William Davis, MD, is a preventive cardiologist whose unique approach to diet allows him to advocate reversal, not just prevention, of heart disease.
He is the founder of the 
When we divorce ourselves from wheat, we lose the gluten that, when combined with yeast, generate the “rise” that gives wheat bread that light and airy texture. It means that we often struggle to create non-wheat breads that are big enough to make sandwich breads.
The rise generated by yeast just means that carbon dioxide (CO2) was generated by the metabolism of carbohydrates (amylopectin and amylose) by yeast. We can also generate CO2 by other means, called “chemical leavening.” (Frankly, I don’t like that term because it sounds like we are doing nasty, chemical things but, as you will see, the reactions to generate CO2 are quite natural and safe.) Most forms of chemical leavening involve the generation of CO2 by reacting an acid with a base. There’s also the process of “mechanical leavening,” using some physical or mechanical means of incorporating air into the mix; whipping with a power or hand mixer is one example.
Here are the methods that I have found helpful in helping to generate rise in wheat-free baking:
Use acid-base reactions–An easy way to remember this if, for instance, you are experimenting with a new recipe, is to mix your base–baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate–into your dry mix (e.g., almond meal/flour, coconut flour, ground golden flaxseed); mix your acid–citric acid, lemon or lime juice, or vinegar–into your liquid mix (e.g., egg yolks, coconut milk, water). When you combine dry and liquid mixes, you will see a foaming reaction, representing the reaction of acid with base that generates CO2. Typical proportions to use are:
1 teaspoon baking soda: 1/4 teaspoon citric acid
1 teaspoon baking soda: juice of 1/4-1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon baking soda: 2 teaspoons vinegar
You can even do this more than once. For instance, let’s say you are using lemon juice. Start with a little extra (e.g., 1/2 more teaspoon) baking soda in your dry mix. Proceed with making your wet mix using lemon juice, reserving a bit. Mix wet into dry, then proceed with adding your egg whites (see below). Then add the remaining lemon juice, again causing the foaming CO2-generating reaction to occur.
Whip egg whites–Whipping egg whites with cream of tartar (potassium hydrogen tartrate, used in winemaking) helps stabilize the whipped whites. Use 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar per 2 egg whites; whip at high-speed until peaks form. This represents a modification of mechanical leavening. It is usually best to add the egg whites after the acid-base step (above) is completed over 1-2 minutes; this avoids the peculiar ammonia-like smell of “Baker’s ammonia,” the product of a reaction between baking soda and the proteins in egg whites.
Microwaving–If you are using a microwave-safe baking dish, you can increase risk considerably (typically 30% increased volume) by microwaving for 1-2 minutes. The amount of time will vary, depending on the size of dish, the depth of the dough, and the ingredients, so a bit of experimentation may be necessary to generate maximum rise. I usually microwave in 30-second increments. (Yeah, yeah, yeah: I know all about the objections some people raise to the use of a microwave!)
I will often use all three methods, including the two-stage acid-base step, to generate plenty of rise when I want it, e.g., for greater rise for a sandwich bread or a fluffier cake. It’s not perfect, but you still can obtain some very nice results using these techniques.
And I’d love to hear whether any of you clever wheat-free bakers have come up with any of your own methods!
Regarding taste and the basic bread recipe, I like it better when I omit the flax seed , sweetener , and cinnamon. Instead of flax seed , I use either hazelnut flour or coconut flour. As well, I am using either olive oil, coconut oil, or canola oil instead of butter . What I tell myself about this bread is that it tastes more like angel food cake than sandwich bread and , once used as the basis of a sandwich , it has more flavor and is more robust than sandwich bread . I like that, on rushed days, I can have a toasted slice of this bread for breakfast and nothing else and feel that I have had a complete meal. When I top it off with an apple and a cheese stick and am very satisfied — and dry-toasting really does bring out the nuttiness of this bread .
Hello Roberta,
Be careful with canola oil, it is way too rich in so-called PUFAs (poly-unsaturated fatty acids) or to be simple: omega-6. Canola oil is made out of rapeseed oil, which really screws your omega-6 : omega-3 ratio. You should aim at 1:1 but using canola oil would blow this up. In general, vegetable oils are to be avoided. Olive oil is mostly mono-unsaturated so that’s OK but animal fat is also really good and much richer in natural saturated fats (organic grass-fed butter is truly excellent – you can even clarify it into ghee to remove the remaining milk solids). Coconut oil is 90% or so saturated fat, good stuff as well. But canola ? No.
