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My purely delicious Quinoa + Chia Bread is gluten free, dairy free, egg free + sugar free, making it perfect for anyone with a food allergy or intolerance. Not only is it included in my new book Purely Delicious, but it's one of the most clicked recipes on my site and I've also shared it with Kamalaya Health Retreat and it features daily on their menu.
The most important steps would be to soak and rinse your quinoa and chia separately overnight before starting the recipe. The second most important step would be to mix it for at least 3 minutes in your food processor (not blender). Once you have that sorted, it’s smooth sailing from there. Don’t expect this bread to resemble traditional loaves – it’s very nutrient rich and moist and best eaten lightly toasted.
What I love about the raw batter before I cook it is that it also lends itself to a variety of dishes. You can bake it as a thin flat bread and use it for a pizza base and top it with sun-dried tomato, roasted pumpkin chunks and ricotta or you can cook spoonfuls in your cast iron pan just like pancakes or crumpets and drizzle with pure maple syrup and sliced banana.
What’s good about it:
Made simply from quinoa which is gluten free and has a low GI of 53. Quinoa is also a complete protein which means that it contains all the essential amino acids that the body needs for repair and a healthy immune system.The chia seed pumps up the omega 3 in the bread plus it helps hold it together when it’s baked. The lemon activates the baking soda (bicarb) + helps to alkaline the loaf.
Makes 1 loaf – The size I used was: 10 1/2 cm wide and 26 cm long
300 g (10 1/2 oz / 1 3/4 cups) whole uncooked quinoa seed
60 g (2 fl oz / 1/4 cup) whole chia seed
250 ml / 1 cup water (use half to soak chia seeds and the other half to combine in the food processor)
60 ml (2 fl oz / ¼ cup ) olive oil
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
juice from ½ lemon
Preheat oven to 160 C / 320 F fan forced oven.
Soak quinoa in plenty of cold water overnight in the fridge.
Soak chia seed in 1/2 cup water until gel like – this can be done overnight as well, but just give it a few stirs at the beginning.
Drain the quinoa and rinse really well through a sieve. Make sure the water is fully drained from your sieve.
Place the quinoa into a food processor.
Add chia gel, 1/2 cup of water, olive oil, bicarb soda, sea salt and lemon juice.
Mix in a food processor for 3 minutes. The bread mix should resemble a batter consistency with some whole quinoa still left in the mix.
Spoon into a loaf tin lined with baking paper on all sides and the base.
Bake for 1 ½ hours until firm to touch and bounces back when pressed with your fingers. Mine took 1 1/2 hours – oven temps can vary slightly – but the bread needs the time to cook and for the quinoa to become tender.
Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes in the tin…then remove from the tin and cool completely on a rack or board. The bread should be slightly moist in the middle and crisp on the outside. Cool completely before eating.
Serve delicate slices only when cold with a serrated knife.
Store wrapped in the fridge for up to 1 week (yes this can be frozen for up to 3 months).
Delicious lightly toasted on a pan.
Serves 12 – and best served lightly toasted in a pan until golden on both sides.
Notes + Inspiration
Serve topped with macadamia nut butter.
Pump up the protein and add 2 tablespoons of Pure Pea Protein before baking
Sprinkle with sunflower seeds before baking.
The whole seed must be used – please don’t use rolled quinoa or the flour.
Hulled millet can be used in place of quinoa in this recipe
