A soft, pillowy flaxseed bread that can be baked as a loaf, Focaccia-style or even as muffins. This bread uses coconut flour as a base and is great toasted. Great for low carb, gluten free and Paleo diets. No eggy taste!
FIND THE RECIPE CARD WITH INGREDIENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE. DON’T MISS THE EXTRA TIPS IN THE POST!
Who loves bread? Well, who doesn’t love bread??
For many people, bread is one of those things that is impossible to give up. It’s not only delicious in a comforting kind of way (I’m thinking buttered warm toast here), it is also such an easy and transportable meal staple.
Unfortunately, two slices of wholegrain wheat bread will raise your blood sugar levels higher than eating 6 teaspoons of table sugar. You can test this yourself with a simple glucose meter – check your blood sugar between 30 to 60 minutes afterwards.
It really is astonishing that we are still being told by our governments that the bulk of your diet should come from carbs and grains.
All that’s definitely going to happen when you eat according to the food pyramid is that you end up looking like the food pyramid.
Our bodies cannot process all the excess glucose we’re consuming on a regular carb-heavy diet. It gets stored as fat around our waists and around our organs. There are predictions that by 2050 up to 90 percent of the population in the UK will be obese (today it’s 60% of the adult population, 1/3 of the children), and Type 2 Diabetes continues to be on the rise.
With wheat and other grains off the table, there still are many ways of enjoying bread when you’re on a low carb diet.
Low carb breads are generally made with either coconut flour or almond flour as a base. I have quite a few recipes on my website using either or both in combination. Try my easy low carb rolls, these low carb English muffins or this really rustic Paleo bread, which is packed with seeds.
I wanted to create a bread recipe using flaxseed, which is super-low in carbs and a brilliant source of fibre. I decided to base it on my low carb roll recipe and after a bit of experimenting I’m excited to share the result with you here.
This flaxseed bread recipe is delicious, easy and really versatile.
Here’s the inside scoop:
- First of all, there’s no need to whisk the egg whites until they’re stiff. You could do it if that’s your thing – it might make the bread even fluffier – but it’s pillowy and soft even without.
- I used olive oil in the recipe because I was after a “bread” taste. I think it masks the taste of the coconut flour well, especially in combination with the salt. This way, the bread is perfect for savoury toppings. If you wanted, you could use melted butter instead and have more of a muffin-type taste, which would be good for sweet toppings.
- You CAN make this flax bread with almond flour instead of coconut flour. I’d think you would have to use twice the amount of almond flour as it’s less absorbent and leave out one of the eggs.
- Talking about eggs – one of the great things about this bread is that it DOEA NOT TASTE EGGY. This is because I’ve left out 3 of the egg yolks and used only the whites.
- The first time round, I made this bread as a Focaccia-style flatbread. Just before I started writing this post I made it again in a silicone loaf mould (yes, I do double-check these recipes work!!). Both work well – as a loaf the bread needs 10 minutes longer in the oven.
- I calculated the recipe as 8 portions. These portions are GENEROUS! Flax is very filling.
- You could top your flaxseed bread with seeds (I tried sesame seeds, which worked well) or even mix some seeds into the dough. Or you go full-out Focaccia by adding rosemary and garlic on top.
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Flaxseed Bread with Coconut Flour
A soft, pillowy flaxseed bread that can be baked as a loaf, Focaccia-style or even as muffins. This bread uses coconut flour as a base and is great toasted.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup / 75 g coconut flour
- 1/2 cup / 60 g ground flaxseed / flax meal
- 3 eggs large
- 3 egg whites large
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4.7 oz / 140 ml / water (10 tbsp)
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit.
Whisk the eggs and egg whites with an electric mixer or in a food processor until foamy.
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until you have a smooth dough.
Let the dough sit for a few minutes so the coconut flour and flax can absorb the moisture.
Pour the mix into a well-oiled pan (alternatively, line a pan with baking paper) and bake at 180 Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit for 35 minutes or until browned on top. It's ready when a knife inserted comes out clean.
If you prefer to bake as a loaf, increase the time in the oven by 10 minutes.
Recipe Notes
I baked my bread Focaccia-style in a 25x15 cm casserole dish. Next time, I will line it with baking paper to be able to take it out easier.
When you make flaxseed muffins with this recipe, the oven time will probably have to be reduced. My guess would be 25-30 minutes.
