GAPS BREAD ATTEMPT #1

Yesterday, I decided to be brave and make my very first loaf of GAPS bread. I know, I know … HOLY EFFING SHIZBALLS!

I’ve been on Stage 4 for about 2 and a half weeks now, but before yesterday I had been way to nervous to introduce the bread. The recipe in the Gut and Psychology Syndrome book only calls for three ingredients; almonds, fat (butter, lard etc.) and eggs. I was really nervous about how the nuts would go with my tummy.

This may sound dramatic but as I’m sure you can appreciate, if your gut isn’t quite feeling as groovy as it would like to, even the most simple foods can become terribly aggravating.

For years nuts were a staple food for me and I absolutely adored them.  So much that I overdosed on them most days.

  • I’d munch on mixed nuts as a snack and would then have nut butter (and I’m one of those people that can’t be trusted to just eat one or two spoonfuls at a time) with fruit for dessert.
  • Some days I’d also have celery stalks stuffed with nut butter and a nut-based bliss ball as well!

When you eat minimal grain, minimal dairy, no processed foods (even ‘(pseudo) healthy’ ones) and have cut out pretty much all added sugar, unless you embrace the meat, egg and vegetable way of eating at every meal, your nut and seed intake can absolutely sky-rocket without your really noticing.

Unless you have a gut of steel over time consuming too many nuts has the potential to wreck havoc on digestion.

Before long, delicious foods like almond butter or activated Brazil nuts start to cause a whole host of issues including (but not limited to) the sensation that a plant is sprouting and growing inside your gut, tickling the lining and making it uber-itchy. The latter could have just been my experience.

Even when I cut down on nuts (I confess there were still a few nut-butter-jar-and-spoon ‘incidents’) they’d still disagree with me unless they were blended with enormous amounts of coconut oil.

Don’t get me wrong nuts (unless you have a true allergy) are snazzy and nutritious. They aren’t a staple in the way that veggies are. They’re allowed quite early on in the GAPS diet (you can introduce nut butter in stage 3) however my healing has been going so well that I haven’t wanted to risk going backwards by introducing even the tiniest amount of nuts.

Yesterday I faced my recent and slightly irrational, fear. I figured I’d be trying them at some stage so I may as well get it over and done with. I must admit I compromised with myself. I made up my own recipe, modifying the amounts suggested by Dr Natasha so that I could use more eggs and coconut oil (foods I’m fine with) and less nuts the first time round (baby steps). The result was a delicious bread that caused absolutely no digestive distress (Hi-5!)

  • This is a great recipe for those that have also felt apprehensive about re-introducing nuts.
  • It is also a tasty grain-free bread recipe for people that want an alternative to nut-laden breads.

What this bread is not however, is a loaf that you would serve up to fussy friends and family members. It is tasty and has a beautiful texture – it can even bend without crumbling – but is not something you’d try to impress people with at a dinner party. Unless all of you are on GAPS and just grateful to have a variation.

The colour is a dull grey inside and if you bake it in a round pan – like yours truly – it will rise impressively, only to sink upon cooling.

  • Note to self – use a loaf pan next time, the batter might not look like it’s going to rise much, but holy heck it does and it needs to be in pan where it can rise evenly, not just in the middle!

If you need a beginner’s bread recipe before moving on to the more fibrous variations, this one is for you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Gaps Bread


  • 1 cup activated almonds
  • 1 cup melted coconut oil
  • 6 eggs

Method

I suggest you hold it right there and benefit from my hind sight-induced wisdom. Save yourself disappointment and head on over to this muffin recipe or this bread recipe.

Recipe Notes


Activated nuts are raw nuts that have been soaked in water for between 6-12 (depending on how soft/hard the nut is) and then dried out in a low oven or a dehydrator until all the moisture is gone. This process removes the enzyme-inhibitors in the nuts, making them much easier to digest – crucial if you already have a sensitive digestive system

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Slices really well as you can see. Is it just me or (apart from the triangle shape) does this bread look surprisingly like regular bread?

4 thoughts on “GAPS BREAD ATTEMPT #1”

  1. Believe me when I say that this is simply the best article I have ever had the privilege to read on this topic. It has taken my mind into a whole new arena of thought.

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