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Lemon Almond Chia Bread

I’m coming to you today with something a little different…Lemon Almond Chia Bread! It’s gluten free, low carb and protein rich.

Lemon Almond Chia Bread. A savory and satisfying quick bread that's low carb and protein rich. It's fluffy, nutty and delicious. Great for breakfast! Perfect addition to soup or salad!

Oh wait….you’re not looking for gluten free, low carb, fluffy, protein rich bread? Ok…then, let me direct you to some muffins, biscuits, cookies, or cake! Everyone else? Let’s dive in to this bread!

I don’t normally seek out gluten free recipes. If it happens in my kitchen, it happens naturally. Low carb and protein rich is cool, though.

This particular recipe came to me by way of my sister. I have sisters that love to bake. But this sister, not so much.

I mean, she bakes…she just doesn’t bake often and really, she’s just not into dealing with all of the details, precision and steps that many baking recipes require.

She’s the sister that doesn’t suffer complicated food preparation. She has great taste, but likes good food made simply. I can’t argue with that.

But, imagine my surprise when she sent me a photo of this bread. The text said, “I just made something yummy!” And it was something in the baked goods category. (Huh! How about that?)

Lemon Almond Chia Bread. A savory and satisfying quick bread that's low carb and protein rich. It's fluffy, nutty and delicious. Great for breakfast! Perfect addition to soup or salad!

I called her and found out she created something…something yummy. It was this bread. She was excited to tell me all about it.

“It’s fluffy and nutty and yummy. And, it’s low carb and full of protein! Oh, and it’s filling,” she said. (Really? I thought. Sounds interesting!)

She was looking for something bread-like but she wanted to use almond flour. So, she looked at some recipes to get an idea and then just started adding what she had available.

Turns out, I had all of the ingredients on hand…even the almond flour. (It had been waiting patiently in the pantry for me to make macarons, but I never seemed to be in the mood. I still plan to make them someday. No promises on timeline, but it’s on my list.)

Lemon Almond Chia Bread. A savory and satisfying quick bread that's low carb and protein rich. It's fluffy, nutty and delicious. Great for breakfast! Perfect addition to soup or salad!
“Bowl 1”

I told her to send me the recipe….

So…. you know how I can write a thousand words without blinking? And how I try to give as much detail in every step of my recipes?

Oh, and how I write recipe notes like they’re going out of style, just in case you need even more detail?

Yeah. So, my sister? This was her “recipe”…

“Bowl 1: Mix” followed by a list of dry ingredients. “Bowl 2: Whisk” with a list of wet ingredients. With a spatula, fold wet ingredients into dry. Pour into pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

The whole darn recipe was 49 words. Seriously. Short and sweet.

Lemon Almond Chia Bread. A savory and satisfying quick bread that's low carb and protein rich. It's fluffy, nutty and delicious. Great for breakfast! Perfect addition to soup or salad!
“Bowl 2” (melted butter and lemon zest not shown in left photo)

So, even though I write detailed directions in my recipes with lots of notes, I do so to try to insure your success. Since I can’t be in your kitchen, I try to think of questions you might have or variations you might want to make.

I try to answer your questions before you have to ask them.

But when I’m reading a recipe? There’s something about short and sweet that makes me feel like I could whip up the recipe right now, in just a matter of minutes.

Lemon Almond Chia Bread. A savory and satisfying quick bread that's low carb and protein rich. It's fluffy, nutty and delicious. Great for breakfast! Perfect addition to soup or salad!
“Combine wet and dry.”

There’s a good reason why I feel that way…especially when we’re talking about a recipe my sister develops. It’s because her recipes always come together in a matter of minutes. This one was no different.

So, I got out “Bowl 1.” I whisked my dry ingredients together.

I whisked my wet ingredients in “Bowl 2.” Then, I combined them as stated in her directions.

Now, I decided to only make a 1/2 recipe. I wasn’t sure if it would be a hit with my family and didn’t want to end up with too much bread, low carb or otherwise.

