Healthy Soft Avocado Sandwich Bread- DF, oil free, low sugar

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This healthy soft sandwich bread loaf has a crisp, golden brown crust and a flavour-packed light, soft and fluffy centre. This simple and healthy avocado sandwich bread recipe is 1000x better than anything you will buy from the supermarket!

It is oil free and any butter/oil is replaced by 1/2 an avocado, so it is packed with nutrients and healthy fats! It is additive and emulsifier free and has less than 5g added sugar in the whole recipe! This recipe is so delicious and easy, you will never go back to buying bread ever again.

Why make homemade bread?

You need to make this homemade Healthy Soft Sandwich Bread!

First off, it’s actually so much easier and straightforward to bake homemade bread than you think! I used to think that baking bread at home was such a hard process and was always intimidated to do so, however I now know that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Here are a few reasons why you should consider making homemade bread:

1. You have full control over what is in it: you have full control over the ingredients, sugar levels, sodium, oil/butter etc.
2. There are no added additives or emulsifiers: These aren’t inherently that harmful to us humans, however it is much healthier to have something homemade and not a product of industrial food production.
3. Offers more nutrients: This is due to the minimal amount of processing your bread will go through, compared to commercially manufactured breads
4. Generally lower in calories than store-bought bread
5. It tastes way better than store-bought bread (trust me on this!)
6. It is a great way to save money: Basically all of the ingredients needed to make this avocado bread are super cheap to buy (especially in bulk)
7. Homemade bread is super customisable: allows you to let out your creative juices while baking

Need I say more?

Macros per slice

This recipe creates 20 slices of bread

The macros per slice are:

80 Calories

11.8g Carbohydrates

1.3g Fat

4.5g Protein

1g Sugar

Ingredients needed

• Flour– You can use any, whole-wheat, spelt, All purpose, or bread flour. I use Smart Protein Plain Flour from the Australian brand Vetta Pasta. It is not required, I just love to use it as it has double the protein and slightly less calories than normal all purpose white flour.

• Yeast– Instant Yeast is used in this recipe- you can use active dry yeast, but the bread may take a slightly longer time to rise.

• Salt– a very small amount is added for extra flavour & salt helps to control the yeast, so do not skip

• Sugar- a very small amount is added to help activate the yeast- you can skip however it might take longer to rise/proof

• Zero calorie natural sweetener- Use in place of sugar to add flavour and a slight sweetness in this recipe, but you can use any sweetener of choice. I use the brand Natvia in this recipe.

• Avocado: The main star of the recipe, avocado is added in place of butter which makes it a lot healthier but also lower calorie. You can skip on the fat all together however adding fat to bread dough helps to create a bread with a softer, enriched texture than bread with no added fat. I would highly recommend not to skip this part.

• Plant milk: you can use water in place of milk, but make sure any added liquid is warm (not hot). 46C or 115F is the optimal temperature for bread making, if you don’t have a thermometer simply just dip your finger, it should feel slightly warm.

How to make homemade bread?

1. Make the dough: Mix flour, instant yeast, sugars, and salt in a bowl (make sure yeast and salt are on seperate sides of the flour as you do not want them to directly touch each other). Pour in the warm plant milk or water and combine well. Next, mash the avocado with about 50ml of boiling water until a nice thick paste forms (make sure there are no large clumps), add into the flour mixture and mix until a ball forms. Knead for 10-15 minutes (either by hand or a stand mixer, I would highly recommend using a stand-mixer as it is faster and easier). The dough will be done once smooth, soft and passes the window pane test. Here is a great tutorial on the window pane test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdXQEP-DNNY

2. First rise: Cover the dough with plastic wrap, a damp kitchen towel or a plastic shower cap (my preferred method), and allow to rise in a warm spot for 1 hour or until doubled in size. If it is too cold in your kitchen, take a bowl of boiling water, add it on the rack below your dough in an oven or airfryer, and close the door and allow the steam to help the dough rise (fool-proof!)

3. Second rise: Once doubled in size, punch the air out of the dough and knead for 1-2 minutes. Then shape the dough and add to your loaf pan. I use a 21x10cm silicone loaf pan, this is the exact pan I use. Here is a great tutorial on how to shape your loaf: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zW9LX9ALSI. Follow the exact same process for the first rise however it will take around 30-40 minutes to rise for the second time.

4. Bake the bread: Halfway through your second rise preheat the oven to 190 degrees C or 375F. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely before slicing.

Storing and Freezing Bread

• To store: Once sliced, the avocado sandwich bread can be stored on the counter for 3-5 days. Store in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap/ziploc bags.
• To freeze: Wrap in plastic wrap or in ziplock bags and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

 

Tips

• If the bread is too dry, add 1 tbsp liquid at a time until nice and sticky
• If the bread is too wet, add 1 tbsp flour at a time until nice and sticky
• Trust the process when kneading- don’t add too much flour if you think the dough is too sticky, once you knead it, it will eventually become smooth and soft and will form a nice ball
• The riper the avocado, the better as it will provide better flavour & texture
• Oil the bowl slightly when allowing the dough to rise as this will help the dough move up
• Bread should be done between 35-40 minutes
• If the bread is browning to quickly, wrap in foil and add it back into the oven, this should stop the browning process
• Make sure to allow the bread to stay in the loaf pan for 15 minutes as it will continue to cook slightly
• Make sure the bread is completely cooled before slicing, trust me on this! If you cut it too soon it may change the texture and may be quite doughy (I’ve learned from experience)

FAQ

Can I make these gluten free?

I have not tried this recipe using a gluten free flour, so I am unsure of the results.

What size loaf pan should I use?

I use a 21x10cm silicone loaf pan, this is the exact pan I use.

Do I need to proof my yeast before adding it to my flour?

This recipe requires instant yeast, and so proofing or activating the yeast is not really necessary and you can add the yeast dry into the mixture. However sometimes I like to proof my dry yeast before using it to basically “prove” that the yeast is alive and active. If you have had yeast laying around in the fridge for a while and want to check if it is still alive or active, just dissolve it into the warm milk and the 4g of sugar used in this recipe. After 5-10 minutes the mixture should be foamy like this:

If not, the yeast is dead and should be thrown out.

How can I make the rising time’s faster?

My simple trick is to either use a microwave or airfryer/oven method.

Microwave- add a small bowl of water to the microwave, microwave for 3 minutes, add the covered dough to the microwave with the water still in there and close.

Airfryer/oven method– add a large bowl/baking dish of boiling water to the bottom of the airfryer or oven, add the covered dough on a rack just above the boiling water and close.