I love it when I nail a recipe on the first try. Sometimes I have to work and work for days to find the perfect chemistry for a recipe. Most of the time I’ll give up and come back later when I have more baking chemistry knowledge.
You could say this recipe has been a while in the making, though. In my early paleo days, I tried every paleo bread recipe on the internet to no avail.
Then I made my Paleo Crusty Bread. That recipe is really delicious. It’s crusty, and bready, and just amazing.
But lately I have been trying to make more allergy-friendly recipes. My paleo crusty bread recipe calls for almond flour, and I had a lot of people asking how to make the bread nut-free. This recipe is my answer.
Why do I love this recipe so much? Let me count the ways:
- It makes a large loaf.
- The texture is chewy without being gummy.
- The crust is crispy.
- It has a yeasty flavor.
- It’s delicious.
What are you waiting for? Let’s make some bread!
Recipe notes:
Q: Can I take out the yeast?
A: I have not tried it without the yeast, so I can’t guarantee results.
Q: Why no rising time?
A: I didn’t want the egg whites to fall. The yeast is mostly for flavor anyway.
Q: Can I substitute tapioca starch for the cassava flour?
A: Tapioca starch and cassava flour have pretty different chemistry. If you want a recipe for bread that uses tapioca starch, try this one.
Q: Can I make it egg-free?
A: The egg whites are pretty essential for the rising and texture of the bread, so I wouldn’t if I were you.
Do yourself a favor and pin this for later:
Also, get yourself some cassava flour:
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Shared at Fat Tuesday, Allergy-Free Wednesday
- Yeast Mixture:
- warm water - 1/2 cup
- extra virgin olive oil - 1/4 cup
- honey or maple syrup - 2 tablespoons
- egg yolks - 4
- active dry yeast - 1 tablespoon
- Egg Whites:
- egg whites - 4
- Flours:
- cassava flour - 1 cup plus 1/3 cup
- salt - 1/2 teaspoon
- coconut flour - 4 tablespoons, divided
- Egg wash:
- egg white - 1, beaten until frothy
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a large baking sheet with some olive or coconut oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, oil, honey or maple syrup, egg yolks, and yeast. Whisk together and set aside.
- Crack the egg whites into a metal or glass bowl (not plastic or copper) and whisk until soft peaks form.
- In another smaller bowl, combine 1 cup cassava flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix well.
- Whisk the cassava flour mixture into the yeast mixture.
- Carefully fold the egg white into the yeast and cassava flour mixture.
- Fold in the coconut flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Fold in the remaining 1/3 cup cassava flour.
- Carefully scoop the dough onto the baking sheet. It will be very sticky. Using floured or wet hands, carefully form the dough into a baguette shape. Don't manhandle the dough too much.
- Brush the loaf with the egg wash and make a few slashes in the top with a bread knife.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. I baked mine for exactly 28 minutes.
- Cool, slice and serve.
I’m allergic to coconut flour- can I simply omit?
You could try my almond flour bread recipe – it doesn’t use coconut flour: http://cookituppaleo.com/paleo-crusty-bread/
Just pulled my loaf out of the oven. Followed the instructions exactly, and it’s gorgeous! Took a little nibble – yum yum!
Lookout for recipes calling for Otto’s Cassava flour which must have much much less moisture content than other brands of cassava flour. I tried this recipe with an african cassava flour and even after 3 1/2 cups of flour it did not become a handleable dough.
Oh my god! what a recipe! I’ll have to whip this one up soon it looks soooooo good and I’ve been wanting some french bread lately! Thank you for the recipe and I’ll let you know how it is when I try! I bet it’ll be DELICIOUS
Hi. Can you put the dough into a silicone bread mold?
I made the french bread and it turned Out gorgeous! Thank you for sharing!
how would you use instant yeast instead in this recipe? any ideas?
You should be able to substitute it. More info: http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-active-dry-yeast-and-instant-yeast-54252
Can I use a silicone bread mold? The bread tasted great when I made it but the shape was way too flat. Thanks
Yes that would work 🙂
Has anyone tried to make this into a pizza dough? The bread is so so delicious!
I bet it would be great for French bread pizzas!
Hi – can’t wait to try this recipe (waiting for delivery of the Cassava flour – it is hard to find in New Zealand). If the yeast is mainly for flavour, can the amount be reduced slightly? I am concerned it may taste too yeasty. Can this bread be frozen once made?
It doesn’t taste too yeasty to me but you can reduce the yeast a little bit if you like. I haven’t tried freezing but it might work 🙂
Hi,good job.can I exclude coconut flour. How does it help?
If you don’t want coconut flour, this recipe is really good: http://www.ottosnaturals.com/recipe/2015/9/24/real-deal-grain-free-crusty-french-bread
It seems like mine turned out great! Just one question: Is it supposed to be moist on the inside?
Perhaps a little bit but not too moist. It’s better when it cools too.
