There could be some controversy that arises over this recipe, however, and I will attempt to defend some of it here:
1) It is a treat. Hubs and I generally cringe a bit when someone is chatting to us about Paleo stuff and the first thing they ask is 'what kind of treats can you eat.' The eating of treats is what has most folks sick and inflamed. Temptation is out to get us, that is for sure. Although this bread is totally Paleo, it is pretty loaded with calories and they still do matter. It is as my Super Hero, Robb Wolf, likes to say, "your mouth is not a vacuum cleaner." On the plus side, it is very filling so usually one 'cup' is enough to share. Just don't eat it every single day. In fact, if you are still in your first month of making the switch to Paleo, you may want to save the recipe as a celebration thing. I am reading Chris Kresser's book, Your Personal Paleo Code, on my Kindle now and it reminded me about how important what he calls the 'reset' month is. You really owe it to yourself to be super strict for this month. You can do it, trust me please.
2) Some folks may not want to use their microwave ovens and I can't say that I disagree since I am kind of afraid of radiation, magnetrons, and stuff I just don't understand. But, I don't use it very often and in general, key in the time, hit the start button, and run. (In this case it's a minute and a half plus a few seconds for melting the coconut oil.)
3) This recipe uses palm shortening which is not sustainably harvested in many parts of the world. This has caused orangutans and other beautiful animals to perish through clear cutting and loss of habitat. I did some research and the Spetrum brand says that it harvests its palm oils from small farms that do practice sustainability. I will just have to take them at their word. Palm oils are really good fats and Mark Sisson's blog has a good post on it. I have tried to use coconut oil in the bread recipe, but with the coconut flour...well it tastes a little too much like coconut for me.
All that aside, it is actually fun to make. It comes out looking like this:
It isn't very pretty at that point, but you can toast it for about four minutes and make stuff like this:
Open faced BLT with avocado or...
- You'll need a one or two cup glass measuring cup or something like the biggish ramekin in the first picture...I think it's a Corning Ware thing.
- Use between 1/8 and 1/4 teaspoon of salt; 1/4 tastes a bit too salty to me and 1/8 isn't enough.
- Use your microwave to melt the palm shortening in the cup or ramekin; it takes only about 20-30 seconds in my microwave, but yours could be different.
- Carefully swish the melted oil all around the sides of the cup or ramekin to grease it.
- Add the egg to the oil and mix with a fork.
- Stir in the dry ingredients; it will usually need a tablespoon of water to loosen the batter a bit.
- Place the mixture in the microwave; mine takes 1 minute 30 seconds, yours could be different, but no worries...add 15 seconds or so if needed.
- Let you cup of bread cool for a bit; invert the cup or ramekin and give it a tap to release the bread. Toast the entire loaf and cut into eight wedges to use as an appetizer or for soups. Slice the entire round to half thickness and toast them if you want to use it as a sandwich.
Not bad. And see the bacon? Hubs is away on a business trip, so I made up this fancy breakfast just for me this morning using the bacon cooker his sister gave him for Christmas. It also goes in the microwave, one minute per slice. (Guess I am living a bit dangerously today.) But this cooker is a very cool gadget AND it goes in the dishwasher. OMG I do so hate to wash dishes. So it's a total keeper. I did eat the entire loaf by myself with the bacon this morning at 7:00 and it is now almost 2:00 in the afternoon. No hungries at all.
I've also cut the bread into wedges and served it as strawberry shortcake or with soup like it is cornbread. Saturday night we had my new precious friend, Noha, over for a spur of the moment lamb dish. I didn't have an appetizer planned, so I made a cup of bread for the three of us to share and used it as pretend bruschetta with just some good olive oil, fig balsamic*, and tomatoes. Oh and yep, Noha has been eating Paleo for about three months now. I did share my treat theory with her and she agrees. She's doing great and even had to get some size smaller pants. YAY! I am so super proud of my Paleo workout/shopping/cooking buddy. She loved the bread. She even liked the lamb, which Hubs and I took as a great compliment since she is from Egypt. (Please Dear Noha, ignore the bacon pictures.) And we're still gonna collaborate on a recipe for the tahini sauce that I mentioned here.
Well, it's time for the recipe I've been babbling on about.
Cup of Paleo Bread
Some notes on this recipe:
Ingredients:
1/3 cup almond flour
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder**
1/8 -1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons palm shortening
1 egg
1 tablespoon water, if needed
Method:
Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
Take good care and enjoy! k.
PS * I am in love with these specialty balsamic vinegars and olive oils from little specialty stores that are popping up everywhere. We visited recently discovered one near us. Thank you, Mount Dora Olive Oil Company! No berry is safe from my bottle of dark mission fig balsamic. If you get a chance to stop in, please do and support a small business.
** Remember to get baking powder that is gluten and aluminum free. This brand, Rumford, is what my mom and Grandmama used and it's still the right stuff.
