Walnut Bread
Walnuts and almonds have quite similar nutrition and carb content. But walnut is the only nut that contains the “plant version” of omega-3 fatty acids, a substance known as ALA, which reduces inflammation in the body. So that is a good enough reason to use walnuts as a low carb flour. As walnut flour is not easily available, we have to grind it ourselves which is quite challenging. Walnuts has high fat content, so the moisture makes it difficult to grind by itself and easily turns into a paste or butter. Hence, I added some coconut flour to absorb the excess oil and make it easier to grind. The final texture is quite coarse so it’s actually walnut meal, not flour. It is also quite hard to grind the nuts completely, but the good news is that some of the ungrounded nuts makes a good addition to the bread by providing the extra crunch. As you know, keto bread does not rise much even with baking powder, baking soda, apple cider vinegar and yeast as low carb flours are heavy, moist and has no gluten. But the key to making this bread rise so well is the protein from the egg whites. It is quite similar to how the protein in gluten makes the bread rise so well. On the other hand, the fats from egg yolks hinders the rise so that is why I prefer to use egg whites.
TO MAKE THE WALNUT MEAL
1. Use a nut or multi grinder as it is the most effective. Food processor can be used but it may not be as effective.
2. Ensure that the walnuts are at room temperature (not cold from the fridge or freezer and not hot from the toasting in the oven). It is not necessary to toast the raw walnuts before grinding.
3. Ensure that the bowl and blade of grinder are dry and cool (not hot from the dishwasher).
4. Place half the walnuts (240 g in total) into the grinder with half of the coconut flour. Pulse (do not blend) a few times for a few seconds each. There may still be chunks of walnuts but it's fine.
5. Repeat the process with the balance of walnuts and coconut flour.
6. The texture of the ground walnuts is coarse, like meal, not flour.
7. It's fine if there are still some chunks as they add the crunch.
DIRECTIONS
1. For best results, weigh the ingredients with a digital scale
2. Preheat the oven at 350F or 180C.
3. Grind the raw walnuts and coconut flour according to the guide above.
4. In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients until well combined.
5. Add all the wet ingredients and mix until a dough is formed.
6. The dough may appear to be quite soft but after resting for 5 mins, it will firm up. Shape the dough into a loaf. The dough is quite sticky so you can wet your hands for easier handling.
7. Place the dough into a greased 8x4" pan lined with parchment paper.
8. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and mixed seeds and press down gently so they will stick to the dough.
9. Bake at the lowest rack for 60 mins. Remove the pan from oven and as an option, you can leave the bread in the pan for about 15 to 30 mins as the residual heat will help to dry the crumbs.
10. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
[Total servings = 20]
NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING
Total carb = 4.0 g
Dietary fiber = 2.3 g
Net carb = 1.7 g
Calories = 102
Total fat = 8.7 g
Protein = 3.6 g
This nutrition information is just a guide. Feel free to use your own macro calculation app for accuracy.
Recipe by lowcarbrecipeideas
Find more great recipes at lowcarbrecipeideasofficial.com
