soft quinoa chia bread

6/11/2018

no sugar, no dairy, no avocado, no gluten,
no corn, no banana, no yeast, no lemon,
fear not, my tale is not tall,
we can still make bread, after all!

ready for the oven!

ingredients:

3 cups cooked quinoa
¼ cup whole chia seeds
1 cup water (use 1/2 cup to soak chia seeds and 1/2 cup to combine in the food processor)
¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt
1 T orange juice

cook quinoa. (when quinoa has finished cooking, let it cool to around room temperature.)
while quinoa is cooking, soak chia seeds in 1/2 cup of water. the chia seeds will form a gel, and the drier seeds will rise to the top. stir before using.
line a loaf pan with parchment paper on all sides and the base.
preheat conventional oven to 345° F.
put quinoa, gelled chia seeds, ½ cup of water, olive oil, baking soda, sea salt and orange juice into a food processor.
blend ingredients in the food processor for 3 minutes. (the consistency will be similar to batter and there will be some whole quinoa remaining.)
using a spoon or a rubber spatula, spread batter evenly into the loaf pan.
bake for 1 ½ hours until firm to touch and bounces back when pressed with your fingers. (I also found it helpful to put a fork in a few different sections of the bread after it was cooked - it's a good sign when the fork comes out of the bread mostly bare.)
remove from the oven and let cool in the pan (up to 30 minutes).
remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack. (the texture of the bread should be quite similar to banana bread in the centre and slightly crisp and golden brown on the outside.)
cool completely before eating.

cut with a serrated knife.
due to the unique shape and texture of the bread, its slices are only somewhat compatible with toasters. (these pieces reheat better in a pan on the stove or in a toaster oven.)
can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week; can be frozen for up to 3 months.
optional: sprinkle the top with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
this bread can also be a flatbread: "quinoa chia flatbread"

ready to eat!

recipe adapted from Teresa Cutter's Gluten Free Quinoa + Chia Bread