My family gets together for dinner every Friday night, and it’s always like a touchstone. It’s the end of the week, and the start of the weekend. It’s a chance to catch up with everyone, and a chance to kick back. It’s a time to share ideas, and to find out who’s heard from our son and daughter-in-law overseas. It’s an opportunity to drink a glass of wine, to eat my husband’s delicious cooking, including his homemade challah, and to mark and celebrate special events from the week, including birthdays and anniversaries. We are a noisy group, and we range in age from 6 weeks to 88 years, so it takes a while for everyone to get situated around the table. When we can, we eat around the massive picnic table that my parents brought from New Jersey when they moved next door. Otherwise we gather in the living room. And then, finally, it’s time for a taste of Lisa’s pecan bread.

Among the many things that make Friday nights special for us is our good friend Lisa, who joins us for dinner almost every Friday night, and always brings a couple of loaves of this bread for all of us to enjoy. The bread has evolved over the years. First it was made with almond flour (light brown), and then pecan (dark brown). When she made it with almond flour, she used Bob’s Red Mill almond flour.* Now she makes it from pecan meal that she buys at nuts.com. For many years she mounded the breads on a flat sheet. Now she bakes them in silicone molds that yield a beautiful braid. We are completely and utterly spoiled.

This great recipe is both flavorful and satisfying. The crust is crunchy and chewy, and the inside is soft and substantial. We really love it and we feel very lucky. The flavor is beyond delicious and the texture of the crust is unbelievably good!

Dry:

• 1 1 /2 cups almond or pecan flour*
• 3 /4 cups tapioca starch (substitute arrowroot starch for a paleo version)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

Wet:

• 7 tbsp almond milk or water
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp honey (substitute maple syrup for a vegan version)
• 4 tbsp ground flax seed

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the wet ingredients and set aside for 5 minutes.

2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a second, larger bowl, and then add in the wet ingredients. If the dough seems stiff,

    add a little bit more water. The consistency should be more like a thick batter than a stiff dough. Don’t overmix.

3. Spoon the batter into parchment-paper-lined small loaf pans, or silicone molds if you have them.

4. Bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn out onto a cooling rack.

5. Wrap up the loaves and share them with friends to enjoy together!

*You could also grind blanched almonds in a blender or food processor, so long as you’re careful not to overgrind them into almond butter.

Many thanks to Alea at myrealfoodlife.com for the original recipe.  It won’t rise all that much since it’s gluten-free, egg-free, and yeast-free, but it’s worth it.