How do you make grain-free baked goods?
I use soaked nuts.
There are actually 3 ways to predigest nuts and seeds: soaking, sprouting, and sourdough.
When it comes to neutralizing enzyme inhibitors, soaking is the least effective, sprouting falls in the middle, and sourdough is the most effective.
Grain-free sourdough bread recipes may be hard to find, but this one is a versatile gem that can be made into loaves or rolls and eaten as sandwiches or toast!
It tastes just like tender, soft, fresh, whole wheat bread!
When cooled, this bread contains resistant starch — a wonderful prebiotic that comes from cassava flour and contributes to a healthy gut flora population in the colon. See if you notice a difference!
Nuts and Seeds: The Options
What are the best nuts and seeds to use in this bread?
All have different flavors and textures (and costs!) that will affect the bread’s outcome, and ultimately, its unique personality. Here are my favorites.
Sunflower seeds are the least expensive option. They have a lovely earthy flavor, but do contain chlorogenic acid, which turns green when it reacts with the baking soda. Hence, green bread! We work around this oddity by adding a bit of minced kale to our sunflower-based breads. Kale is easier to explain to gawking onlookers than chlorogenic acid. 😉
Cashews blend up creamily to give the texture and color of white bread. They are actually a fruit instead of a nut or seed, and are always pasteurized even when labeled raw. The sourdough process still functions to reduce anti-nutrients, however. Unfortunately, cashew allergies are pretty common, so be careful. To get the best price, buy cashew pieces instead of whole cashews.
Pine nuts are actually a seed and thus great for those with nut allergies! They have an incredible mild, pine flavor and blend up creamily and pale to give a very nice white sourdough appearance to the bread. The only drawback is that pine nuts are costly.
Brazil nuts yield a nubbier texture to baked goods. This is an excellent choice for anyone who loves seedy or chewy breads. Brazil nuts are one of the only foods high in selenium. I personally love making sourdough baguettes with these nuts!
Macadamia nuts make an excellent sourdough in every way — texture, color, and flavor. Again, the only drawback is their costliness.
There are many other nuts and seeds that are fun to work with and will yield various textures, colors, and flavors. Have fun experimenting with your own favorites!
Combinations work well too. For example, pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are very high in protein and economical to purchase. Try pairing them with another favorite nut or seed.
Grain-Free, Paleo Sourdough Bread
Grain-free sourdough bread recipes may be hard to find, but this one is a versatile gem that can be made into loaves or rolls and eaten as sandwiches or toast!
It tastes just like tender, soft, fresh, whole wheat bread!
Makes 1 loaf, or 8 to 10 rolls.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw nuts and/or seeds of choice, soaked for 2 hours in warm filtered water, then drained and rinsed*
- 1/2 cup pure water
- 1/8 cup sauerkraut liquid
- 3/4 cup cassava flour
- 3/4 cup chia seed meal **
- 2 organic or pastured eggs
- 1/4 cup tallow or butter, melted and cooled, or avocado oil***
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda sifted
Instructions
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Purée wet nuts or seeds in a high-powered blender with filtered water until smooth (about 50 seconds).
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Add sauerkraut juice.
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Purée again until just combined (about 10 seconds).
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Transfer to a ceramic bowl and cover loosely with a towel or plate.
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Place in a very warm location (ideally 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit) for 12 hours or overnight.
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A dehydrator or oven with the light on works best, but the countertop works too, if your home temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Fermentation will still occur but it will take about 24 hours.
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Once nuts and seeds are fermented, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Grease a loaf pan.
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Sift together cassava flour, chia seed meal, baking soda, and sea salt.
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Set aside.
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Place eggs, fat of choice, and honey into a stand mixer or food processor and mix on medium speed until completely blended (about 30 seconds).
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Add nuts or seeds and flour mixture.
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Mix with the paddle attachment until thoroughly combined, but not over-mixed.
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Pour into your greased loaf pan.
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Bake until a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean (about 50 to 55 minutes).
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Cool completely before removing from the pan and slicing.
Recipe Notes
*You can soak all of your nuts and/or seeds together. The wet nuts and seeds are what make this bread so irresistible.
**To make chia seed meal, blend 2 cups of chia seeds in a dry, high-powered blender on medium speed for 10 seconds. Measure after blending.
***We love this avocado oil!
Do you enjoy making grain-free baked goods? How do you predigest your nuts and seeds? Have you worked with sourdough?
Looking for more nourishing, gut-healing foods that your family will love to eat?
Be sure to check my cookbook: Eat Beautiful: Grain-Free, Sugar-Free and Loving It (softcover version as well).
