DIY: Coconut Flour Bread

I share a love-hate relationship with gluten. Some days I can stomach it and some I can't. 

About a year I was tested for gluten intolerance but just never followed up with any of the results due to it being during a very difficult time in my life. On my own I gave up gluten products for a couple months and felt much better. However after a while I simply got tired of the inconvenience of reading ingredients and spending extra money on specialty items.  

Unfortunately lately I've been having a lot of those low tolerance days. For hours after meals I feel  nauseous with an upset stomach and headache. I've decided to give the gluten free thing a try again and see if my body stops trying to attack me. 

With the stores around me mainly only offering two brands of gluten free bread that I'm not the biggest fan of I decided to put some coconut flour I had laying around to good use. I found a recipe online for Coconut Flour Bread and decided to give it a go. As I began making it I noticed that the ingredients are all extremely sweet. Sweet bread has never been a favorite of mine so I altered the measurements. 

COCONUT FLOUR BREAD 

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat eggs on medium with mixer for 1 minute

Add coconut oil, coconut milk, and agave

Mix until coconut oil is evenly distributed. Some chunks may remain

 

Sift in coconut flour

Use dough hook and mix on low for 2 minute and then medium for 30 seconds

Dough will be moist and somewhat crumbly

 Coat whatever size pan you choose to use

I used leftover coconut oil to coat the pan but anything you prefer will do

I also split the dough in half as I had intended to give the second loaf to someone else

*Keep in mind the dough won't rise significantly (or much at all)

Bake on medium to low rack

The original recipe called to bake for 45 minutes

As I split my dough I only cooked it for 35-40 minutes

The finished product:

Impressions: 

The bread is dense, extremely dense. It reminded me of a scone, but more moist. I

Even with reducing the amount of agave by almost 2/3 of the original recipe it is way too sweet for my taste. I think it would have been better leaving the agave out entirely. 

It didn't rise at all, at least from what I can tell. I probably shouldn't have split the batter but I think leaving it in portion would have just made a giant brick of sweetness overload.

I would never use it for a sandwich, which is what I was hoping for. I did 't like it as a snack on it's own either.  The only time I see myself consuming it is with a cup of unsweetened tea or coffee - and even then I'd prefer a scone. 

Overall I wouldn't make this again. 

I thought I'd do a review of it in case anyone was thinking of playing around with coconut flour or looking for gluten free recipes. I might consider a different recipe in the future but this one is going out the window. It was too sweet, too dense, and wasn't even coast efficient due to the high price of coconut-anything. For now I think I'll stick to the store bought loaves.

If you have any suggestions for gluten free bread or coconut flour recipes  give me a shout out in the comments. I'd also like to hear about what gluten free store bought bread people prefer.