Gluten-free Bread

A little over a year ago, I had a visit with a functional medicine specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. Seeing a functional medicine specialist is a very different experience compared to seeing a "normal" doctor. Their goal is to get to the root cause of health issues, and it literally starts by looking back at your birth and if you were breast- or formula-fed, then moves on to the conditions you lived in through childhood, along with discussing any health issues you experienced, and ends at the present.

A key tool used in functional medicine is an 8 week elimination diet. After the 8 weeks you slowly begin reintroducing foods that you removed from you diet to see if any specific food triggers your symptoms. When I completed the elimination diet last year, I was actually able to identify foods that made my symptoms worse.

So a few months ago when my fatigue started to majorly impact my daily life, I decided to try the elimination diet once more to see if the fatigue might be triggered by certain foods. This time around I noticed that gluten pretty much knocks me out. About and hour after I reintroduced gluten to my diet, I felt like I was hit by a truck and was out for the count! So, I have been avoiding gluten containing products for a few months now and have felt better (of course the fatigue isn't magically gone, but it is more manageable). 

But as those of you who also avoid gluten know, it is really hard to find a really good gluten-free bread recipe. Maybe the store bought gluten-free breads are okay substitutes, but they typically have additional ingredients in them that I don't eat. So the journey began to find a really good gluten-free bread recipe that is also vegan.

Luckily, I came across a website that had pretty much everything I was looking for: Rhian's Recipes. The below recipe is my favorite so far but you should check out what else she has if you are looking for other gluten-free baking ideas. This recipe is super quick and easy and requires no yeast or kneading. It stores very well and it is even better when you put it in the toaster. Use it like you would any bread and happy baking!

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Gluten-free Bread Recipe
Gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, refined sugar-free
 
Ingredients:

• ​1 1/4 cup chickpea flour
• 1 1/4 cups brown rice flour
• 2 Tbsp tapioca flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a bread baking dish (8 in x 4 in) with extra virgin olive oil.
2. Add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together.
3. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
   
4. Immediately pour into the greased baking dish and bake 40 min. At this point if you insert a knife or toothpick and it comes out wet, continue to bake another 5-10 min.
   
5.  Slice and enjoy. Will keep well in a covered dish in the fridge and toasts wonderfully in the toaster.