I love dense, nutty, chunky bread and this recipe, adapted from Adventure Bread by Josey Baker, ticks all the boxes.
It’s gluten-free and dairy-free. Feel free to substitute similar ingredients, but don’t omit the psyllium husks (sold in most supermarkets or health food stores) because it acts as a binder, taking the place of the gluten found in wheat flour.
While you can eat this bread as it is, I think it’s much nicer toasted, with honey, jam or cheese. Toasted and buttered with a smear of vegemite and a slice of Swiss cheese or cheddar really hits the spot for me. It’s quite filling and what I often have in the evening, when I’ve decided to skip dinner after an indulgent lunch.
¾ cup nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, walnuts or whatever you fancy)
1 cup sunflower seeds (hulled)
½ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/3 cup psyllium husks
2¼ cups rolled oats (gluten free oats are available)
3 Tbs chia, quinoa or sesame seeds
¾ cup flax seeds or linseeds (see note below)
2 tsp salt
2 Tbs maple syrup or honey
¼ cup olive oil
2½ cups water
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 190°C. Tip into an oiled loaf tin, push down and smooth the top. The one I use is 25x12cm and 10cm deep (approx 10x5x4 inches) which the recipe fills to within 2-3 cm of the top and as the bread doesn’t rise that’s fine. If you don’t have a big loaf tin use two smaller ones.
Bake for 40 minutes then tip the bread out of the tin and put it back in the oven on a flat tray for a further 20 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack. Wait until it’s completely cold before slicing. Can be eaten as it is, or toasted.
Loaf can be stored well-wrapped in the fridge for up to a week. As I’m the only one who eats this bread in our household, I like to slice the loaf about 1 cm or so thick, then individually wrap each slice in plastic wrap and freeze them. Toast from frozen, though they do need two goes.
Makes 1 loaf
Note: Flax seeds and Linseeds are the same thing. Known as Linseeds in Australia and Flax seeds in the USA.