Gluten-free Sprouted, High Fiber (Vegan) Bread
I have died and gone to heaven to have finally, after years of experimenting, developed a recipe for a sprouted, high-fiber bread that is gluten-free. Throw in that it is vegan and absolutely delicious with a mellow, nutty flavor and a moist yet firm texture (you know how hard that is to come by if you have made gluten-free bread), and I have to admit this bread is just about perfect. I won’t need to stray from this recipe for years.
It isn’t that the gluten-free breads on the market aren’t good, they are. It is that there are none that are sprouted and truly high in fiber. I look with envy at those who can eat Ezekiel or Essene bread because sprouted grains are much easier to digest and full of enzymes and increased nutrients as the sprouting proccess brings the grain kernel to life for germination. “Sprouted” grain breads can be flourless. Further, most gluten-free breads on the market are laden with fruit juices, and I’d rather use agave because it is much lower on the glycemic index.
Note that flax seed meal is a perfect vegan (or otherwise) egg substitute when simmered with water, because it develops into a gel-like consistency.
Soak the millet, quinoa, and sesame seeds for 24 hours in enough water to cover. Hopefully the grains will begin to sprout, but may not. (They will still soften considerably, making them easier to digest.)
Ingredients
1 cup millet
1 cup quinoa
1 cup sesame seeds (for fiber and protein)
½ cup coconut flour (very high in fiber)
½ cup rice flour
2 tablespoons flax seed meal (egg substitute; high in essential oil Omega-3)
1-2 cups low-fat almond milk (for a vegan version, or milk for non-vegan)
½ cup water
4 tablespoons coconut oil
2-3 teaspoons agave, or to taste
½-1 teaspoon sea salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
1. Strain and rinse.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F.
3. Divide and puree half of the mixture in a blender with half of the almond milk, and pour into a large bowl. Repeat with the other half.
4. Stir in the rice and coconut flour, sea salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
5. Add the flax seed meal, coconut oil, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the flax seed is very glutinous. Pour into the bowl with the other ingredients.
6. Stir thoroughly to blend.
7. “Grease” a standard-sized bread pan with coconut oil, and pour the ingredients into it.
8. Bake at 350 F until done, and an inserted knife pulls out clean, about 1 hour. (Cover with a sheet of aluminum foil if the top is browning too fast and the center of the bread hasn’t cooked thoroughly.)
YUM!
March 31st, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Well this is good timing! I am currently on a gluten-free, yeast-free diet. May have to try this, thanks Annie!
April 10th, 2009 at 12:22 am
I follow your blog for quite a long time and must tell you that your posts always prove to be of a high value and quality for readers.
April 10th, 2009 at 1:18 am
Awww, thank you so much for saying so, Ex Back..
(-:
April 17th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
annie-
this sounds great! however, i have a coconut allergy. could i substitute almond meal? i have not had bread in months(except an almond loaf) and never touch grains but would if they were sprouted. so, maybe this could fit the bill for me. the day a commercially sprouted, gluten/ yeast free/dairy free bread hits the market i will be extremely happy! any suggestions? in the meantime, i will attempt to make this wonderful recipe if you think almond or another alternative to coconut would work.
best,
chris
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:13 am
Annie,
Thanks for this wonderful-looking recipe! I’m wondering about the 1-2 cups almond milk. That’s quite a variation. What consistency am I looking for, so that I know when I’ve added enough, but not too much? Also, have you tried sprouting the grains using the drain/rinse method for a day or two? That’s how I’ve sprouted other grains and beans, but am not sure that it would work with millet, quinoa and sesame seeds. Maybe I’ll give it a try….
Many thanks!
Merry
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:55 pm
HI! I am so glad you are liking the recipe as much as I do. I make it every week!
Let me answer some questions:
Christopher: Yes, absolutely, almond flour will be fine! I just add the coconut flour to add fiber and to dry out the mix a bit, which leads me to answering Merry’s question: Yes, the variation of 1-2 cups is a lot. I cook from scratch (-: and so some of my recipes can be a bit “see what if feels like.” The more specific answer is that I try not to add too much almond milk or the final mixture will need a lot of coconut (or almond, or other) “flour.” However, some blenders need more liquid than others to blend things well. Ultimately, the consistency you are looking for in the final mix before pouring it into a bread pan is slightly more liquidy than a cake mix, but not a lot. Sometimes I’ve had to add more almond milk to the blender than others, for some reason, and I need to add more coconut “flour” to make the mix less liquidy.
