Ever thought of making a seed and nut bread? Don’t be put off by the dense texture. I once was but now I’ve seen the light and just luuuuuv this bread! And I have Susan from The Kiwi Cook to thank for this discovery. When she set this Daring Kitchen challenge I initially thought ‘Hmm not the prettiest challenge’ but my body was going ‘Yay! Something healthy for us’. Plus it’s great having something to spread my Marmite on. You should seriously consider making this gluten-free seeds and nuts bread which health-conscious friends and family will also really appreciate. Easy, fast, no yeast, no kneading and delicious… Yay for superfood bread!!! 🙂
Superfood seed and nut bread
Not just hype
Yes, you too could instagram your superfood bread lathered with avocado, almond butter and all that healthy stuff to join the world of the online superfit tagging #healthyliving or #eatclean. Loads of pings. But seriously, it’s not just hype. This is really tasty bread and your body feels good after you eat it. Hey you know I’m not a health fanatic but between all the cakes (lol) I love eating this bread. Two slices is a satisfying and delicious treat. Yup, treat! I thanked Susan at the Kiwi Cook for the challenge and told her I’d be making this bread regularly! A constant supply on hand, and the other hand reaching for my pot of Marmite. Yeeha! After all, studies report that Marmite Could be a Superfood and Boost Immune System too! 🙂
Hurdle number one – psyllium husks powder
Yes, aargh. I too automatically switched off when I saw those words. Psy…. what? And how is that pronounced or translated into Spanish? I went on a dairy-free monster-free Odyssey, searching high and low for … you-know-what. Explaining the stuff in pharmacies and health foodstores here in Barcelona: it’s a kind of glue that sticks bread together…? Oh dear. Rachel Koo and Deliciously Ella both confirm it’s absolutely necessary so it must be true. I persisted, googled the translation (cáscaras de psyllium – not that different really) and showed it to all and sundry. On day two of my search, bingo! In a local healthfood store it wasn’t in stock but they ordered a jar for me which arrived the next day! Not much of an Odyssey in the end so take heart: you too can get your paws on this stuff and make this bread! Any protests about difficulties obtaining it and I’ll tell you my looooong psyllium Odyssey story again! 🙂
Anyway, to cut a long story short (ho ho) I now have a humongous jar of psyllium stuff which will last for many many loaves, so let’s start baking!
Gluten-free superfood seeds and nut bread
Recipe
This recipe was based on the paleo bread at Green Kitchen Stories. I adapted the method, quantities and ingredients slightly to include rice flour and what I could find in my kitchen. You can also adapt as you wish, eliminating nuts and flour or including other types of gluten-free flour. Personally I prefer having more seeds than nuts, sensing the bread could hold together better that way. You can also include raw grated vegetables.
Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F (static, non-convection oven) or 160°C/320°F (fan-assisted) and lightly grease your baking tin with coconut or olive oil.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp psyllium husks powder
- 350g/1 and a half cups water at room temperature
- seeds (300g in total)
- 100g/three quarters of a cup sunflower seeds
- 70g/half a cup pumpkin and sunflower seed mix
- 50g/quarter of a cup plus 1 scant tbspoon golden linseeds
- 50g/quarter of a cup chia seeds
- 30g/quarter of a cup and 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- nuts (200g in total) – chop roughly after weighing if you don’t have a food processor
- 140g/1 cup whole almonds
- 60g/half a cup whole toasted hazelnuts
- 100g rice flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- a pinch of Stevia (or half a teaspoon to 1 tsp maple syrup/sugar) – optional
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil (melted/cold pressed) or cold-pressed light olive oil
Optional: 1 handful of raisins or chopped dark chocolate
How to make it
Notes
- Here’s psyllium becoming a gel.
- You can stir and knead in the psyllium gel in with your hands at the end.
Dry ingredients then coconut oil then psyllium gel
- The resulting dough will be quite solid, more so after 2 hours. Don’t be alarmed, this is normal.
Ready to go in the oven
- If you’re baking muffins they should take 45-50 minutes.
- I used a silicone loaf mould; baking time depends on your own mould, loaf and oven. To be honest this is a solid loaf and when I tapped the bottom to check if it was fully baked it just sounded solid. So I cut a thin slice – it looked set but moist and the flavour wasn’t great so I put it back in the oven another 10 to 15 minutes. The bread tasted better after baking longer (for 1 hour plus 15 or 20 minutes, or so).
- I love my bread as it is but many Daring Bakers said they preferred theirs toasted.
