A sandwich! Two slices of bread, with practically anything in the middle. The filling could be as elaborate as layers upon layers of sliced meats and roasted vegetables, smeared with relishes, jams, or spicy condiments…or as simple as a bit of nut butter and honey. However, if it doesn’t have bread on the outside, I just can’t bring myself to regard it as a “Real Sandwich”. Sorry, lettuce wraps!
There aren’t many good grain-free alternatives to sandwich bread out there. I’ve peeked at the gluten-free breads in the freezer section at the grocery store, and although it’s true enough that they don’t contain gluten, they seem to consist of rice flours or potato starch, and usually have a list of unpronounceable ingredients which are also well worth avoiding. Then today, low and behold, I ran across a photo of a “Gluten-free, Low-carb, Primal sandwich” on chowstalker.com. Tip of my hat to Healthy Living How To for posting this wonderful thing! Apparently this recipe has been passed around and around on discussion boards, but heck, I would have never found it.
This is just the basic recipe – and I can’t wait to fiddle with it. Add a few spices or herbs, and you’ll have something completely different. It could be sweet or savory. It could be breakfast, lunch, or dinner – and think how much easier packing a meal-on-the-run will be! And breadcrumbs…run it through a food processor and you have bread crumbs!!! I’m so excited!
Here you go….happy experimenting! Please go visit Healthy Living How To for other ideas too!
Update: Visit here for another version that’s a little nuttier, with the addition of sunflower seeds and walnut oil.
Ingredients (for one individual bread):
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
- 1/2 teaspoon Rumsford Baking Powder (gluten-free and aluminum-free)
- pinch of kosher salt or sea salt
- 1 egg (from pastured chicken)
- 1/2 tablespoon grass-fed butter (Kerrygold is my favorite)
In a small bowl mix dry ingredients and set aside. In another small bowl whisk together egg and melted butter. (Tip: melt the butter in the ramekin dish you bake it in. Let it cool some before whisking into the egg, or you will cook the egg.)
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Spoon mixture into 6 oz. buttered ramekin and microwave for 50 seconds to 1 minute. (If you don’t have the “right” ramekin, you could also cook this in a wide mug.)
We enjoyed the bread by making a hot ham and cheese sandwich. Split the bread in half; add the cheese and ham to one half and cover with the other. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, add a pat of butter and melt. Place the sandwich in the skillet, and flip so that both sides get buttered. Continue to heat, flipping occasionally, until cheese is melted and bread is nicely toasted on both sides. Enjoy!
Sometimes its the simplest things that you enjoy- a sandwich perhaps! Or our soundtrack, featuring the “Swamp music” of Tony Joe White! He first hit the scene in 1969 with “Polk Salad Annie”- a stone classic that I never tired of hearing. Well, all these years later and White keeps it going with The Shine
she cooks...he cleans 
I spotted this the other day too. Great minds think alike, eh? Gotta try it soon.
We’ll have to figure out some ways to use this on the BGE! Maybe little pizzas…hmmm…
That would be tasty. Does the dough rise much? I almost wonder about quadrupling it and baking it in a small quick bread loaf pan.
Dave, it roughly doubled in the little dish I cooked it in – – however if you want to go for a full loaf, I would recommend this recipe at Elana’s pantry: http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-bread/. I haven’t tried it yet, but her recipes are always good and well tested. I think the beauty of this little instant bread lies in how quick it is!
It does seem a lot tougher to find products like this that taste good. There seem to be a ton out there, but well … they just don’t look good. Helpful post!
Most definitely! Sadly, there is no substitute for a warm, crusty loaf of ciabatta, or good old-fashioned biscuits. We just have to do what we can to find other things that are palatable without wheat. Going back to the “other side” is not worth the discomfort!
You did a fantastic job with making this look like the real thing! I’m off to see if there are still any tomatoes on my vines…or the neighbors! 🙂
I have a self confessed sandwich mania and I totally feel your pain with the gluten free breads out there..this recipe however sounds divine..
I found Vanessa’s repice last week and cooked in my 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup. I added a bit more baking powder and also added a splash of buttermilk to make it less eggy tasting…
glad I found your blog! It’s lovely!
Thank you, JoAnne! I found your blog too (fun!), and just left you a comment about sweet potatoes and butternut squash.
I like your idea of adding some buttermilk to the bread mixture. I’ll try that next time!
New to the paleo/primal scene, I am happy to have found your blog! I am now fascinated by the possibilities of eating within principles that make sense (with personal tweaks, of course).
Whenever I think of GF bread, I always think of Shauna. Her bread category yields a wealth of recipes. Definitely looking for similar diamonds in your archives!
How would this bake in an oven if I am avoiding the microwave? Thank you!
only just found this and I bake mine in the oven, it rises a ton and comes out wonderfully moist. I often add some garlic butter half way through cooking, oh my!!
Oh thanks, that’s great to know. I still haven’t tried it in the oven – but I can only imagine that it tastes even better. There’s a lot to be said for browning! And garlic butter!
Thank you for sharing this! I haven’t had a sandwich in over a year, and was pretty satisfied with this version of bread. Yeah, it’s no sourdough loaf or anything, but it’s a great substitution.
Awesome & thanks! Made it this morning and even my teen likes! Can’t wait to try to a sweet version.
I am all out of baking powder. Otherwise I would be making this now! My daughter keeps begging me for a sandwich. Can’t wait to try it!
I hope your daughter likes her sandwich!