So, I’m sharing my 1/2 recipe with you. That’s why I have a short loaf. I actually think the short slices are kind of cute. Consider them portion control :)

Lemon Almond Chia Bread. A savory and satisfying quick bread that's low carb and protein rich. It's fluffy, nutty and delicious. Great for breakfast! Perfect addition to soup or salad!

It didn’t look like much in the pan, but when it was baked? It rose and became this fluffy, nutty bread! (I know, I know. She told me it was nutty and fluffy, but somehow, I was still surprised.)

Of course, I called her and gave her back all the same positive feedback she had given me. I used the exact same words, to which she responded, “I know. Right?”

Everyone in my family really enjoyed it. We had it with soup and salad and it was a nice hearty accompaniment.

And then, my brain went to all of the potential variations we could make on the bread. It was funny because I kept coming up with sweet ideas and basically turning it into cake. Not bad ideas, but every variation I came up with added carbs or more fat. No bueno.

Lemon Almond Chia Bread. A savory and satisfying quick bread that's low carb and protein rich. It's fluffy, nutty and delicious. Great for breakfast! Perfect addition to soup or salad!

The problem was it looked like lemon poppy seed bread. (It’s the baker in me :) So, every time I bit into it, I was expecting sweet. It kind of messed with my mind a bit.

So, when I made the recipe again, I adjusted some of the ingredients. I reduced the salt and cut the amount of chia seeds in half.

Then, I added the zest of a lemon. I stopped short of making it sweet. But, I really, really wanted the hit of lemon in it. My brain was calling for it.

Lemon Almond Chia Bread. A savory and satisfying quick bread that's low carb and protein rich. It's fluffy, nutty and delicious. Great for breakfast! Perfect addition to soup or salad!

So, now I had a savory Lemon Almond Chia Bread. Delish! A fun and satisfying alternative to a carby bread.

My friend’s mother recently had to significantly reduce her carbs. So, I made her a little loaf. She loved it! She was really missing carbs and this bread filled the gap for her.

Lemon Almond Chia Bread. A savory and satisfying quick bread that's low carb and protein rich. It's fluffy, nutty and delicious. Great for breakfast! Perfect addition to soup or salad!

And, because my brain was still on sweet…I tried a bite with a dusting of powdered sugar. I know. Sacrilege, but I had to try it. Yep, now I was tasting the sweet lemon flavor my brain was telling me it “saw.”

But that was just for fun. (Though I will give you a few tips in my recipe notes, if you want just a hint of sweetness :)

The savory version is a perfect addition to a salad, soup or meal. It’s great for a snack or for breakfast. And, it’s filling. You wouldn’t want to sit down and eat a whole loaf, no matter how “fluffy” it seems.

So get out “Bowl 1” and “Bowl 2.” Whisk, whisk, combine and bake ;) And just like that (fingers snapping)…

Lemon Almond Chia Bread. A savory and satisfying quick bread that's low carb and protein rich. It's fluffy, nutty and delicious. Great for breakfast! Perfect addition to soup or salad!

you’ll have a lovely little loaf of Lemon Almond Chia Bread!

Lemon Almond Chia Bread. A savory and satisfying quick bread that's low carb and protein rich. It's fluffy, nutty and delicious. Great for breakfast! Perfect addition to soup or salad!

Lemon Almond Chia Bread

Yield: 8

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 2 Tablespoons chia seeds
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Wet ingredients:

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, I use Fage 2%
  • 3 Tablespoons melted salted butter
  • zest of one lemon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, chia seeds, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vinegar, yogurt and lemon zest. Whisk in the melted butter until well combined.
  4. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared loaf pan, spreading the batter evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then use parchment paper to remove the loaf to a rack to finish cooling. 