It contains all the recipes I’ve perfected through my family’s years on a gut-healing diet.
My eBook and video package is currently 50% off. One of the bonus videos you’ll get explains the grain-free baking technique I use to make amazing panini sandwiches for our gut-healing cafe in Eugene, Oregon!
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I can’t wait to try this. I wonder what walnuts or pecans would taste like in this recipe?
Hi Anna, walnuts and pecans would both be FABulous! I have baked with soaked walnuts and pecans quite a bit, and they’re cream of the crop. Great texture and flavor. I also love the omega-3 profile of walnuts.
What could i use for egg substitution in this sourdough recipe?
This recipe requires eggs; I’m sorry! But you can certainly try using one of the usual substitutions: flax, gelatin etc. I would need to create an egg-free version to be sure you’d have success.
Egg free version would be too awesome!!! using nuts in a sourdough will make the nuts more digestible than on their own right? (plus the soak!)
thanks
Could sourdough starter be used instead of the sauerkraut juice?
Hi Valerie, what kind of sourdough starter do you have in mind, like a wheat one or a gluten-free rice one, for instance? I think so! But I haven’t done it. Let me know if you try. 🙂
Did you try the gluten-free sourdough starter? Just curious.
Hi Mary Kay, gluten-free starter would not allow this recipe to remain grain-free; so I haven’t used my starter with this particular recipe.
Or could we use water kefir instead of sauerkraut juice and do you think it would turn green using ground up sunflower seeds as
which it dose with baking soda or powder?and could I change golden flax seed for chia would they gel the same?
Hi Debra, I do think that water kefir will work! I haven’t tried it, but it makes sense that it will cause the nuts or seeds to ferment. I haven’t tried sunflower seeds with baking powder, but yes, I believe the bread will still turn green. I should say, it’s quite a pretty green! – so not a bad thing necessarily! Yes, you can sub flax seed meal for the chia seed meal. It may turn out moister and not quite as sturdy with that substitution, but worth a try. Good luck. Enjoy the process and outcome! 🙂
Hi, what about yeast?
Adam, I’m wondering the same thing. I get lovely fresh yeast from local bakery, but having read and taken on board Dr Osborne’s No Grain no Pain, I can’t do my usual buckwheat or quinoa bread, so looking at nuts and seeds. This recipe seems to rely on acid-alkaline reaction for a rise, but I would like to get a natural rise from the fermentation and leave out the baking soda. Maybe that’s not possible and its expensive to try it out if it fails.
Ohh this sounds so good! Those flavors sound fantastic. What a great bread!
Thank you, Renee!
Oh, this bread sounds awesome. We stopped eating grain breads but this we can do! Thx Megan!
I really like this recipe but am interested in a lower carb version of this bread. Any ideas for substitutes for the cassava flour in particular? Thanks!
I am in the process of following this recipe. But I don’t understand why I would need to blend up 2 cups of chia seeds to yield 1/4 cup of chia seed meal ???? I did it, it’s late, and now I have a ton of chia meal and only need the 1/4 cup. I really don’t want to waste all these ingredients, and it may be too late since the nut flour is fermenting and the chia is ground. Help please – maybe I am missing something since I am overtired???? Thanks
Hi Mary, I’m getting your question the next morning, but happy to answer. I grind up 2 cups at a time because it’s the most effective method using a blender. If you put in fewer seeds, they don’t process as well. In the future, if you have a coffee grinder, you can start with a 1/2 cup seeds and then measure to see how close that is for the 1/4 cup you need in this recipe. In your current situation, the extra chia meal you have does not need to go to waste. It keeps beautifully in the fridge. It can be used in porridge, smoothies, baked goods or if you make this recipe again. 🙂
Does the recipe require 1/4 cup chia seed meal or 3/4 cup? I’m just reading through the comments before I make the bread and see the recipe and this comment have 2 different amounts? Maybe the recipe has been updated since this comment…
Hi Rachel, the original recipe is correct: 3/4 cup chia seed meal. If you blend 2 cups chia seeds and then measure out 3/4 cup meal from it, you’ll have some leftover.
I’ve been wanting to make this ever since you posted the recipe, and I finally did last night! My family ate the whole loaf with our soup! I used a combo of Brazil nuts, almonds, and cashews, and it was delish! Next time, I want to try with all cashews. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
Thank you for the wonderful feedback!! So glad you all enjoyed it! 🙂
I have been looking for a grain-free sourdough starter and am happy I found yours. I have 2 questions:
~ May I use nuts and seeds that are roasted or must all be raw?
~ Is this starter one that I can feed and keep going? If so, what are your recommendations?
