QUINOA LOAF

When I first started my gluten free journey, one of the hardest parts was giving up bread. For me, nothing could beat a fresh salad sandwich or a crunchy chicken salad roll. They were simple, cheap, and in my opinion very under appreciated. At that stage, healthy eating wasn’t much of a priority for me; it wasn’t until I was fully reaping the benefits of my new eating changes, that I become obsessed with learning everything there is to know about living a holistic lifestyle where my diet would be the very thing that would heal my array of digestive disorders. Whilst pre-gluten free I was eating wholegrain bread which was the healthier choice, compared with highly processed white bread, I still didn’t realize that the amount of added preservatives and empty carbohydrates was still quite high. Gluten Free bread? Well my diet changes started pre the “gluten free” bandwagon faze, so my options were limited to a slab of rock hard, tasteless bread or a crumbly cake-like bread that you were better off forgoing altogether. (If you are gluten free I’m sure you can relate.) Now we are lucky enough to be exposed to some delicious healthy breads and the increase in whole food seeded bread recipes has just about taken over every health bloggers page.

Below I’m sharing my absolute favourite bread which I make at the start of the week. It’s full of nothing but wholesome nourishing ingredients, no preservatives, no added gluten, no refined sugars and is gluten free, dairy free and Vegan. What I love about it is that it’s so full of fibre it actually helps me to stay regular. It’s the perfect balance of protein, carbohydrates and good fats, helping to stabilize blood sugar levels and also leaving you fuller for longer.

The bread usually keeps well for around 5 days in a air tight container. You can also slice it up and keep it in the freezer so you never fall short of having the perfect, wholesome gluten free bread at hand.

Enjoy by itself or top it with your favourite combos.

Dry Ingredients

1 cup quinoa flakes

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup linseeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

2 tbs hemp seeds

2 tbs chia seeds

1/4 Nutritional Yeast*

1/3 cup psyllium husk

1/2 tsp cummin

1 tsp origano

1 tsp garlic powder

Pinch of sea salt

Wet Ingredients

1 1/2 cup water

2 tbs rice malt syrup

1 tsp stevia

1/4 cup olive oil

Method

Grease a non stick loaf pan well with coconut oil and line with baking paper if necessary. ( I use a silicon mould for ease)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.

In a separate bowl mix all the wet ingredients together until well combined then pour into the dry and combine well. Use hand if needed to ensure the mixture is thoroughly mixed through.

Transfer your mixture to the loaf tin/mould and press down firmly, smoothing out the top. The mixture will seem slightly hard and thats perfect, you don’t want this one to be like a runny cake.

Allow mixture to sit in its tin/mould for at least 2 – 3 hours to soak up all the moisture. Once the mixture seems quite firm place in the oven to cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Bread is cooked when it sounds hollow inside.

If your bread is starting to burn, place a piece of baking paper of the top and place it back in the over. (usually after 20-30 minutes)

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store in an air tight container.

Enjoy!