Nutrition is calculated on the basis of 8 portions (when I cut the focaccia flaxseed bread into squares).
These portions are generous! The loaf I made on day 2 yielded 20 slices.
When I made the loaf, I used a silicone loaf mould - they are brilliant! SO much better than the regular tin pans. Nothing EVER gets stuck in a silicone mould. It will change your (bread baking) life!!
The bread freezes well.
Fer says
How many grs is each portion of bread? Is this recipe on my fitness pal?
Katrin says
Hi there, I’m sorry I don’t know – I did not weigh the bread! Even if you‘d add up the weight of the ingredients and divided by 8, you‘d end up with more weight as you‘d lose liquid through baking. It’s a generous portion though – when I made the recipe as a loaf it yielded 20 slices. The bread is filling:)
Alexa says
I went wild and experimented based on this great recipe. I used half a cup of flax seed flour and half of chickpea flour. I only added 3 eggs, 5 tbs of olive oil and 1 small greek yoghurt, plus the baking powder, ofc.
I used a muffin tray, I got 6 of them using the above quantities.
They are soooo fluffy and soft and really delicious. OMG I have been trying to find the perfect gluten free bread recipe for 3 years since I fou d out I have the celiac disease.
Thank you for inspiring me! I am really happy right now. Premix gluten free flour and premade bread are really expensive but these flours I used only cost like a third of the amount I used to spend.
So happy!
Katrin says
Thanks so much for sharing – and so happy to have inspired you!!!! I really like the idea of the yoghurt in your recipe. I must experiment on that 🙂
Fer says
How many grs is each portion of bread? Is this recipe on my fitness pal?
rani sofyan says
wow, the bread looks so delicious..
rani says
is the bread low carb???
Katrin says
yes, it is. You can see the amount of carbs in the nutritional analysis below. I deduct the fibre from the total carbs to get the net carb content. Hope you’ll try it!
Verity says
Hi there
I didn’t get much of a dough and more of a batter, but all my liquids were correct so I’m not sure what went wrong!
Katrin says
Hi Verity, how did the bread turn out though? Was it bread-y and yum? The dough is not so firm that you can knead it – maybe I should have called it batter 🙂
Michelle says
As as I write this I am sitting in front of my oven eating a warm muffin I made with this recipe topped with some kerrygold butter and it is absolute heaven ! I have been on keto diet for almost a month and this recipe helps me picture a permanent lifestyle change! Who needs carb loaded bread when this is so delicious and easy to make! Hit the spot big time! Thanks so much
Katrin says
I’m loving it! Thanks for your kind words. I”m glad you’re enjoying the bread 🙂
Susan K Simpson says
New to your site, like it very much…
One question, I appreciate your nutritionals, but unless I am blind nowhere do I see the serving size…..
Katrin says
Hi Susan, you can find it near the top of the recipe card. The nutrition for this bread is calculated on the basis of 8 servings.
Mel says
This is the best grain free/ low carb bread I have tried, soft texture and really tasty. Thanks for sharing your recipe! Looking forward to trying out more of your recipes.
Katrin says
Hi Mel, I’m glad you found my site and that you liked the bread. Have you seen my other bread recipes? This low carb garlic bread is getting really good reviews, it’s made with fat head dough. I also love this rustic Paleo bread. The latter reminds me of the rye bread I used to eat as a kid (us Germans are big on dark breads). It’s really dense, you can cut thin slices (not crumbly at all) and it’s superb when toasted.
TheaMaria says
Could I use all egg whites? If so, how many would you recommend? (I have a stockpile of whites left over from making keto frozen custard.)
Katrin says
You could definitely try that – I wouldn’t add more eggs, just leave out the other yolks. It would be interesting to see if the coconut flour taste would come through stronger. I’d also consider adding some butter to replace the fat in the missing yolks, or add another tbsp of oil.
TheaMaria says
Great suggestions – thank you!
