Olive-Rosemary Bread

I haven't been very adventurous with baking gluten-free breads as I'm not a fan of yeast.  (Actually, yeast isn't a fan of me.)  Most yeast-free, gluten-free bread slices either fall apart, which defeats the purpose of bread for sandwich-lovers, or they are dense enough to double as a doorstop.  I do enjoy the texture and taste of Anna's Gluten and Yeast-Free Bread Mix, but it was time to stretch my wings.

For the past few months, I've been experimenting with baking with almond flour.  Every single recipe I've tried has been a great success.  This recipe is straight from Elana Amsterdam's Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  The loaf was beautiful, it was delicious, and no one knew it was gluten-free.

Olive-Rosemary Bread

3/4 cup creamy almond butter
2 T olive oil
3 large eggs
1 T agave nectar
1/4 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
1 T finely chopped fresh rosemary

In a large bowl, mix the almond butter and olive oil with a mixer until smooth.  Then blend in the eggs and agave nectar.  In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt, and baking soda.  Blend the almond flour mixture into the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined, then fold in the olives and rosemary.  (Black kalamata olives would have been much prettier, but true to form, I didn't decide to make this bread until the last minute before guests were arriving.  Green olives were available and still quite tasty.)  Pour the batter into a greased 7x3-inch loaf pan.  Bake for 45 to 55 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven.  Let the bread cool in the pan for an hour before serving.

I've spread this bread with goat cheese and served it with a salmon dinner.  Amazing.  I've used it to make sandwiches, giving an ordinary turkey sandwich a gourmet flair.  And I just defrosted and toasted a piece as an evening snack.  Yum.

I haven't been able to find blanched almond flour locally, so I ordered from Honeyville.  Sadly, my hero, Bob doesn't make his almond flour fine enough for Elana's recipes.  I'll forgive him this one.