Thank you so much!
opps! I realize your recipe is not considered a sourdough “starter,” but could I somehow use it as one? I would love to have a pot of sourdough occupying a space on my counter that I could keep growing and dip out of for pancakes, bread, etc..
Hi Brenda, unfortunately grain-free starters are not yet a thing. 😉 It will go moldy if left out. I agree; it would lovely to have a grain-free starter! In regard to nuts and seeds, they do indeed need to be raw. This allows the soaking and souring process to reduce anti-nutrients to the greatest degree. The recipe will still work with roasted nuts, but the bread will not be as digestible.
I make sourdough starter with coconut flour or almond flour, and filtered water. The wild yeast, in the air, makes the culture.
So, yes, grain-free sourdough is a thing.
How do you do your almond/coconut flour starter?
I make a cassava flour starter that acts like a grain starter.
Could almond flour be used in this recipe rather than soaking and pureeing nuts? Also, will store bought sauerkraut juice work?
Do you think I could use an all seed mix and no nuts at all? and would it hurt to add some ACV to counteract the Baking soda turning the sunflower seeds green? or would it still turn green if I used Baking powder,is there any reason I could not use baking powder instead of baking soda?just trying to work around the bread turning green, they just wouldn’t eat it if it was green,would still like to use the sunflower seeds as it gives it a crunch of a wholegrain bread, thank you
Hi, could you please tell me what size bread pan you use? and is metal, glass or silicone the best,
Is there a substitute for the chia seeds? I can’t have them. Thanks!
Hi Gail, I’m sorry; they do play a unique role in this recipe and shouldn’t be replaced. You could try using a sprouted nut meal, but I can’t be sure what outcome you’ll have. Good luck!
I find flax seeds work the same way. Anything that absorbs a lot of water and becomes like a gel. Even psyllium husks might work – you see them in the ingredients of some commercial gluten free breads. I’ve even thought of trying slippery elm – but it does have a taste, whereas psyllium is fairly tasteless. You know what – you could maybe just increase the egg and I suspect it would be OK, as egg helps it rise. What can go wrong – it might just be a bit heavier, but still edible. Worth experimenting with a smaller quantity. I experiment a lot and have never had a result I couldn’t eat. I just made a loaf using almond flour, tapioca flour, ground flax seed and eggs. And I just fermented it with some kefir. It smelled and tasted wonderful.
Thank you, Amy. I was thinking about eggs and flax as well, but I wasn’t sure if these ingredients served more as an absorbing agent or binder – I guess it’s both (?). I appreciate your patience with experimenting – my experiments have a 50/50 survival rate. How many additional eggs do you think are needed (I know that 3 tablespoons of ground flax is equal to one egg).
I wouldnt like to say since I haven’t tried. It was just a thought off the top of my head. If you can take flax seed I would try that first in the same measure as the chia seeds. I am in the UK so don’t know how cups translate to tablespoons but if you can figure that out you could use your rule of one extra egg for 3 tablespoons and see how it looks. If the mix is too wet and runny you might have a problem. Getting the right consistency is key. This particular bread might be different but in the ones I make I aim for a consistency somewhere between batter and dough, as per Titli Nihaan’s buckwheat loaf.
Could you use pumpkin seeds?
We used macadamia nuts and it was awesome!
Have you attempted this with coconut flour? Cassava flour is pretty pricey, as well as currently out of reach but have both coconut and almond flour on hand, as well as all the other ingredients. I was recently injured in an accident, so store trips are limited, though I’d love to try this bread!!
Is there a place where I can purchase already made wheat free sourdough bread? I just gave up whest a few weeks ago and the changes in my body are amazing. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time or inclination to make sourdough bread on my own. Thanks for any advice. Bete
I made this bread yesterday using cashews. It’s wonderful! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
In the cassava flour waffle recipe you say that it’s important to ferment with the cassava flour to reduce phytates but this recipe doesn’t do this. Is there a reason for this? Can I include the cassava flour in the ferment for the bread recipe.
Hi Simon, yes, you can. The reason the cassava wasn’t included in this ferment is that I created both of these methods/recipes from study and experience, over time. This recipe came first, before I learned/figured out how to ferment cassava. 🙂 It also came before I studied cassava extensively and measured its phytic acid content.
Thanks Megan. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.
You’re welcome Simon! 🙂
Do you have the instructions published that teach how to ferment the cassava as well? I would like to ferment it all.,
Do you have a nutritional breakdown for this recipe? It is very close to being keto-aligned except for the cassava flour but I’m wondering if the carb count is low enough per serving that I could incorporate it into our meal planning. Or sub in coconut flour — but that would definitely affect the flavor and perhaps retard the ferment
Hi Veronica, sorry, we don’t have the carb count, and the recipe isn’t low carb or keto. I will be publishing a Keto bread over at EatBeautiful.net in about a week, and I know TCS is coming out with Keto Dinner Rolls very soon! I hope one of these will be helpful, or tweaking this recipe with coconut flour, as you mention.
Thanks so much for the recipe! I have my nuts soaking right now. Do you refrigerate this bread or do you leave it out on the counter?
I can not eat nuts and seeds. Is there something else I can use? I have IBS C.
Could I use fresh raw probiotic whey instead of the sauerkraut juice?
Hi Jen! Yes, you can. 🙂
Hello Megan! What do you think the outcome would be by using HEMP seeds with this recipe?
Hi Nicole! You could use part hemp, but they are high in polyunsaturated fats, so I wouldn’t have them be the main seed used.
This looks yummy!
When should I measure the nuts? Is the 2-cup volume before or after they are puréed?
Hi Sherry, so glad! Measure them first, then soak, rinse and purée. 🙂
Thanks for the reply. I measured the Brazil nuts by dropping them into a measuring cup of water until the water rose by 2 cups. Now they are too thick to purée, even though I’ve added nearly an extra cup of water. I’m thinking I may have twice the amount I need now!
I do have a kitchen scale, though…and it would be helpful to see an approximate weight for these items.
Can I use plain yogurt as a source for lactobacillus?
Hi Tom, yes. As you long as you have a good quality probiotic yogurt, you can use it to ferment the bread dough.
Thinking of investing in a new food processor, for this recipe and others. Is there a brand you recommend?
Hi Lauren, yes, it isn’t in stock right now on Amazon, but another supplier may have it. I chose this one because its plastic has been tested, and it’s considered safer than almost all others on the market: Braun FP3020 12 Cup Food Processor Ultra Quiet Powerful motor, includes 7 Attachment Blades + Chopper and Citrus Juicer , Made in Europe with German Engineering. Best wishes! 🙂
Thank you!
Can’t wait to try this! Thanks so much for the recipe! Do you think it will work without the honey? Unfortunately that is off limits for me right now.
Hi Maggie, yes, you can omit the honey. 🙂
Do we put the loaf in refrigerator or on pantry?
Thanks!!
Hi, my family is on Gaps and this looks like a terrific recipe to try however we would have to omit the Cassava: they also cannot tolerate the Coconut flour. Any suggestions for substituting the Cassava? Thanks
Hi Cindy, you could try organic blanched almond flour. The result will be slightly different, but I think it will work.
Hi Megan,
I love the idea of this recipe. However, my seeds (Pumpkin and sunflower mix) have not fermented after leaving them for almost 24 hours. I live in a desert so its very hot. Any ideas why no fermentation and can it be fixed? Thanks
Can Apple cider vinegar be used instead of sauerkraut juice?
Would it not be better to soak nuts and seeds overnight to remove their anti nutrients?
Hi Fern,
Did you try the vinegar? If so, how did it work? Thanks!
Pat
And can chia seed meal be directly substituted with flaxseed meal?
Thanks
What temperature do you bake this sourdough bread????
Can I use sprouted pumpkin seeds and if so would I still need to soak them?
I made this bread with pumpkin seeds and macadamia nuts. It seemed to require much more liquid to puree the soaked nut mixture, so I added more, thinking that maybe pumpkin seeds in particular might need more moisture. I also did not use cassava flour as I wanted to make it a keto bread and cassava is high in carbs. So I used some ground psyllium husk instead, with some hazelnut flour. With all these changes I wasn’t sure what would happen. The dough was less pliable than I would have liked, so I added some more water to see if that would help..and I baked a muffin with it to test what it would be like. I didn’t like the inside vs outside texture that much and felt unsure. I noticed that I really liked the outside texture after baking the muffin, so I tried two things. (I had made a double batch) –
1. I baked a whole loaf, keeping it in the oven extra long and poking many deep (all the way through) holes into the baking bread, early on, with the end of a meat thermometer, to let out moisture so the inside would cook (maybe I added too much water after all, or maybe I would have done that anyway). It’s incredibly dense and heavy dough.
2. I rolled out the 2nd batch into crackers that I cut out with a biscuit cutter and cooked them up on 300 degrees till crisp and brown.
Lovely thing is – the crackers are so yummy, crisp, full of flavor. AND the bread came out amazing! We slice it very thin and toast it up and it’s really got a beautiful full flavor to it and delicious texture!
Thank you for this recipe that I can play around with even more!