD: 1 loaf

TIME: about 5 minutes (preparation), 40 minutes (baking)

NOTES: This recipe, and about 100 other protein-rich and nutrient-dense recipes, are featured in the Surf & Turf class hosted at CHEESESLAVE.  The class is suitable for those who are following a grain-free diet including those following grain-free, gluten-free, paleo, primal or GAPS diets.