Nut-Filled Gluten-Free Bread

"I like bread with a bit of crunch and texture and I really like the flavour of pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Admittedly, it doesn’t look like a perfect shop-bought bread, but it tastes far better than any bread you can buy and it has the added bonus of making your home smell wonderful too."

A couple of years ago I suddenly started to suffer from some rather uncomfortable stomach pains which I couldn’t explain. I thought it might disappear after a while, but it didn’t. So, off I went to see a GP only to be told it was stress related. Something told me that the diagnosis wasn’t right. I simply knew. So, I embarked on some self-diagnosis by looking at my food choices. I had heard of lactose and gluten intolerance and thought I’d start with those. I cut out wheat and it seemed to have an immediate effect with the stomach pains disappearing within a couple of days.

Very happy and pleased with myself (less so with the GP) I decided that I would bake my own gluten free bread and add something I really like: seeds. I like bread with a bit of crunch and texture and I really like the flavour of pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Admittedly, it doesn’t look like a perfect shop-bought bread, but it tastes far better than any bread you can buy and it has the added bonus of making your home smell wonderful too.

Now, baking is a pretty precise science. When cooking we can quite often get away with getting the measurements slightly wrong or forgetting the small addition of half a teaspoon of salt. Not so when baking bread. I am not a professional baker and not presumptuous enough to present you with my very own bread recipe, I’ve therefore used the basic one from Doves Farm as they know what they’re talking about. I’ve added sunflower and pumpkin seeds for flavour and texture and to make this recipe my own. So, if you fancy a freshly baked loaf of bread, why not give this one a try?

Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Mix together the flour, salt, yeast and sugar, then add the seeds and mix again.

In a separate, large bowl whisk the milk, vinegar and eggs together.

Add the flour mixture (I used a large serving spoon whilst continuing to mix) until you have a sticky dough. Add the oil while continuing to mix.

Grease the tin and place the dough in it. Cover up and leave in a warm place to rise for an hour.

Bake the bread for 40 – 45 minutes. Enjoy with cheese and ham or with butter and jam. The nutty taste and crunchiness work well with both.

Bon appétit!

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