You can read Mark Sisson’s guide to oils:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/healthy-oils/
I am crazy about *beurre noisette* clarified brown butter. I read that it is unwise to heat butter that long. I would like to know if that is true?/
Hi Roberta, my name is Doni and I am brand new at this Wheat Belly cooking/baking. Made my first loaf of Basic bread last weekend and it’s OK but would like something that is a bit sweeter and softer texture. I’m liking the sound of your recipe so this weekend going to try it.
I do have one question for you, or anyone who can help…I don’t currently own a food processor so tried mixing my bread in a blender…didn’t work. Had to scrap it in a bowl and use a hand mixer. Could that be the reason it didn’t raise much (approx. 3 in.) or is that normal? How important is it to use a food processor?
Thanks!
I followed your recipe exactly for basic bread in the wheat belly cookbook, and IT IS DISGUSTING!! it smells like a PERM and because it costs SO much to make I just had to try it. the taste is still making me GAG!! did you even try this first WOW! this is the first recipe I have tried in your book and may be the last including the cost of your book, I’ve wasted close to $50 on this loaf of salon PERM.
Have I just poisoned myself? should I call the poison control centre?
will you PLEASE do something? I feel so bad about this i dont know what to do.
Well, you could have made a polite and thoughtful inquiry instead of being as rude and insulting as possible. I haven’t tried the bread recipe yet, but I’ve tried several others, and they’ve all worked well. Perhaps you could double-check your steps and try again. If Dr. Davis takes the time to respond to your comment, he’s far more tolerant of such asinine behavior than I would be.
I am just getting started and concerned about switching bread types and came across this post regarding bread rise. I’m so glad you wrote this as I will def not try to reproduce the bread recipe you mentioned from the book. Also, you gave me a LOL moment reading your post… I wish I could help you with your question.
The bread is actually very healthy and has a good flavor. I found oven roasted turkey breast goes well with it. I found the turkey breast with no preservatives etc…from Costco.
P.S. Jason your comment was very immature. Maybe YOU didn’t make the bread correctly?
The bread is excellent. I make it all the time.
I made the cheese biscuits and I had the ammonia smell and a peculiar taste. This would be the “perm” lotion smell that Jason complains of. As it explains above, the reaction of egg whites and baking soda cause an ammonia smell.
Then a friend pointed out to me that the recipe called for baking POWDER, not soda…and I had been confused on that point. 4 tbsp of pure baking SODA is quite a lot. So I did the same recipe again , with baking powder (as the book states, which is a mixture of baking soda & cream of tartar) and the recipe worked perfectly. This time no ammonia reaction.
Can you please send me your recipe? I have the Wheat Belly cookbook but would like to try one that someone has been successful with. And with all the different blogs, I am a little confused.
I have just finished reading the Wheatbelly Cookbook and am anxious to get started. I have been wheatfree (the obvious products anyway) for about a month or so and have lost 17 lbs. However, I do need some recipes. I have collected all the ingredients in the book to start making some things; but I am concerned about the number of calories in many of the recipes. Should I be??
You do not count calories, but you count carbs! It is 50 gr.of carbs a day if you wish to loose weight!
My book definitely says baking soda and NOT baking powder for the Basic Bread recipe.
My first loaf is in the oven and I did get a whiff of ‘not nice-ness’ [ammonia smell?] with the raw mixture, so I am sincerely hoping when out of the oven, my bread will be divine!
Just wondering if baking soda and baking powder go by different terms in the US and the UK.
I agree Rick G. I made the bread and it’s different so I’m experimenting with different flours and cutting the recipes in 1/2 and 1/4 to save money until I get them the way I like them. Everyone should try the Ranch Dressing it’s amazing. I served it at a party and everyone went for mine instead of the bottled Ranch. Good one Dr. Davis.
Dr. Davis, can you give me some subs for flax and coconut flour as I am allergic to both? I was going to try ground chia seed and ground hemp seed. Any thoughts?
