The Life-Changing Loaf of Bread

Slice of seed and nut loaf showing a slice

I didn't name it that, the name comes from the original creator! It's a recipe that is pretty extreme when you're thinking in terms of bread, but it isn't even a bread as we know it - no raising agents, nor any flours, and of course it would be gluten-free. Basically, a seed, nuts and oat loaf bound together with psyllium (and perhaps some chia/flax).

Here's the ingredients list:

1 cup / 135g sunflower seeds
½ cup / 90g flax seeds
½ cup / 65g hazelnuts or almonds
1 ½ cups / 145g rolled oats
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husks 3 Tbsp. if using psyllium husk powder
1 tsp. fine grain sea salt add ½ tsp. if using coarse salt
1 Tbsp. maple syrup for sugar-free diets, use a pinch of stevia
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil or ghee
1 ½ cups / 350ml water

This is an easy thing to make at home, provided these are the sort of ingredients you keep in your cupboard. A key instruction is to leave it for at least two hours after mixing to absorb water and allow the seeds to swell before baking.

The recipe has quite a following on the internet, there are thousands of comments on the original post by Sarah Britton at "My New Roots". There is a food52 article or two on it, and many blogs discuss it.
Baked loaf at an angle showing clean lines
I really enjoyed eating it, and it was fabulous when toasted. When toasted, it is delicious, nutty and satiating. It paired beautifully with all the spreads I tried - nut butter, humus, goats cheese even! It reminded me a little of a South African Cape seed loaf, and also a Danish rugbrød.

Several slices on a bread board with lin seeds scattered

Next time (which there will be), I'll probably not use whole flax seeds as they tend to get stuck in the teeth. Margaret Bose-Johnson had some great substitution ideas, like substituting hemp seeds for the flax, and using softer nuts like walnuts and pecans, although even almonds were fine, really.

Highly recommend that you try this, it made me reconsider what makes a loaf of bread.

-Jon

JonJ's Blog
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I think long time ago when Food Network was still a thing, I watched something like this baked in a loaf pan, then thinly sliced, then baked again until dried and crunchy, then served on cheese board with various condiments

I think this qualifies as flatbread if unleavened and twice baked

edit:

I think what makes a 'bread', just like other conventional carbs, is the ability to soak soup, juice, gravy, and condiments, but not sugary as in cake. And can be sliced or torn. If it fits the description, I think it's a bread :)

But I would ferment it in some way just to get rid of phytic acid and increase the seeds' protein bioavailibility

Gravy! Better than most definitions, Jay.

I believe 'bread' and other starchy products has budget-stretching function to meals, which means it shouldn't be the main source of protein of a meal. This one has a lot of protein in it. In conjunction with what Rob said, I think this one is more like a vegan meatloaf

There, I rest my case lol

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🎯🤣🤣🤣

that's great, Jay ... but your definition has some limitations. Starch sponges like ugali, garri & fufu absorb gravy, can be sliced or torn, and are not sugary. Garri is even fermented. But no one who has eaten them would call them bread.

Why ... perhaps because they're all crumb & no crust? Or something about structure & texture?

Rob

Interesting, Rob. Being unfamiliar with the products, I can only google search them, and I have the impression that they are dense and starchy mass, it seems to me they would fit better in dumpling category. However, I would love to be enlightened more regarding those three and anything similar

As for being crustless & crumb only, Chinese steam buns are leavened and have no crust, yet it seems to me they make clear distinction between the buns and dumplings.

On the other hand, I feel flatbreads and crackers are trickier to distinguish. Some flatbreads are not fermented and can have a degree of crunch, and some crackers are fermented

Bread or not, I would love to have what Jon made as crackers on my fruit platter! :D

Jay

I know them from Africa, Jay. Ugali in Kenya is a cornmeal sponge -- with an almost whipped texture. Nigerian garri is a cassava sponge (made from roots that have been peeled, soaked washed, dried, grated, rehydrated, fermented & dried again to remove the hydrogen cyanide and often prepared with palm oil) that has a dense but not heavy character. In Lagos, Fufu is yam or cassava pounded to make the root smooth and stretchy, making it feel heavy in your hand but much lighter in the eating. You can find info on Nigerian staple starches here and on ugali here.

I understand the seeming similarities but wouldn't class any of them as dumplings.

Rob

This is definitely a nuts and seeds bomb!

This is nuts, Jon.

Deliciously nuts.

But can I bring up a silly semantic point: I have no problem calling soaked seeds sealed with psyllium bread, but it raises the question, 'what is bread?'

For instance: meatloaf is often cooked in a loaf pan and can be sliced and would probably be good toasted or grilled with cheese, but we would never call it bread. I suspect we call banana bread bread simply because of the alliteration (that's also probably why carrot cake is cake.)

What's in a word?

🤔🤣😎

Rob