I came across a link to this bread recipe on facebook a couple days ago, and was immediately intrigued. It comes via one of my favorite food blogs, My New Roots. The author, Sarah Britton, has a passion for nutritious whole foods and is a great source of recipes for those who don’t want to sacrifice taste for nutrition. If you’ve never visited her blog, you should definitely check it out. Her photos are as delicious as the recipes and you’ll enjoy both.
I don’t think there’s anything much more delicious than butter spread on bread hot from the oven,
(hmmm…is that more about the bread or the butter you may ask)
(it’s both, ok?),
but I hardly ever have bread in the house because it’s too filling and usually has way too many empty calories that make me feel like I should go do a hundred sit-ups except that I’m too sleepy from the carb overload to do it. Or at least that’s my excuse.
Sarah tells a lot about what she calls “The Life Changing Loaf of Bread” in her post here and there’s no need to repeat all she said except that it may actually be true. Life changing I mean, because if you do have to be gluten free, or are vegan or Paleo, or if you just like something that tastes good to put your peanut butter on, this is it. Studded with nuts and seeds, high in protein and fiber, no matter your diet, sliced thin and toasted, it goes with any number of sweet or savory toppings and is a breeze to make.
I used her recipe with only a few variations, substituting honey for maple syrup as I had none, walnuts for almonds, and used a ceramic bread pan rather than the recommended silicone.
I ended up baking it for about 70 minutes all told and since I wasn’t totally sure if it was done, simply turned the oven off at the end of that time and left it in as the oven cooled overnight. It turned out perfectly. Be sure to use a sharp serrated knife on a completely cooled loaf, slice thinly and enjoy!
The Life-Changing Loaf of Bread ( adapted from MyNewRoots)
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients:
1 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup flax seeds
½ cup chopped walnuts, almonds or nut of choice
1 ½ cups rolled oats (NOT quick cooking oats)
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husks
1 tsp. fine grain sea salt (add ½ tsp. if using coarse salt)
1 Tbsp. honey or sweetner of choice
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
1 ½ cups water
Directions:
1. In a medium sized bowl combine all dry ingredients, stirring well. Whisk maple syrup, oil and water together in a measuring cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick. It will thicken as it sits and yes, it is very thick . Scoop dough into a well oiled loaf pan or silicone bread pan (recommended) and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon, packing it slightly as you do. Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight. I let mine sit two hours. It may have benefited from sitting longer.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.
3. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan. You may need to run a knife around the edges and let it cool slightly if using a metal or ceramic pan. Remove gently, placing it upside down directly on the rack. (My loaf fell apart a little bit but it was still pliable enough that I pressed the pieces back together and firmed the loaf up before baking further).
4. Bake for another 30-40 minutes and check loaf. It should be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. It may take 10 minutes more or less depending on the humidity where you live and until I’ve made it a few more times, I can’t give you any more hints as to what timing will work best. At this point I turned the oven off, cracked the door just a hair and left it to cool with the oven overnight. Whatever you do, allow it cool completely or it will crumble when sliced.
PS: I’m thinking about some variations on a theme…raisins and some cinnamon with a touch more honey, or herbs and nutritional yeast. What do you think?
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