Keto Almond Flour Bread

Dear readers, have you heard the term 'keto'? Well, I had seen the term floated about for a while now but I hadn't understood what it meant til lately. It turns out that keto is a type of diet that utilises the process of 'ketosis' which is what occurs when your body burns stored fat instead of glucose broken down from consumed food. Burning stored fat can help weight loss and increase energy. Which is great if you want to lose weight, amiright?

So how does one go about this keto diet? There is a ton of info on the internet if you want to go in-depth but basically it means eating normally but severely limiting carbohydrate intake. Carbs breaks down to glucose, you see.

We've been trying to lower our carb intake, sorta tip toeing into a keto diet, and one of the first things that we made specifically for this reason was this gorgeous carb free, gluten free Keto Almond Flour Bread. Perfect for a keto diet and we couldn't believe how easy and yummy this bread is!

The key to this keto bread is to use almond flour instead of wheat flour. Almond flour is ground almonds which makes it gluten free and low in carbohydrates. Wheat flour, on the other hand, has gluten and is heavy in carbohydrates. For this recipe we make bread only with almond flour.

Almond flour is basically ground up skinless almonds. I love, love almond flour when used for tart fillings but never thought about using it as a straight up wheat flour substitute. Turns out almond flour this way is more than just pastry magic! It's grain free and gluten free magic!

You can buy almond flour pre-ground or you could make it yourself with a bit of care. We'll post about how to make your own almond flour soon so keep an eye out for that.

The other main ingredient for this keto almond flour bread was a bit surprising. A shit ton of eggs. Like a lot. The first time we made this we were like 'Whaaaaat?' But this lovely bread turns out just fine. More than fine, actually.

Mix the eggs and almond flour with the the magic combo that makes this bread rise without any yeast. Vinegar and baking soda! Y'all remember that science trick back in primary school where lava erupts from a volcano? This is the same trick! Vinegar and baking soda combine to foam up, providing the rise that makes the bread rise and become fluffy.

For the final touch of flavor we add a touch of salt, maple syrup, olive oil and butter to the keto batter.

Everything is mixed and the batter is done. It looks really wet, doesn't it? Again, the first time we made this I totally thought 'Whaaaaat the heck?' Crazy wet, right? But, no worries, it turned out just fine! More than fine ;)

Neatly line your bread pan with some parchment paper. Try to keep the lining neatly lined against the sides of the pan cause the bread bakes out in the form the paper gives it. Then pour that goopy loopy batter right in! Pop in the oven and bake until skewer comes out clean. Just look at the rise of the baked bread in the photo below! Isn't that just amazing?

Once the bread is cool it's ready to slice and devour! This bread is really good, actually tasting a wee bit like pancakes with a touch of maple syrup! Probably because of all the eggs. But trust me, this keto bread works just like regular bread, absolutely great with anything you want to sandwich inside it. This bread is superbly nom nom all the way to a keto diet!

Keto Almond Flour Bread Recipe

(adapted from recipe here)(makes 1 loaf)

Prep time: 5 mins Bake time: 35 mins

Ingredient:

1 3/4 almond flour, 168g
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 eggs
1/4 cup virgin olive oil, 53g
1 tbsp butter, melted and cooled, 14g
1 tbsp maple syrup, 14g
1 tsp rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

Direction:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Line an 8 by 4 inch loaf pan with parchment.

Mix the dry ingredients together: almond flour, salt and baking soda. Separately mix the wet ingredients together: eggs, olive oil, butter, maple syrup and vinegar.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Pour the batter into the lined pan.

Bake for 35 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Let the bread cool completely. Remove from pan. Slice and serve.

Storage: Freezes perfectly. Keeps up to 3 months. Slice, ziplock and freeze. To reheat just pop into a toaster and you'll have delicious keto bread in a flash.

Bodalicious Breads at The Hong Kong Cookery: