Previous to Mr Incredible being diagnosed with a wheat allergy we made all our bread at home. We often still do for the kids and I but I lost a lot of drive to do this after diagnoses. Firstly, he couldn’t eat it and he ate a lot of it. Secondly, for those who love bread, the smell of a good loaf baking that you can’t eat can be classified as torture. Instead, we’ve been purchasing Ancient Grain’s Oat or Breakfast breads, really great alternatives for the wheat free (no additives, wheat free, tastes great and good textures) but expensive… really expensive (between $8-10 a loaf and as I said, Mr Incredible loves his bread).

I’ve been looking everywhere for a good loaf recipe but have been turned off by xantham gum and quinoa/coconut flour loaves that didn’t resemble the cravings of my hubby’s dreams. In fact, when I told Mr Incredible that I’d found a great recipe his first comment was “it’s not with quinoa flour is it?”. Thankfully, it wasn’t and finally, thank God, we’ve discovered this loaf (huzzah for amazing social media pages!). Not only is it easy to make, has ingredients we stock in our pantry already and tastes great (none of the awful texture in most GF breads), it’s also highly adaptable. Here come home made Olive and Rosemary or Fig and Walnut or Fruit loaves! Oh, and the only “kitchen equipment” you need is a bowl, a whisk, measuring implements and an oven… awesome.

Almond and Chia Bread

By Tania Hubbard of www.glutenfreegrainfree.com.au

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond meal
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds (soaked in 30 mL of water)
• 30mL water (this is used to soak the chia seeds (do this whilst preparing the dry mix))
• 3/4 cups arrowroot or tapioca (remember to sift this to remove any lumps)
• 1 teaspoon bi-carb (baking soda) (sifted with the starch to remove any lumps)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or use lemon juice if you cannot have vinegar)
• 3 eggs (usually no larger than 60 gram eggs)
• pinch salt

Method

1. preheat oven to 175C
2. soak chia seeds in water whilst preparing the dry mix in a bowl. Stir to make sure the seeds are in the water
3. sift arrowroot and bi-carb (baking soda) into bowl
4. add almond meal and salt and mix well
5. use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients to help break up lumps and distribute ingredients evenly
6. add eggs, soaked chia seeds and apple cider vinegar
7. combine everything well until there are no lumps (about 1 minute of whisking)
8. don’t be tempted to add any liquid – this mix is meant to be thick
9. pour mix into a baking tin lined with non-stick baking paper or a silicon bread mold lightly oiled with olive oil
10. bake for 25-30 minutes until the bread is firm (single loaf) to the touch and bounces back when lightly pressed and a skewer comes out clean. The top will be golden in colour and firm to the touch.
11. Remove bread from the oven and turn out onto a cooking rack.
12. Adjust cooking time to 45-50 minutes if cooking a double mix (larger loaf)

COOKING NOTES:

• This is a small loaf – a single mix – it won’t rise and rise like traditional bread so you need to use a small baking mold to “force” the rise – I purchased a single size loaf tin once I was happy with the recipe but previous to that used a pyrex dish lined with baking paper. If you don’t the bread won’t rise very well. You’ll end up with more of a focaccia loaf… which might be nice for a change anyway!
• BIG LOAF: you will need to double the mix and bake in a loaf tin or 20 cm or smaller cake tin (lined with non stick baking paper)
• Missing buns and rolls? Make the recipe in a muffin tin for individual GF buns.

For more information, check out the recipe on Tania’s page and read the comments for information on freezing etc: http://www.glutenfreegrainfree.com.au/gluten-free-almond-chia-seed-bread/