Not Your Regular Bread

Way back in July – ok it was only the month before last but it already seems like ages ago – I spent a week at Kaliyoga, the most wonderful yoga retreat, in Puglia, right in the high heel of that beautiful boot that is Italy.

I will most definitely do a blog on the retreat, I’ve started it a couple of times but either ended up in a daydream or downward dog.

One of the many high points of the retreat was the food.  The most delicious vegetarian and vegan delights which totally tantalised the tastebuds on a daily basis.  (Yes, I love alliteration almost as much as I love yoga retreats.)

The queen of the kitchen at Kaliyoga is Alessandra, this woman has more health and wellness qualifications than you could shake a celery stick at.  As well as overseeing all the culinary goings on at the retreat,  she also offers a weekly food workshop to the guests, which of course I signed up for. 

The most beneficial part of this for me was learning how to make the ‘Life Changing Loaf of Bread’, which was a very popular staple at meals throughout the week.  Even more importantly, I learned that it was really easy to make – seriously – it’s a step up from a mud pie and it’s awesome.  It’s wheat free, full of nuts and seeds and even has psyllium husks, definitely not your ‘regular bread’, more so ‘keep you regular bread’. 

I have made it several times since I came back from Italy and think I have perfected it now, it takes less than 15 minutes to prepare and less than an hour in the oven.  The recipe originally comes from the My New Roots blogger; holistic nutritionist and cookbook author Sarah Britton.

I like to slice it up and stick it in the freezer.  All summer I’ve just extracted a slice or two for lunch, toast it, dice it and put it on a salad.  It’s a taste and texture sensation!  I don’t think it has changed my life, but it has definitely changed my lunch.

The Life-Changing Loaf of Bread
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1 cup / 135g sunflower seeds
½ cup / 90g flax seeds
½ cup / 65g hazelnuts or almonds
1 ½ cups / 145g rolled oats
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husks (3 Tbsp. if using psyllium husk powder)
1 tsp. fine grain sea salt (add ½ tsp. if using coarse salt)
1 Tbsp. maple syrup or agave (for sugar-free diets, use a pinch of stevia)
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil* or ghee
1 ½ cups / 350ml water

Directions:
1. In a flexible, silicon loaf pan 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 (if the dough is too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until the dough is manageable). Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight. To ensure the dough is ready, it should retain its shape even when you pull the sides of the loaf pan away from it it.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.
3. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing (difficult, but important).
4. Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days. Freezes well too – slice before freezing for quick and easy toast!

*I found ‘odourless coconut oil’ recently and would definitely recommend that.

https://kaliyoga.com/yoga-retreat-italy/

https://www.radiantlyalessandra.com/about

https://www.mynewroots.org/site/2013/02/the-life-changing-loaf-of-bread/

Davina McCall's Seedy Soda Bread

I found this recipe in 'Davina's Sugar-Free In A Hurry' book - which I picked up in Spar for  €6.99 coincidentally when I was in a hurry.  An impulse buy that has come up trumps! I do love Davina - such a lovely lady, loads of energy and what a work ethic.  Reading this book it looks like she makes loads of dough too (soz). This bread takes under an hour to make including prep and baking (provided you don't have to run to the shop because your buttermilk has gone off).

Ingredients
Makes 1 loaf – about 10 slices
Approx 177 kcal per slice

200g spelt flour (I use wholemeal) and save a little bit for dusting
100g wholemeal or rye flour (I use dark rye – just because it was right in front of me on the shelf in Aldi)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
50g rolled oats
50g mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin and sesame)
1 large egg
1 x 284ml carton of buttermilk
1 tbsp milk

1.    Preheat the oven to 190°C / Fan 170°C / Gas 5. Line a baking tray with baking paper / parchment – make sure the shiny side is up or your bread will stick to it – I found this out the hard way (that note is from me not Davina).

2.    Sift the flours and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl.  Add the salt, oats and seeds (reserving a tablespoon of seeds for later) and mix everything together

3.    Measure the buttermilk and mix the egg in (crack it first) with a whisk.  Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and then gradually add the liquid, stirring with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a ball.

4.    Finish shaping the loaf into a ball with your hands, using extra flour to stop the dough sticking if you need to.  Place the loaf on the baking tray and cut a cross in the top (I forgot to do that last time – didn’t make a difference).  Brush the loaf with milk and scatter over the reserved seeds.

5.    Bake the loaf in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until it is a pale golden and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom.  Serve warm with butter.  Freshly baked bread with melting butter is just one of my favourite things!  It keeps really well for a few days but if you don’t get through it slice it up and put it in the freezer.

Oatily Delicious Bread Recipe

I’m more of a cooker than a baker, but this recipe is easy peasy with only a few ingredients all pickable uppable in a regular supermarket.  This bread is wheat free, low in fat, high in fibre and humminess and if you don’t like the texture of porridge but want the goodness of it this is a great breakfast solution.

 Ingredients for One Loaf:
175g porridge / oatmeal
175g pinhead oatmeal
120g oatbran
600ml buttermilk
1.5 teaspsoon bread soda
1 teaspsoon salt

Method:
Chuck everything into a bowl and mix it up, let it sit for half an hour while you preheat the oven.  Use non-stick greaseproof paper / parchment (turns out greaseproof paper isn’t non stick as I had thought!) to line your 900g/2lb loaf tin.  Bake at 180 degrees c for 1.5 hours.  To make it worth you’re while, given the baking time, it’s a good idea make two loaves of bread at the same time.  Keep an eye on it for the last half hour, to test stick a skewer or sharp knife and if it comes out without any sticky bits it’s done.  Leave the bread to cool for a bit before removing it from the tin and then place onto a wire tray, remove the paper carefully and leave it to further cool.

This bread keeps really well, but also a nice one to slice up and keep in the freezer, if you can stop yourself from devouring it all at once!