In the past few years, there’s been a lot of research on the benefits of including omega-3 rich foods in your diet. From lowering blood pressure to decrease your risk of heart disease, there is a growing list of reasons why foods that contain omega-3 should be a part of your daily routine.
Being a lover of all things bread, it’s sometimes a challenge to make gluten free breads tasty, much less healthy. So anytime I can sneak healthy nutrients into a recipe and still have it taste amazing, I consider that a big win.
This recipe is a big win.
It’s a quick bread with really basic ingredients like coconut flour, eggs and cinnamon.
But the addition of some heart healthy flax seed packs a really powerful punch of omega-3 fatty acids.
Why Omega-3 Fatty Acids?
I’ve written about Omega-3’s before and am an avid user of things like flax seed and chia seeds (bonus that they're good for you!) but if you’ve ever wondered about the real reason why they are so important and what they do for your body, I’ll give you the crash course…
The National Institute of Health has written extensively about this topic, the whole study can be found here.
But they found that consuming Omega-3’s, primarily EPA and DHA, has shown to lower the risk of heart failure, coronary disease and fatal coronary heart disease. In a long term study, consuming a regular intake of omega-3 supplements also reduced the rates of cardiac death, sudden death and stroke.
So omega-3 is a really good thing to be on the lookout for. And adding to your diet whenever possible.
Gluten Free Cinnamon Quick Bread is a Win-Win
If you could have your cake and eat it too, you would right?!
Well this recipe may not be exactly cake, but it is full of amazing, good-for-you ingredients, so you will definitely enjoy it.
It’s an easy bread to make, but I've got some tips to make it even easier, so you can be enjoying this quick bread in no time:
Use ground flax seed
Flax seed is sold as whole or ground. This recipe needs the ground variety. I like this one. Whole flax seed will not provide the texture this loaf needs. If you noticed there is only ½ cup of flour for this entire loaf, so the flax seed functions as a flour.
Blend well
At the end of the mixing time, the batter should look thick and well mixed. Don’t try to skim on the mixing time – this bread needs the full time to result in a nicely risen loaf of bread.
Line the pan with parchment paper
This is a helpful little trick I discovered that makes removing breads a LOT easier.
Simply measure the paper along the bottom of the pan, then cut it out. Measure along the sides and then cut it out. It does not have to cover each little spot in the pan.
The purpose is so that after baking, removing the bread is a cinch. Just lift the loaf out and pull the paper off.
One last little tip, but just as important…
Storage
This bread stores really well. If you don’t enjoy it all on the first day, wrap it well with plastic wrap. It will store wonderfully on your counter for 2 days. For longer storage, stick it in the freezer.
Omega-3 Loaded Gluten Free Cinnamon Quick Bread
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup whipping cream not whipped
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup ground flaxseed
- 2 Tbsp. white sugar
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray an 8” x 4.5” baking pan with cooking spray. Line it with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the eggs, oil and whipping cream. Blend on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape batter down.
- Add the coconut flour, flaxseed, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon to the bowl and mix again for 1 – 2 minutes or until fully incorporated. Batter will be thick.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick tests done.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use an 8" x 4.5" size baking pan for best results.
- To easily line the pan, place the pan on top of a piece of parchment paper and cut around it.
- The batter will be thick, more like thick cake batter.
- Let the bread cool before turning out from the pan onto a wire rack.
Nutrition
christine
Hi Christine - all your recipes look lovely. I cannot tolerate xanthan gum and so I am wondering if you will be posting any recipes without this ingredient. Is there a foolproof substitute?
Thank you in advance for your response - Cheers Christine
C.J. Brady
Hi Christine,
Thanks for the kind words!
So I do use it alot, but not always. I'm working on coming up with more recipes without it, but it's been a bit of a science experiment!
I've got a couple articles on substituting for it, but since every recipe is different it's hard to name one that will work all the time. Here's the article for reference: https://zestforbaking.com/5-alternatives-to-xanthan-gum-and-guar-gum-in-gluten-free-baking
Hope that helps!
Elke
Hi... why not try pysillium... works for me.
Christine
Hi Elke,
Thanks for asking. Psyllium husk would work!
~Christine
Alexandra Lewis
Hi Christine! I am really excited to try this recipe!!! I try to stay away from milk products if I can, is coconut milk or rice milk an OK alternative to the cream?
Thank you!!!
Christine
Hi Alexandra,
I must have missed your comment! Sorry about that!
But yes, coconut milk should work - I haven't made it that way and I can imagine the batter might be a little more thin, but the results should be close.
Hope that helps!
Christine
Canada
Hi Christine, I would love to try this recipe as well, but allergic to coconut, what flour could I sub in for that, would almond meal work or would it be too heavy? Thanks so much it looks wonderful.
Christine
Hi,
Subbing for coconut flour is tough. You might try a half and half mix of garbanzo, millet and /or teff flours. Fava would be an option too.
I have not tried it, so I can't be sure of the results, but that is what I'd recommend.
Hope that helps!
Wei Wei
Hi! Can you point me to the right conversion to grams for this recipe?
Christine
Hi,
Thanks for asking!
So the coconut flour will be about 45 grams. The flaxseed would be 52 grams. I haven't weighed the rest of the ingredients, but there are online calculators that can convert the other ingredients. Hope that helps!
Christine
Saidah Domenech
Can you substitute the eggs and xantham gum in this? I can’t have corn, eggs, nuts , dairy or gluten?
Christine
Hi,
So the eggs are a big part of the recipe, but you can try using chia seeds for them. I haven't tried it, so I can't guarantee the results will be the same. Almond milk could be substituted for the whipping cream though.
Hope that helps!
Christine
joanne slater
Hi Christine,
I am making regularly your gluten free artisan bread and I love it. It has become my daily bread.
Would like to try this one, however, I am allergic to flax seeds. Can I substitute it for another flour like sorghum or millet. .etc.
Thanking you in advance
Joanne
Christine
Hi Joanne,
Thanks for enjoying the artisan bread!
So for substituting the flax seeds here... I hate to say, but I'm not sure. I haven't tested it without them so I'm not sure how the results would be. The flax seeds function differently than the flours, so that's a tough one. You might try just replacing it with chia seeds. I'd be curious what your results are though!
Hope that helps!
Christine