TheaMaria says
I decided to follow your recipe and save a few egg whites for next time. Unfortunately my bread (loaf) is dense – not at all soft or pillowy. I do like the flavor though! I just wish my loaf looked like yours. I wonder if your silicone pan is what gave you such a nice rise…
Katrin says
Hi Thea, silicone pans are definitely awesome, but I don’t think they’d make a difference in terms of outcome. The main benefit is that nothing gets stuck! When I made the focaccia, I used a glass pan, and the taste of the bread was the same. It’s always hard to say what happened when you’ve not been there yourself… maybe your oven wasn’t hot enough? of perhaps it could have been the baking powder you used? If it’s on the old side, I find it does not give the same rise. Another thing you could try is whip the egg whites until they’re stiff and fold them in last. That would definitely make the bread SUPER light (as it’s something I have to do by hand – none of my blenders get it right – I tend to avoid it when writing recipes 🙂
Hope this helps!
TheaMaria says
I opened my baking powder pretty recently and its expire date is August 12, 2019, so I doubt that’s the culprit. You may have hit the nail on the head with my oven temp though. I have a thermometer in my oven so I know it runs cold and I typically add 5°F. Maybe that wasn’t enough. I also have the option to bake with convection so I could try that. I’m going to continue experimenting because we both love the flavor of this bread. Thank you!
Michelle says
Hi there. I made this into a loaf and I love the flavor and texture. Didn’t rise much at all however. Would yeast help? Any suggestions on how to get it a little taller? It was only a couple inches high. Thanks
Katrin says
Hi Michelle, when I used a regular size bread mould for mine (you can see it in the picture inside the recipe card) and it was about half the height of a regular bread. So it did not rise massively, but it did come out of the oven taller than I put it in. If yours did not rise that much, I’d first check the expiry date of your baking powder (they do go off and are less effective after). Then you could try the following: You could try adding 1 more tsp of baking powder next time to see if that makes a difference or you could try beating the egg whites to stiff peaks and folding them in last to get more air into the dough. I have no experience with yeast and coconut flour, so cant really advise on that. Let me know if you try any of these and if it makes a difference!
Tena says
So 3 egs plus 3 egg whites or the whites from 3 large eggs?
Katrin says
3 eggs plus 3 additional egg whites. You need 6 eggs in total and use only 3 yolks. 🙂
Alison says
Hi Katrin, I was wondering if the carbohydrates listed in the nutrition facts are net carbs or not – are the net carbs 9.7g or do I need to calculate them myself? eg. 9.7g carbs minus the fibre 6.5g equalling net carbs 3.2g… in all your recipe nutition panels, which is it that you are showing? Many thanks.
Katrin says
Hello Alison, the net carbs would be the total carbs listed in the table minus the fibre – unfortunately the table does not do the calculation for us 🙂
Chris houle says
What would happen if you used the whole egg instead of just the whites?
Katrin says
It would work, but it might taste more eggy. Personally, I don’t mind that but there’s always someone who complains about it!
Jane says
This recipe looks amazing. I live in Mozambique and I am now going from shop to shop searching for ground flax seeds so that I can make it!! I have made a number of your other recipes and they’ve all been simple to make and so delicious! Thank you.
Jane says
Sadly, I haven’t been able to fin ground flax seeds here. Is there something else that I could use as a substitute? Thank you!
Katrin says
Hi Jane, I’m so happy you are enjoying the recipes! If you can get whole flaxseeds, you could grind them yourself. Or is it possible at all to order them online? As a replacement…. it would all be a bit of an experiment. I think ground sesame seeds could be interesting, though I’m not sure if they absorb the same amount of moisture flax does. You’d have to let your dough sit for a bit and see if it has a good consistency. Psyllium Husk is another alternative, though I think you should not use the same amount – half max. The taste is too strong. Maybe half psyllium and half ground sesame seeds? That could work well.
Jane says
Thank you so much Katrin! I eventually found them – they called Linseeds here and I didn’t initially realize they were the same thing as flax seeds! I ground them down myself like you suggested – I used my blender and it worked easily. I just made the bread and it’s delicious!! Thanks for the recipe! Have a lovely weekend.
Katrin says
Of course! Linseeds and flaxseed is the same… I’ll add this in the recipe
Jane S says
Loved this recipe! The bread is moist and tastes good even on its own. I’ve tried many Keto bread recipes and there’s always something wrong – some are plain disgusting. Normally my family leaves me to eat my own bread, but this time they ended up eating half the loaf!
Layla says
I’ve been looking for a recipe with flaxseed. I have a tree nut allergy, so I was so happy when I found this one!
Debbie says
me Too!!! Can’t have almond flour