The recent recipe for Paleo muffins proved to be very popular, so I am posting another no grain recipe I use frequently in our home! This particular honey bread recipe that is also Paleo friendly features coconut flour instead of nut or bean flours.
Using coconut flour to make baked goods results in a consistency similar to Sara Lee pound cake. When I was in grade school, my breakfast was sometimes a slice of Sara Lee pound cake topped with peanut butter. Not an ideal healthy breakfast, by any means. But, I do have a soft spot for the soft, spongy texture of pound cake even to this day!Â
If you love pound cake as I do, chances are you will like this honey bread. It is a wonderful alternative to the typical wheat based pound cakes. This honey bread recipe does have a hint of coconut flavor, but it is not overwhelming and does not detract from complete enjoyment of the texture and overall flavor of the bread.
This honey bread does not get completely brown on top like wheat based pound cake, but the texture is quite similar. This bread is also very low carb and unbelievably filling for those of you who are limiting them for health or weight reasons. It’s amazing how just one slice fills you up.
Note that when I originally created and published this recipe, I used honey as the sweetener. Since that time back in 2010, I’ve learned via research that it is not ideal nor is it traditional to use honey for cooking or baking. However, after retesting, I found that honey still makes for the tastiest loaf. If you make this bread a lot, I recommend using date syrup instead which is Paleo and also allowed on the GAPS, AIP or Specific Carbohydrate healing diets. If you are not on one of these diets, then maple syrup makes a wonderful substitute too. It does slightly change the taste of the loaf, however.
I LOVE a slice of this honey bread with some healthy peanut butter on top (this is our favorite brand). My husband and kids like a slice with a big slab of butter and a bit of raw honey.
Paleo Honey Bread Recipe
Easy recipe for grain free, Paleo honey bread that tastes just like Sara Lee pound cake without all the carbs and sugar.
Ingredients
- 6 eggs preferably pastured or free range
- 5 Tbl butter melted, preferably grassfed
- 6 Tbl coconut milk or whole dairy milk
- 6 Tbl raw honey
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup coconut flour sifted
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 5 drops stevia extract
Instructions
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Whisk together eggs, butter, coconut milk, honey, sea salt, vanilla, and stevia.
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Mix coconut flour and baking powder in a separate bowl and then sprinkle this dry mixture in with the wet ingredients a bit at a time.
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Once everything is mixed, keep whisking until the batter is very smooth with no lumps. This may take a few minutes.
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Pour into a glass loaf pan and bake at 400 F/204 C for 20-25 minutes or until loaf starts to slightly brown on top.
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This recipe makes 1 medium honey bread loaf, 12 muffins, or 24 mini muffins. Cover leftovers on the counter and refrigerate what you won't eat in 2 days in a sealed container.
Recipe Notes
Use date syrup instead of honey if you wish to refrain from cooking with honey, which is not an ideal practice.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sarah Faith, I do not soak my coconut flour because of this statement from "Living with Phytic Acid" by Rami Nagel (article in Wise Traditions Journal from March 2010 – until there is more information on this, I am choosing to not soak:
PREPARATION OF COCONUT FLOUR
We do not have enough information about the preparation of coconut flour to say whether soaking reduces phytic acid, but as with other phytic-acid containing foods, the likelihood is that it is at least partially reduced.
Sarah, I just was reading over at Kimi Harris' blog (nourishing gourmet) that one is supposed to soak coconut flour as well, as it technically is from a seed and contains the same antinutrient properties as other seeds. I was so disappointed to hear this as I had been using coconut flour as my "last minute, I didn't soak anything last night" type breakfast solution. What are your thoughts on soaking coconut flour?
I think it may be a good idea to soak the coconut flour first. Have you tried this? I've been following the extensive series of posts on soaking and sprouting on The Nourishing Gourmet blog, and the comments say that Sally Fallon recommends soaking coconut flour.
Thanks for this delicious recipe — I look forward to making it!
-Beth
Hi Melissa, you are absolutely right – thank you for pointing this out. These ingredients can be left out for folks on an extremely strict interpretation of GAPS or SCD. Some folks heal enough after a few months to be able to eat these but must still be off grains.
This recipe sounds great, and I plan to try it. But, I wanted to mention, as someone who followed the SCD strictly for almost two year, there are a couple of ingredients that are not SCD legal. The stevia and baking powder are not allowed when following the SCD.
I made this and it rose beautifully, moist, beautiful texture. WONDERFUL!!! We started eating it warm right from the oven! It tastes EXACTLY like Sarah Lee Pound Cake! We tried to not eat the whole thing at one sitting – it was hard! I will serve this to guests as a desert! Thinking about adding cocoa to it next time. THANK YOU!!!
Hi Dawn, this type of bread doesn't rise much if at all. If you find it too thin, then just bake in a smaller pan.
Sarah, I made this bread today and loved it! I do not have stevia but found it to be sweet enough w/ just the honey. I did have one problem. It barely rose at all. Was only about 2" high, if that. Any ideas why this may have happened?
I made this bread for my family for strawberry shortcake. We love it! The only problem for me was that the bottom was moist almost like flan and the top more like cake in our trial run. The second batch was better, I think my daughter added less milk the second time. It was a hit with my mother in law!
Hi Gaby,
Here is a link to the 3 day food logs for the WAPF Board Members. Several of these folks consume 60%+ fat each day. I hope you find it helpful!