Notes

*This makes a small batch or a short loaf of savory bread. If you'd like to make a larger batch, double the recipe. You can bake it in a loaf pan, but you'll have to increase the baking time. I don't have an exact time to give you. Generally, when baking a loaf of quick bread, baking time can be anywhere from 50-65 minutes. I would check it at 40 minutes and adjust time from there.

*You could also bake a double batch in an 8" or 9" round or square pan. Baking time will probably be around 30 minutes. Check doneness at 20 and adjust for additional time from there.

*If you prefer a little sweetness to savory, without completely negating the low carb nature of the bread, or adding sweetener to the batter, you could eat your slice with jam or drizzle a bit of honey on it. You could also dust the top with confectioner's sugar or lightly drizzle with lemon icing by mixing 1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar with just enough fresh lemon juice to create a drizzling consistency. This won't make a lot of icing, but enough to just enough to very, very lightly drizzle over the top of the loaf. 

*I used butter because that was the fat used in the original recipe. However, I would like to try it with olive oil. I think it will work just as well. If using olive oil, I'd probably add just a bit more salt to replace the salt from the butter.

Adapted from my sister's original recipe.

The Merchant Baker Copyright © 2018

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Alma

Monday 16th of October 2023

Hi! I am head over heels with this bread! I must say I added a teaspoon of coconut sugar though. BUT THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS! I made the small loaf. I went so loca with the bread, I basically ate the whole thing.

Then I promptly made a double recipe for the next day. (I have the half waiting to be made later.)

OKAY. So I am telling you I ate the new loaf the next day with soup. WELL, in the evening, I had intestinal pain like someone was inside my body stabbing me with a small switchblade. I thought, hmm. What have I done differently? Apparently eating 4 tablespoons in a 12 hour window of chia seeds isn't a good idea at all!

Gluttony sucks!

Anyway, 2 days later, I am still in some pain, but will be sure to eat my next loaf slowly and carefully! It is kind of funny. But when you love bread so much and never can have it, I just melted to put this in my mouth.!

Thanks!

Ramona

Monday 16th of October 2023

Hi Alma, while I deeply appreciate your enthusiasm for the bread, I guess I'm sorry that it was binge worthy? Maybe try my chaffle recipe in between? Make the version with the almond flour for the most bread like version. Also....I have a lemon ricotta chaffle that you might also enjoy. Hope you feel better soon!

Aisha

Sunday 22nd of August 2021

Omg... It is so delicious I just make it cannot stop thinking I'm gonna make big batches next time.

Ramona

Sunday 22nd of August 2021

Aisha! I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed it!

Lil

Sunday 6th of December 2020

Has anyone tried this without eggs and use vegan egg instead?

Ramona

Sunday 6th of December 2020

Hi, Lil! This recipe relies pretty heavily on eggs. Maybe another reader can weigh in with their own experience. That being said, I have seen other almond flour chia breads that are vegan, but you'd probably have to experiment a bit if you wanted to revise this one.

Michelle

Wednesday 29th of July 2020

Would this recipe work with blueberries in it? Thanks.

Ramona

Wednesday 29th of July 2020

Hi Michelle, I think it would. Just a reminder, in case you didn't read the whole post, this isn't a sweet bread like a quick bread. Because there's no added sugar, it's really more on the savory side. I did dust some pieces with confectioner's sugar to get that sweeter flavor when I was in the mood. The blueberries would likely add a nice bit of sweetness to it. If you use frozen, make sure you mix in the berries while they are still frozen.

Lori

Sunday 29th of September 2019

Ok to use all purpose flour in place of almond flour?

Ramona

Sunday 29th of September 2019

Lori, I don't know if you can make a 1:1 substitution here. All purpose flour reacts differently than almond flour. You may need to increase the amount of all purpose flour or reduce the liquid in the recipe. You can certainly experiment, but because I haven't tried it myself, I'm not sure if you'll be pleased with the results. Here's a link to lemon chia bread from Bob's Red Mill that might be closer to what you're looking for.

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