Fruit & Nut Bread

This recipe produces the most amazing fruit loaf – great freshly baked with butter or to toast. Yummmm.

Updated this recipe to my new and improved version April 2015.

Ingredients

DRY INGREDIENTS

150 g quinoa flour

150 g buckwheat

90 g potato or tapioca starch (the fine white powder – if you don’t want to use this just add in another flour of choice instead)

1 tsp salt (more to taste)

2 tablespoon coconut sugar (or omit if you’d rather)

1 tsp xanthum or guar gum (or omit if you’d rather – bread will be slightly more crumbly without it)

1 rounded tsp dried yeast

1 cup roughly chopped dates

1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

1/4 cup goji berries

1/2 cup pepita’s

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup roughly chopped almonds or any other nut of choice

1 tablespoon (or more if you like them) sesame seeds.

CHIA FLAX GEL

In 100ml of water, soak 25g chia seeds and 25g flaxseeds until a gel forms – about 15 minutes.

WET INGREDIENTS

400ml warm water

2 tablespoons olive, coconut oil or ghee

Method 1 – By Hand

Make your chia/flax gel by soaking seeds in water for 15 minutes or longer if you prefer.

Lightly grease and line with baking paper a large bread/loaf tin.

Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the yeast and make sure it is well combined/mixed. (SHORTCUT: I measure all the dry ingredients into a bowl including yeast and then just whisk it really well – it does the same thing as sifting and eliminates a step and fussing around with sifting).

Add all the dried fruit and nuts and seeds and the chia and flax gel and mix well.

In a separate jug combine 400ml of warm water with the oil.

Add to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon well combined. Stir it really well.

Spoon mixture into your loaf pan and smooth out the top.

Leave to rise in a warm spot for at least 20 minutes or so, longer if possible, I find about an hour is good. Your mix will rise in the tin.

When the mix has risen to almost the top of the bread tin, I preheat my oven to moderately hot, about 200 deg celcius.

Bake for 40 until bread crisp and a nice golden brown. Remove bread from tin, reduce oven to moderate (180 deg celcius) and return to oven upside down for about 10 minutes at the end of cooking until nice and golden brown on all four sides. This ensures that it is well cooked all the way through and gives a nice crust on all four sides. The bread is cooked when it sounds hollow on all sides when you tap with your knuckles.

Place on wire rack to cool (not in tin or it will sweat). Wait until cool before slicing.

Method 2 – By food processor/thermomix

Make your chia/flax gel by soaking seeds in water for 15 minutes or longer if you prefer.

Lightly grease and line with baking paper a large bread/loaf tin.

Throw all dry ingredients into food processor bowl and blend until combined. If you have a thermomix you can measure straight into the bowl using the included scale.

Add water, oil, and chia and flax gel to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined (I use speed 5, about 10 seconds).

Add nuts and seeds and dried fruit, if using thermomix mix on reverse for about 6 seconds speed 6 or otherwise mix by hand so nuts and seeds don’t get too chopped up.