One of my favourite brands when it comes to stocking up on healthy baking essentials is Indigo Herbs, who specialise in ‘unique ethical premium quality Superfoods, Vegan Plant Protein, Mushroom Powders, Herbs and Loose Teas’. A friendly bunch offering all kinds of goodies, I was recently set a challenge to create a gluten-free, vegan and low/no refined sugar savoury baking recipe using some flours from their baking range.
Spotting brown rice, quinoa and chickpea flours, I was keen to try using these together in a healthy, delicious savoury bake. Being wheat intolerant I miss bread so much – I don’t bother with the gluten-free ready-made bread alternatives in supermarkets as they are usually packed with processed ingredients and from experience, the taste and texture aren’t the best! So I tried making my own loaf which turned out brilliantly, if I do say so myself – dense without being too heavy or stodgy, a crispy crust, made from natural ingredients and perfect for slicing and serving as an open sandwich. Check out the recipe below!
Ingredients:
- 150g Indigo Herbs organic brown rice flour
- 75g Indigo Herbs organic chickpea flour
- 75g Indigo Herbs organic quinoa flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons mixed herbs
- 1 tablespoon flaxseeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- Pinch of Himalayan Salt
- Black pepper
- 100g cooked sweet potato or butternut squash chunks
- 1 teaspoon white wine or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Indigo Herbs maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 30ml water
- 4 tablespoons mixed seed (I used chilli spiced ones!)
Get baking!
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease and line a loaf tin.
- Mix together the flours, garlic powder, herbs, flaxseeds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and pepper.
- Whizz up the cooked sweet potatoes/squash in a blender or mash well until smooth. Add this to the dry ingredients along with the maple syrup, oil and water and mix well to form quite a thick batter.
- Spoon this into the prepared loaf tin and smooth out evenly. Sprinkle over the seeds on top then bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes until risen and firm to the touch. Leave to cool then slice up.
I love serving mine simply spread with houmous made from whizzing up chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and black pepper. Yum!
Keep the loaf wrapped up in foil and in an airtight container for up to 3 days.