First posted: Mar 3, 2016

Life-Changing Bread, and A New Friend

Guys! I’m so excited to introduce you to some new friends of mine. I’ve teamed up with the good people at SA Natural Products to bring you a whole bunch of super healthy new recipes. There’s everything from my favourite Barley and Gem Squash Risotto to really fresh and zingy Vietnamese Summer Rolls, and lots of yummy stuff in between. I’ll be sharing the recipes with you in various posts over the next few months.

I am really proud and excited to be able to partner with a company who pour so much energy and love into making excellent quality health food products, and who share similar food philosophies to me (and you!). SA Natural Products bring us, among other things, A.Vogel‘s range of health products – you might already know their award-winning Multiforce Alkaline Powder? Or their amazing, organic Herbamare seasoning range? Or cold and flu busting Echinaforce, perhaps? My family can’t live without these things. They are all full of goodness, carefully and meticulously sourced and produced.

And the bread? Well, if you’re on a quest to eat healthier, fresher food this year, then I’m guessing that fluffy white bread is your kryptonite, right? The only thing with a lot of supermarket loaves is that they are often full of genetically modified, excessively processed ingredients, bleached flours, preservatives and sugar – with disastrous results on your health and your waistline. But OH the deliciousness of a slice of toast with peanut butter, or a cheese sarmie, or fresh fresh bread with cold butter and jam. Well, wait, it doesn’t have to be all dull and disappointing. This bread is pretty much all that. It’s dense and delicious, it toasts beautifully and it’s amazing with a layer of cold butter, or creamy avocado and a poached egg (and a sprinkling of full-of-goodness Herbamare), and a whole string of other happy-making options. I make at least one loaf a week, which is why there are so many variations on my blog. This latest version I like to think is the best one yet. Is it life changing? It might sound trite, but I like to think so. And so did the lovely Sarah Britton when she first used the name to share her own version via her very clever and very beautiful blog, My New Roots.

Ingredients

Cooks in:30 minutes Serves:4-6

For the Bread

1 cup mixed seeds/nuts e.g. (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, linseeds)
1/2 cup whole almonds
1 cup almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
1-2 cups water (or start with 1.5 cups and add as needed, I find coconut flour very dry)
3 Tbsp psyllium husks (not powder, which you would need less of)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup coconut oil (warmed until liquid)
1/4 cup natural yoghurt (or coconut milk or extra water)
2 tsp honey or rice malt syrup (or alternative healthy natural sweetener)
1 level tsp salt

To Serve, Per Person

1 slice seed loaf, toasted
1/2 avocado, roughly mashed onto the bread
Squeeze of lemon or lime juice
Roughly chopped fresh basil or coriander (optional)
Softly poached or boiled egg
Season with Herbamare Original, to taste

What to do

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180C and grease and line a small loaf tin.

2. Mix all the ingredients together in your food processor, if it seems very dry add another 1/4 cup water. It will NOT be like usual bread, it will seem quite crumbly and have the texture of beach sand, that's fine.

3. Transfer mixture to a loaf tin, smooth out the surface gently using the back of a spoon and bake for approx. 30 minutes or until golden.

4. Leave the loaf to cool to room temperature, remove from the loaf tin, slice and then freeze in slices.

Notes
A few people have mentioned that their bread is really crumbly and unmanageable. Remember, there is no gluten here to bind things together and add elasticity to the bread, so it can be a little crumbly. Make sure that you leave the loaf to cool completely before trying to slice it, and then slice it all at once and store in the freezer so that you can take out one slice at a time as and when you need to. Also, try adding in a little more water the next time you make it, I sometimes add up to 2 cups.

If you like this recipe, you might also like my very favourite Banana Bread (refined sugar and gluten free).

Photo Credit: Curtis Gallon.