Sides – Page 3 – Nat's Ladle

Mediterranean Style Gluten Free and Yeast Free Bread

Today it happened. Today was the day I made the decision it was time to enter new gluten free territory. To try the object of desire of countless celiacs and gluten free folks. To make with my own two hands the thing that turns good olive oil and coarse sea salt into the most desirable, seductive ménage de trois, the loyal companion of a good merlot, the reliable foundation for freshly churned butter, the satisfying partner of a bowl of steamy, creamy soup: Bread. Gluten free bread.

I made gluten free bread! I still can’t believe my luck! I tried gluten free bread, and it worked! I can serve my half-Italian husband Italian-style bread to dip into oil and salt. To nibble straight of the loaf pan. To enjoy with a chunky piece of good, salted butter.

Gluten free bread.

No, not that gluten free bread you buy in the supermarket, no no! I mean – fantastic gluten free bread. Yummy. Delicious. Easy to make. And – yup – healthy. And satisfying. And it makes you happy. What? Yes.

You read right: Today I made a bread that is GLUTEN FREE AND YEAST FREE AND VEGAN. And is healthy. Let me tell you what you will get when you try my experiment:

-proteins from brown rice, buckwheat, millet, eggs, chickpea, flax for your muscles
-calcium from brown rice for your bones and teeth
-magnesium from brown rice, millet to calm your nerves
-fiber from brown rice, millet, chickpea, flax to promote digestion
-iron from brown rice, sundried tomatoes and chickpea to boost your power
-zinc from brown rice to fight infections
-niacin from millet and sun-dried tomatoes for hairs and nails and to lower cholesterol
-omega 3 from flax and chia for healthy heart and brain function
-healthy fat from olive oil and olives – see above
-antioxidants from millet and sundried tomatoes to protect you against cancer
-serotonin from millet to make you happy. 🙂

Great with olive oil, coarse sea salt and a dry Merlot

Yes, all that in less than 30 minutes! (hooray!)

Shall we?

For one 20×20 cm baking pan

100 g brown rice flour
50 g millet
50 g chickpea flour
50 g buckwheat flour
25 g flax
25 g arrowroot
1,5 tsp sea salt
1,5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan
3 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp chia seeds, dissolved in 6 tbsp water (“chia eggs”)
5 tbsp olive oil (use a good brand)
1 tsp maple syrup or agave
approx. 120 ml or more warm water
sundried tomatoes, olives (as much as you like) or anything else you’d like to put in!
coarse sea salt to decorate

Preheat oven to 180° C. Use your food processor or any other standing blender. Whisk together all dry ingredients (flours, flax, salt, xanthan, soda, arrowroot) until well blended (one colour). Add the chia to the dry ingredients. Add vinegar, oil, and maple syrup and beat in food processor for a few seconds until incorporated. Pour warm water through your processor’s feeder until batter becomes smooth, firm and sticky (the texture is a bit like marshmallow) and homogenous. You might need to experiment with the amount of water (approx. 120-150 ml). With a wet spoon or spatula scoop into oiled pan. and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and bake for another 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat and let rest in the oven until lukewarm. Remove from pan and serve. Goes well with olive oil, dips, or dukkah.

Tip: Try herbs, garlic, roast onions, chili or walnuts for yummy alternatives to olives and tomatoes!

Enjoy!

I admit I suffer from a serious and acute dip mania at the moment! After my harissa turned out beautifully, I was motivated to experiment a bit more. I have not tried baking gluten-free bread yet, – sorry, but I’m still pretty new on the gluten free journey – but once I have achieved the holy grail of gluten-free bread making, it’s good to know what to dip it into, don’t you think? (Update: I made gluten free bread! The results can be found here, here and here.)

Although unlike the Northern hemisphere, it’s not really pumpkin season in Oz right now, the delicious and versatile vitamin A bomb is omnipresent in this part of the world all year round – and since we happened to celebrate Halloween just over a week ago, I assume we all still have some leftover pumpkin in our freezer, and what better way than to turn it into a tasty dip?

Pumpkin has such a unique flavour, which makes it so different from your average dip or pesto. I decided to marry it off to some chickpea – must be my love for falafel coming through here – to give it a mysterious middle eastern touch. Of course, there had to be chili in it, as with most of my savoury dishes. I used hot chili powder from the middle eastern shop, as the naughty mint in our back yard killed my chili plant (*sniffle*), but it turned out alright nonetheless.

My first version didn’t feature any basil, as I didn’t have any and couldn’t be bothered going shopping. It was good, but trust me, you don’t want to leave out the basil! You might try parsley, too, though I haven’t tried that. The version featured here is pretty low in fat – pumpkin is already so luscious and creamy that unlike a traditional pesto, you just need to add a tablespoon of healthy olive oil to make it yummy. In my next version of this dip, I am going to put some cashews or almonds in it – I think this will be beautiful!

Makes approx. 200 g

100g roasted or char-grilled pumpkin, chopped
50g chickpeas from the tin, drained
1 tbsp good olive oil (try chili or lemon infused olive oil for that extra kick)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (you can use any vinegar – I just wanted to make this dip even more healthy!)
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional, but gives great flavour)
fresh basil, chili, salt, pepper, garlic and paprika to taste – you can always adjust the spices afterwards

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Serve immediately with crudités or gluten-free bread or keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days. Extra hot tip: Mix it with my harissa paste – you won’t regret it, it’s superb!

Enjoy!

Category: Sides

Gluten Free Vegan Foccaccia {no yeast!}

Spicy Pumpkin Basil and Chili Dip