Hearty – and Gluten-Free!
This Adventure Bread from Josey Baker Bread
Excerpted from Josey Baker Bread: Get Baking – Make Awesome Bread – Share the Loaves, by Josey Baker, Chronicle Books 2014, photographs by: Erin Kunel
Sometimes you need a bread that is so dense, so hearty, so jam-packed full of seeds and grains (and devoid of air) that it will sustain you on your mightiest of adventures.
That’s what this bread is for. But that’s not all it is for . . . It’s also gluten-free! That will either entice you or turn you off, but either way I really hope that you give it a shot because it is incredible, and it is suuuper healthy. It’s unlike any other bread in this book, in that there isn’t even any flour in it, and it isn’t fermented—it’s basically just a bunch of seeds held together with a little bit of psyllium seed husk and chia seeds. I started making it in the bakery because we kept having folks come in and ask us for gluten-free bread, and I got tired of saying no. Up until we made this bread, I had mostly been turned off by gluten-free breads, because it seemed like they were all just trying to imitate wheat breads, and failing miserably. But this bread stands on its own—it is gluten-free and proud of it. Special thanks goes out to Sarah Britton, blogger at My New Roots; her recipe inspired this bread.
| YOU’LL NEED | |
| FOODSTUFF | TOOLS |
| rolled oats | big mixing bowl |
| sunflower seeds | measuring cups OR scale |
| pumpkin seeds | measuring spoons |
| almonds | loaf pan (about 8 by 4 in/20 by 10 cm) |
| flax seeds | oil or nonstick spray |
| psyllium seed husk | cooling rack (optional) |
| chia seeds | |
| sea salt, fine grind | |
| maple syrup | |
| olive oil | |
| water | |
Sometimes you need a bread that is so dense, so hearty, so jam-packed full of seeds and grains (and devoid of air) that it will sustain you on your mightiest of adventures. That’s what this bread is for. But that’s not all it is for . . . It’s also gluten-free! That will either entice you or turn you off, but either way I really hope that you give it a shot because it is incredible, and it is suuuper healthy. It’s unlike any other bread in this book, in that there isn’t even any flour in it, and it isn’t fermented—it’s basically just a bunch of seeds held together with a little bit of psyllium seed husk and chia seeds. I started making it in the bakery because we kept having folks come in and ask us for gluten-free bread, and I got tired of saying no. Up until we made this bread, I had mostly been turned off by gluten-free breads, because it seemed like they were all just trying to imitate wheat breads, and failing miserably. But this bread stands on its own—it is gluten-free and proud of it. Special thanks goes out to Sarah Britton, blogger at My New Roots; her recipe inspired this bread.
| 1 LOAVES | 2 LOAVES | 4 Loaves | |
| rolled oats | 21/4 cups/ 235 g | 41/2 cups/ 470 g | 9 cups/ 940 g |
| sunflower seeds, toasted | 1 cup/ 160 g | 2 cups/ 320 g | 4 cups/ 640 g |
| pumpkin seeds, toasted | 1/2 cup/ 65 g | 1 cup/ 130 g | 2 cups/ 260 g |
| almonds, toasted & coarsely chopped | 3/4 cup/ 90 g | 11/2 cups/ 180 g | 3 cups/ 360 g |
| flax seeds | 3/4 cup/ 120 g | 11/2 cups/ 240 g | 3 cups/ 480 g |
| psyllium seed husk | 1/3 cup/ 25 g | 2/3 cup/ 50 g | 11/3 cup/ 100 g |
| chia seeds | 3 Tbsp/ 25 g | 6 Tbsp/ 50 g | 3/4 cup/ 100 g |
| sea salt, fine grind | 2 tsp | 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp | 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp |
| 1 LOAF | 2 LOAVES | 4 LOAVES | |
| maple syrup | 2 Tbsp/40 g | ¼ cup/80 g | ½ cup/160 g |
| olive oil | ¼ cup/55 g | ½ cup/110 g | 1 cup/220 g |
| water | 2 ½ cups/600 g | 5 cups/1,200 g | 10 cups/2,400 g |
- Measure ingredients. This is super easy dudes, just measure and dump this stuff into a big bowl.
- Mix it all up, scoop into pan. Oil your loaf pan, and then mush up your “dough” real good with your strong hands or a big spoon. Take pride in your mush-job, this is all of the handling you’re going to do with this “dough.” Once it’s mixed real good, scoop it into your oiled pan and smooth out the top so it looks nice. Then stick that guy in the fridge and leave it alone for at least a few hours, up to a whole day
- Bake it. Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400°F/205°C. Bake for about an hour or so, then take it out and gently remove the loaf from the pan. Let it cool on a cooling rack for at least 2 hours (YES, 2 whole hours). Don’t rush it here folks, this bread is D*E*N*S*E, and if you don’t wait for it to cool, it really won’t be as yummy.
- Toast and eat. This bread is definitely best sliced nice and thin (around ½ inch/1 cm) and then toasted up and spread with whatever your heart desires. And don’t worry, if you’re adventuring somewhere without toaster access (like a gorgeous river in the middle of nowhere), it will still be scrumptious, I promise.
This recipe does not specify the quantity of water. Could someone advise please?
Jennifer, thanks to you we found an omission! Hope it did not inconvenience you too much. Let us know how you like the bread.
re: water amount, I will look into this with the publisher. Thank you for being patient and I will post here when I get an answer.
Thanks Dede. The foundation of the recipe look great.
As an experienced cook (natural foods) I could probably work it out myself, anyway. However, I do not wish to interfere with the integrity of the recipe.
Give me enough time though and will publish (with reference) my interpretation
Kind regards
Very interested in seeing what you come up with. I am a bit obsessed with this recipe. Love hearty breads and the cooler days are coming!
I will be baking this at the weekend. Thanks so much!
This product is marvelous! Substantial, scrumptious and full of goodness.
As I follow a grain free, non-processed food diet this fits the bill with the following variations:
– substitute oats for buckwheat and omit the maple syrup
– I have also tried coconut oil in place of the olive oil (which does vary the flavour a little but is quite tasty)
I generally make up a 1/2 loaf quantity (as there is just me) and then slice and freeze.
Now a mainstay in my pantry!
Sorry that should read “substitute oats with buckwheat”
Jennifer what a great review and helpful hints! It is such a cool and unusual bread. I hope your comments encourage more to make it. Have a healthy 2015! Off to a great start.