Gluten-free superfood seed and nut bread
Storing
Store in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic film. Or up to 2 months in the freezer cut into individual slices for easy access, perhaps to accompany a salad on a rainy day?
I think I’ll take some along to Fiesta Friday hosted by Angie@thenovicegardener with cohosts Jhuls@The Not So Creative Cook and Elaine@foodbod. And to Free from Fridays hosted by Emma@Freefromfarmhouse. Check out all the great recipes there! 🙂
You’ll also see lots of photos of ‘superfood’ breads and various recipe links over at the Daring Kitchen challenge. Perhaps you’ve made one before? Or would like to? Give this easy gluten-free superfood seed and nut bread a go and let me know what you think.
Gluten-free superfood seed and nut bread
So it’s farewell again sweet reader! Thanks for popping in and I wish you a glowing and healthy week feeling good, with a few cakes thrown in maybe? Happy baking and eating! 🙂 x
It looks so dense! It has my favorite seeds, and nuts in it I’d like to try it. Toasted sounds great! What does Marmite taste like? Must look up the ingredients. He-Man brought a small jar home from a working trip to AU many years ago. I never opened it to try.
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Glad you’d like to try it Deborah! Yes, this bread’s dense but in a good way and not ‘heavy’ but satisfying. Marmite is ‘yeast extract spread fortified with B vitamins’! People usually love it or hate it.. and you’ll know as soon as you taste it! Let me know what you think. 🙂
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Aah Lili, I LOVE seed loaf and so does the husband. I need to find a place in my area that stocks psyllium husks. Great recipe!
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Thanks Gen and that’s great both of you love seed loaf! Good luck with your psylllium husk odyssey and let me know how it goes with your bread. I’d be curious to know how any variations work out … 🙂
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This looks very filling and satisfying! like it gives protein energy bars a run for their money.
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Yes, I find it’s tasty so one slice isn’t usually enough but after two I’m satisfied!! And the same thing happens with energy or bliss balls, so I guess they’re similar to energy bars too… 🙂
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Lili, your bread looks fabulous and I agree with you – I like it best as is rather than toasted. Had a good giggle about the marmite – a Kiwi & Aussie favourite topping! Thanks for participating this month and for sharing the love!
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Thanks so much Susan and glad you like the bread! 🙂 Also nice to know someone else loves it untoasted and is into Marmite! lol (wouldn’t mind some on a slice right now). Finally, thank you again for the challenge – I enjoyed participating and it was a real discovery for me! 🙂
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I’m so bummed that I missed this challenge, but this is exactly the kind of bread that I love! The more seeds and nuts the better. Could you throw a few raisins in as well? I love this type of bread in the morning with my coffee.
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What a shame Julie, I was looking forward to seeing your loaf. But you can always make it later, which is the important thing really. I haven’t used raisins but saw a recipe that gave an option of a handful of raisins or chopped dark chocolate (it’s at the bottom of the ingredients section). Sounds like a nice idea but I like the savoury bread for a change from the cakes, and as a home for my Marmite of course :). Hope you get to enjoy a seed and nut loaf for breakfast soon! 🙂
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This to me looks even more delicious than a cake… 🙂
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Fair enough Ronit! 🙂 You know I’ll always prefer a cake, but I understand your preference and am pretty attached to this loaf myself. Glad you like it! 🙂
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I love cakes, but this was so tempting with all the nuts seeds…. 🙂
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True 🙂
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I was the same…I wasn’t too keen on this bread at first but once I tried it….wow…great! Yes I will be making it regularly. It’s so easy. Yours looks delicious with the marmite!
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Yes, love this bread with Marmite … and without! Thanks for your interesting comments Marcellina! It’s great how so many Daring Bakers have discovered this bread, loved it and decided to make it regularly like us! 🙂 Yay! I must go and look at your loaf now! 🙂
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I’ve actually had a few seed and nut breads that I love, I just haven’t tried making them, so not put off, though I can see me having the same shopping challenge you mention, but who knows…the gel looks so interesting to work with, though! Added to the list to try…
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That’s nice! Yes, the gel is really effective… Thanks for dropping by.
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As always I love your pictorial recipes. The recipe itself I plan to try. Looks absolutely delicious, and a great snack to have on hand when cooking just isn’t on.
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Thanks Hilda and so glad you like the recipe! Yes, it’s really handy to have this yummy bread around. In fact I feel lost because I finished mine a few days ago. Going to make some tomorrow. Let me know how yours goes and your version if you adapt! 🙂
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