Monday 14 July 2014

Delicious, Virtuous "Bread" packed with fibre and nutrients, filling and suitable for coeliacs, IBS sufferers, people with sluggish systems etc!

As a coeliac myself one thing I really miss is bread.  Not only was it my favourite food (you can't beat a nice slice of toast) it is just so convenient.  But bread is not what it used to be and so many people now don't tolerate wheat well and suffer negative consequences when eating bread (I'm thinking bloating, gas, abdominal pain, constipation etc).  So when I spotted a recipe recently I knew I could customise to suit my requirements I had to give it a go.  The results way exceeded my expectations.  I've made the loaf three times so far and changed it a little each time so this recipe is the version that worked best for me.  Don't be afraid to make changes to suit your own requirements: it is a very forgiving recipe.  And if you create a new version or have suggestions to improve it I would love to hear from you.

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Recipe makes 1 loaf.

You Need:

1 cup/135g of sunflower seeds
1/2 cup/90g of flax seeds
1/2 cup/65g of almonds or hazelnuts (but I used both and if you are allergic to nuts maybe try cashew as they are not nuts or add more seeds)
1 1/2 cups/145g of Brown Rice Flakes or Rolled Oats 
2 Tablespoons of Chia Seeds or Pumpkin seeds or Sesame
4 Tablespoons of psyllium seed husks (3 tablespoons if using psyllium husk powder)
1 Teaspoon of fine grain sea salt
1 grated apple (original recipe was 1 tablespoon of organic maple syrup, or you could use agave syrup or a pinch of pure stevia)
4 Tablespoons of extra virgin coconut oil (original recipe said 3 but I prefer it with a bit more - you could also use ghee)
1 1/2 cups/350 mls of water (although I used more)

Method:

Chop the nuts a little (or buy broken ones to start with) and combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Melt the coconut oil ( just put it in a cup and stand in hot water) and add to the dry ingredients along with the grated apple and the water, adding the water a bit at a time.  I found mixing the dough with my hands worked best.  If the dough is too thick to stir then keep adding water a little at a time until it's a manageable thick but not too stiff dough.  The dough will thicken as you leave it to stand so don't worry if you have added a little too much water.  Put the mixture in a silicon loaf pan, smooth the top and leave it to stand for at least two hours but ideally over night.  To ensure the loaf is ready to bake it should retain it's shape even when you pull the silicon pan away from it.

Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C.  I've got a fan assisted oven and I still baked it at that temperature and it was perfect.  Place the loaf on the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the bread from the loaf pan and put it upside down directly on the rack and bake for a further 30 - 40 minutes.  Bread is cooked when it sounds hollow when you tap the middle.  This next bit is very important: allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.  Store bread in an air tight container and it will keep for up to five days.  Also freezes well: slice it before you freeze it and it's perfect for toasting.  Delicious spread with Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.

I think there are lots of possibilities for this bread and looking forward to experimenting with walnut and dried fruit, olives and herbs (using olive oil instead of coconut), or adding nutritional yeast for a cheesy version.  If you try making it yourself I would be interested to hear your comments or suggestions for improving etc.