I’m looking for some help with this recipe. I followed the recipe exactly (no I used half agave and half molasses for the sweetener and maybe shouldn’t have it’s darker smelling than I’d anticipated) and my dough was very sticky batter. I had to sprinkle a lot of coconut flour to be able to touch it and even so it was not moldable at all. It’s in the oven now and i’m hoping it will taste good but it’s very flat and I skipped the egg white wash because it was so wet and there was no way I could slash it. I did use Otto’s. I’m wondering how much the whipped egg whites help when I have to fold in four seperate Tablespoons of coconut flour and 1/3 cup of Otto’s. I’m not sure much fluff was left…
I’m going to try again with honey. Any other suggestions?
Thanks
I’d try it with honey and make sure you’re not whipping egg whites until they break; that way less folding action will be required.
Heather,
I tried to add 5 stars to my previous post but it wouldn’t let me!
I missed bread so much and I tried a few other
Paleo recipes but I hated the bread.
I’m so glad I found you.
Haha bet you got quite the arm workout (from your first comment)! 😉
So glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the 5 stars!
I’ve made this recipe so many times now! It’s my go to Paleo bread recipe, great with dips, or use it as a garlic bread with salad. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
So glad you like it Georgia!
Will the recipe be impacted drastically if I leave out the maple syrup? I’d like to avoid any type of sweetener.
You could try decreasing the sweetener amount; the sweetener feeds the yeast a bit. The flour does as well though, so it would probably still be good.
This is the BEST non-wheat, yeasted Paleo bread on earth. I have now made this 3 times, will make it again tomorrow. Made it for non-paleo, wheat eaters, and they loved it. I used both Otto’s and another brand, both work quite well. Since I have no issues with yeast, the yeast was such an amazing thing to have. Love it. Make this, you will not be disappointed. Thank you so much!! I am so impressed that you have done so much at an age where I was more concerned with drinking, drugs and men than my own health. Hope you live long and prosper. Take care.
Wow so glad you liked it!!
What brand Cassava flour did you use? Otto’s works extremely well.
I use Otto’s.
I made this and it was lovely! Do you have any nutritional information on this loaf of bread, particularly the energy content?
Glad you liked it! Just added nutritional info to the bottom of the recipe 🙂
i tried this recipe. It totally failed! I followed the recipe exactly. However, upon closer observation of your photo of the loaf it did seem rather dense. Mine was inedible. I was really hoping I’d found a wonderful French bread recipe. 🙁
Side note: I was kind of surprised that you said it was going to make a large loaf, when it only called for 1 1/3 cups flour. 😉
Hi Jaymi, really sorry that it didn’t work for you 🙁
This looks great. I want to make this for my mother but she is allergic to coconut. Is there something else I can use? (She is also allergic to almonds so not almond flour either)
I would either use some more cassava flour or try this recipe: http://www.cocospaleokitchen.com/paleo-breadottos-naturals-cassava-flour/
As a French who has recently adopted paleo cooking, I had to try this recipe… The dough was moist and the cooked bread is flatter than yours, but it doesn’t matter because not only the bread is delicious, but if it doesn’t taste like “French bread” (ie. baguette in french !), it is the exact replica in taste of my grand mother’s bun (brioche in french), which she makes with active dry yeast ! I will certainly make your recipe again and let my grandma have a piece of it… So thank you especially for this great paleo bread/bun recipe !
I’m a classical trained (French) pastry chef) . I can’t wait to try this ! Thanks!!!
Made this today. What a wonderful treat to be able to eat hot crunchy bread fresh from the oven!
So glad you enjoyed it Lynn!
What is the difference between cassava flour and tapioca starch? Cassava comes from my country, and cassava flour is not the same thing of tapioca starch. I’m confuse!
Thank you for answer me.
Tapioca starch is the isolated starch from the cassava root. Cassava flour is the whole root minus the peel, ground up finely. Hope that helps 🙂
I saw your french bread made with almond flour, and I remember wishing it was nut free. And ta da, here it is! I can’t wait to make it!
I am loving the cassava flour, thanks for all these recipes to use it with!
I have never used Cassava flour before and I love (and miss!) French bread.
I’ve tried my hand at YEAST & CASSAVA flour and… I failed, LOL!!!
Did you use Otto’s Cassava flour? Other brands may not work as well.
I used homemade cassava flour and it came out great. Just peel, dehydrate and grind the yucca and make your own. So much cheaper than store bought. I also used flax eggs in lieu of real eggs. Was a little bit more dense though my husband loves it.
Please make sure to boil the Cassava/Yuca before using it. Raw Cassava contains cyanide, and boiling completely eradicates it making it safe to eat.
The cassava flour does not contain harmful levels of cyanide.
i have never been successful with yeast. So before I try the recipe, does the egg and maple syrup need to be room temperature too? Thank you!
Not necessarily as long as the water is the right temp.
Lol, this was the first time I beat eggs into soft peaks and I do believe the next time I will be using my hand mixer! Whew!
I can’t wait to try it.
Ok, just out of the oven…
I let it cool for a bit and tried it. It’s delicious!
Thanks for the amazing recipe!
😉