Power Bread

Would you like some bread with your seeds?

After being inspired by two of my favorite blogs My New Roots and Green Kitchen Stories, I decided to try to make my own gluten-free and vegan bread. This bread is unlike any other bread, utilizing mostly nuts, seeds, and rolled oats, and is flour free! One slice alone supplies almost 2g of fiber, 2.5g of plant protein, 5g of healthy fats, and 7.6g of carbohydrates. As the saying goes “ good things, come in small packages” and that is definitely true with this bread. Two small slices is all you need to start your day off right, or bring sustenance to a cold lunch.

The one thing I really love about this bread is its versatility. Savory or sweet, fresh or frozen, after it is toasted and topped with fresh vegetables or honey, it is divine.  When I go the savory route I like to dip it into a soft-boiled egg, or top it with cucumber, avocado and a sprinkle of pink sea salt. If I go the sweet route, one slice toasted with a drizzle of local honey hits the spot just fine. And not to mention, it is so EASY to make. You do not need to be an experienced baker, and you will not have a kitchen covered from head to toe in flour. All you need is a food processor, a bowl, your baking tins, and just 15 minutes of your time. Of course you need to bake it too, but that doesn’t require any hands on work. So, are you ready to get started on the Power Bread band wagon? If yes, then come on and join the healthy and easy fun!

Here are a few tips to keep in mind. 1) Make two mini loafs instead of 1 large loaf. This way your bread slices are taller. 2) Let the mixture sit in the tin about an hour before baking. It allows the soluble fiber from the pysllium, flax and oats to bind throughout the seed mixture. 3) Let the bread cool completely on the counter, and again in the refrigerator before slicing. I know this will be hard, but do it. 4) Once cooled its much easier to pre-slice the bread, and freeze half of the slices for later. Use a sharp serrated bread knife to slice thin even slices. When freezing, wrap pre-sliced loaf in saran wrap and put into freezer safe bag. For refrigerator storage put slices into airtight container. 5) And last but not least, my favorite, toasting each slice increases the nutty crunchiness of the bread. I definitely recommend this step.

Power Bread

Makes about 30 slices

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups water

2 tablespoons ground psyllium husk

½ cup raw almonds

½ cup raw sunflower seeds

1/3 cup flax seeds

1/3 cup hulled sesame seeds

1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 ½ cups rolled oats (gluten-free)

½ cup dried currants

¾ teaspoons fine sea salt

3 tablespoons organic extra virgin coconut oil, melted

Directions:

1. Put 1 ½ cups filtered water into a large bowl and add the ground psyllium husk and let it sit for about 10 minutes. I can usually find this in the BULK section of any whole foods/natural grocery store.

2. Meanwhile, toss the raw almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds into a food processor. Pulse a few times to chop the seeds and nuts and add to psyllium mixture after 10 minutes have passed.

3. Then add the rolled oats, the currants, the fine sea salt, and coconut oil to the pysllium/seed mixture. With a spatula mix thoroughly.

4. Lightly oil the two mini baking tins, and fill with the seed mixture. Pack it down so it molds nicely into an even loaf shape. (You can also do 1 large loaf, but you will have to bake it longer~ 60-70min)

5. Let the bread sit on the counter for about an hour and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

6. Bake the bread for about 45-50 minutes. You will be able to smell the toasted nuts and it will have a golden brown color. When done the bread should easily slide out of the baking tins and make a hollow sound when tapped. Allow to cool on a rack and continue to cool in refrigerator before slicing. Each mini loaf should make about 15 individual slices.