Quinoa Bread

​Making a tasty gluten-free bread which doesn't turn to breadcrumbs is a challenge, and making bread without yeast or flour seems like an impossible task but I think that this recipe is definitely a success.

The key to making bread without any wheat is that you need an element that will act as a glue to bind the ingredients together. For this I’ve used chia seeds, soaked for 15 minutes in water. After soaking they turn into a gel and work well to keep all the ingredients together.

For the main body of the bread I’ve used quinoa which gives a light and slightly crunchy texture with a lovely nutty flavor. Together, Quinoa and chia seeds are a protein power house so this bread is the perfect energising lunch.
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Ingredients

• 30g chia seeds
• 350g quinoa
• 70ml rapeseed oil
• ½ tsp bicarbonate soda
• 1 tsp Malden salt
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 10g black sesame seeds seeds
• 1 handful sunflower seed

Make 12 slices

To make
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Line a small loaf tin with baking paper.

Place the chia seeds in a bowl with 100ml water, stir well and leave for 15 minutes. This should then form into a gel.

Place the quinoa in a saucepan and cover with three times the amount of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes, this will only be part-cooked which is what you want. Drain with a sieve and run under cold water until completely cool. Leave to drain for a few minutes. This is important because if it is too wet your bread will be stodgy.

Place the chia gel and the quinoa into a blender and blitz to combine, then add 150ml water with the olive oil, bi carb, salt and lemon juice. Whizz for 5 minutes. You want to consistency to be quite wet, similar to a muffin batter. Add in the sesame seeds and blitz to combine. Pour this into the loaf tin, cover with the sunflower seeds and bake in the oven for 1 hour. It should be firm and slightly golden on top.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge, ready to slice when needed. It is delicious toasted too!

​Emma x