Yes, good choices.
Also garbanzo bean flour, though use as a secondary flour just to “lighten” your end-product. Also consider seed flours, e.g., sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame. Sesame is the most baking friendly of the seeds.
Ammonia smell is what I,got as well Why and how to get rid of it?
This is explained in the blog post.
It involves causing the acid-base reaction to occur before adding eggs.
Dr.Davis…I am reading your book and love the “Apple walnut bread” Could you give me the nutritional value of the recipe? We also love the “ranch” dressing. Thank you for all the in depth research and information and leading my family to a healthy lifestyle.
I was surprised to read that rye is not allowed. I know that typical rye bread is actually a blend of wheat and rye, so that part is understandable, but a little searching can turn up 100% rye products (like Wasa Light Rye Crispbread, which contains only whole grain rye flour, water and salt). The glycemic index and glycemic load of rye seems to compare very favorably to wheat (see http://www.livestrong.com/article/446280-the-glycemic-index-of-rye-bread/), so I’m a little confused .
I’ve made a number of the Wheat Belly breads and bread-like items and generally been satisfied with them, though like many here bready foods have become a much smaller percentage of my diet. Now I am searching for a wheat-free recipe to substitute for an empanada or turnover dough. I don’t want to use the gluten-free and also high-carb flours that are so readily available. Do any of you have suggestions?
Thanks,
Cammie
google *gourmet girl cooks* great site, actually fabulous! Also Try her almond crust chicken pot pie, it is excellent! Good Luck!
I have the Wheat Belly Cookbook, and I love it. I’ve made the “Basic Bread” twice now … with an odd result. Both times the bottom edges of the loaf turned a subtle shade of green – the rest of the bread is tasty, but the green part has a distinct metallic taste. I know it sounds like aluminum leaching from the loaf pan, but it can’t be. This a professional-grade anodized aluminum pan that I have used many other times to bake other quick breads that have a soda/acid leavener, and some of those have other acidic ingredients.
I’m curious to know if others have experienced this, and would welcome suggestions to solve the problem.
I use a glass or Pyrex loaf pan–problem solved. good Luck!
Tried the glass loaf pan – doesn’t work – still get green funky-tasting bread. Personally, I think there’s too much baking soda in the recipe, so cutting back will be my next attempt.
I use silicone bakeware on top of baking sheets (for stability) to bake loaves of bread. I grease them with coconut oil so they will just ‘pop’ out to cool but I’m sure it’s not necessary. Try those if you’re still having problems; I have baked many, many loaves with a variety of recipes and have been problem-free to date. I hope this works for you.
I made the basic bread last night. I used powdered egg whites for baking. I did not get the ammonia smell. I do agree that the bread needs a little sweetener, it was bitter as it got cooler. Does anyone think Stevia would work? I have it in powdered and liquid form. I was also thinking carrots or applesauce to add some moisture and take away the bitterness.
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Hello Dr. Davis
I have a question about barley yeast extract. In an attempt to reduce our salt consumption, about 2 years ago we started to purchase products that were low or no salt added. One product in particular, Chicken Broth contains barley yeast extract. Should we be avoiding this product?
Thank you
Roland Couture
I have the Wheat Belly cookbook and made the basic bread recipe yesterday. The rise and texture are nothing like fluffy wheat bread but acceptable. However, I do not like the taste much and would tend to blame the chickpea flour (since I know I like flaxseed and almonds) — can you suggest a different flour to substitute?
We tried making the Cheddar biscuits and they came out gray. They were also flat , they did not rise at all.
The taste was very earthy. Any suggestions on our next attempt?
I agree with you Jason. It was the worse tasting bread I have ever made. The smell was obnoxious and I have tried to notify Dr. Davis that there was something wrong with it, but I cannot find a website in the cookbook to do this. The flapjack recipe is another one I had to throw out (and yes I followed it precisely) and had a very strong taste of baking soda. It looks like these recipes have too much baking soda in them and should be half salt and half baking soda. Whatever the problem, it is most discouraging to spend the money on these ingredients when these recipes should have been tested prior to printing. I liked your humor Jason because when I served it to my husband, he spit it out and he can eat many things, but not that bread. I too am now looking to other recipes because I am discouraged after making 2 of them.