Paleo Garlicky Cauliflower Bread
Gluten free bread
People have the most problem letting go of bread when transitioning to paleo. They try to cheat the system by buying gluten-free flour. But most of the time these contain corn flour, rice flour and soy flour. Which unfortunately are not part of the paleo diet. The main thing about using flours that don’t contain gluten is figuring out how to make it stick together. A lot of recipes use egg for this purpose. But I’m not big on an eggy flavored bread. Instead I try to mask the eggy flavor with vegetables, spices and herbs. Today I decided to mix cauliflower and garlic. Garlic complements cauliflower so well. And I used Kyara’s golden rule of 4 garlic cloves. There is no need to worry. It’s not too garlicky, it’s just the right amount!
Cauliflower Everything
One of the main ingredients in this bread is cauliflower. It is one of the most versatile and popular low-carb vegetables. 100 grams raw cauliflower contains only 5 grams of carbs. It’s a very good substitution of rice. Check out our sesame honey chicken with cauliflower rice or cauliflower couscous. But we have also had cauliflower steak with BBQ sauce or codfish with cauliflower mash. Like I said very versatile!
Important Step
Raw cauliflower is 92 % water. That is why we must remove as much water as possible from it before using it in the bread. Otherwise the bread will be very soggy. I pulse cauliflower florets in food processor until looks like rice. Then I put it into the microwave for 4 minutes. After I use a cheesecloth to squeeze all the water out from it. It’s possible to use any other cotton fabric, fine mash bag, or pantyhose if you don’t have cheesecloth. Never miss this step because the bread will not work well!
Parmigiano Reggiano = lactose free?
No, I did not make mistake when I said this bread is lactose free. Many cheeses are forbidden to people on a lactose free diet, but not Parmigiano Reggiano. This cheese does not contain lactose or galactose. Its absence is a natural consequence of the typical process used to obtain Parmigiano Reggiano. And it is the result of the long ageing process. There you go, it’s 100 % lactose free.
Garlicky Cauliflower Bread
Ingredients
- 800 gram cauliflower
- 6 medium eggs
- 150 gram almond flour
- 40 gram Parmigiano Reggiano grated
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp ghee or butter, melted
- ½ tsp salt
- Sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 10 cm x 25 cm loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Put cauliflower florets into food processor and pulse them for 2 minutes, until the texture looks like quinoa or couscous. It’s a bit smaller than rice.
- Put cauliflower “couscous” into a bowl, cover and place to the microwave for 4 minutes. (If you don’t use microwave, put it into a cheesecloth and steam in a steamer pot for 10 minutes.)
- Separate eggs whites and yolks.
- Mix almond flour, Parmigiano, garlic, baking powder, egg yolks, salt and ghee (or butter). If you want to use your favorite herbs, put them into the mixture now.
- Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt in a big bowl with electric hand mixer until the peaks stand straight up.
- Add beaten egg whites to the almond mixture in several portions. Stir gently, don’t break the egg white foam.
- I put steamed cauliflower into a cheesecloth (or cotton fabric, fine mash bag) and squeeze as much water out of it as you can.
- Add to the almond mixture and stir gently.
- Pour the batter into the lined loaf pan and sprinkle the top with your favorite seeds.
- Put into the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes.
- Lift out of the loaf pan and allow to cool completely before slicing. It’s very delicious with salmon or any other sandwich topping. Enjoy!