Merry, your idea of the drain/rinse method is something I will try. After 30 hours my grains aren’t sprouting, although they are very softened.
Thanks, and keep the feedback coming! I myself am loving this bread; let’s make it perfect!
April 30th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Hi Annie,
I did try this bread with the drain/rince method. I didn’t have any millet on hand and substituted flax seeds for sesame seeds which are toxic for my blood type. I sprouted the quinoa and flax for three days. I ended up with more mix because of the sprouts having added volume but still put it all in one pan against my better judgement. After 3 hours in the oven it was still liquidy in the center. I think maybe I sprouted the seeds too long because it tasted very woodsy. It was awful and I ended up throwing it out.
I am going to start again and follow your recipe to a T except for the coconut flour which I couldn’t find anywhere. I’ll have to double the rice flour. I hope it tastes better this time. I’ll keep you posted.
May 6th, 2009 at 1:40 am
Hi Annie,
I’m so happy to have found this recipe. Do you have suggestions for an alternate gf grain or bean to sprout in place of millet? Was considering sprouting lentils or using cooked brown rice too. Also, for those who do ok with eggs, do you have any suggestions for how many to add?
Pleasure make your web-aquaintance.
Emily
May 6th, 2009 at 1:51 am
HI Emily,
I’d use two eggs. Regarding another grain, brown rice flour might be nice, especially if you can grind it yourself so it is really fresh (and it will taste so sweet you won’t believe it!).
Nice to meet you, too!
May 26th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
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June 2nd, 2009 at 3:22 am
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June 23rd, 2009 at 8:31 pm
The recipe sounds delicious. As I’m new to this what size (in cm) is a standard sized bread pan? I just bought one but it seems huge. Thanks for your advice.
July 7th, 2009 at 12:14 am
Small seeds and grains need proportionately less soaking time than large seeds, beans, and grains. These very small ones should be happy with 3-4 hours of soaking, but definetly not over 5 or 6 hours because it drowns them, and may or may not recover. Regular size beans you can soak 4-8 hours (or overnight). 10 to 12 hours plus and you may have a lot of dead or slow ones.
You also have to have the proper form of the seeds. For example, hulled sesame seeds or toasted buckwheat groats will not sprout, being already damaged by the hulling or baking process. Neither will old seeds sprout, from your corner grocer, often. There are online or health food sources for sprouting ones.
If you rinse the seeds first, then soak them, you can drain and use the first soak water to blend with tofu, cooked rice, soybeans, almonds, or cashews for milk, for added minerals, if you don’t have any milk already available. The proportions are roughly 1 part food to 4 to 6 parts water, depending on the form of the food and your purpose for the milk.
A cuisinart is my prefered instrument for sprouted bread, to macerate the sprouts to a recognizable dough. I’m excited to try out your recipe. It looks good.
July 30th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Hi Annie:
Thanks for this recipe. I’m missing the part about how to do the sprouting. That’s not included as one of your steps. Do you sprout the millet, sesame seeds and quinoa, and if so do we need to purchase types of each that do sprout. Not all grains and seeds will spout well.
Thanks.
August 10th, 2009 at 3:03 am
Hi Annie,
I tried this recipe again. Still using flax seeds instead of sesame seeds. I omitted the flax meal (egg substitute) since the soaked flax seeds where glutinous enough. I put this mix into 5 mini loafs. They took an hour to bake. Tasted great this time. I sprouted for about 30 hours or so. Much better than the 3 days I tried last time (too woodsy tasting).
My question: Is the picture you use the actual bread from this recipe? I can’t seem to get my bread to rise. I would like a little bit of a head but mine seams to fall in the center. Any suggestions? Thanks
August 11th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Hi Geri,
No the picture isn’t the actual bread. Check back in a week or so and now that I have a decent camera I will take a pic of it. Glad you found the bread good this time.
–Annie
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I am glad to have found this recipe and the dialogue about it. I have the seeds soaking and I am going to try it today. I appreciate the question about weather the picture is the actual bread, I didn’t think so, having made a lot of GF breads…. But whenever I see that kind of picture, I secretly hope that this is the recipe that will do it! I find that making buns, or small loaves very helpful in getting a good result. Coconut flour is my latest wonder ingredient in GF baking. You can get it at most natural food stores now, in the GF baking section. I’ll let you know how it goes!
-Naomi
September 25th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Hi Geri,
No the pictufe isn’t the actual bread. Check back jn a weel or so and now that I have a decent camera I will take a pic of it. Glad you found the bread good this time.
–Annie;
November 6th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
[...] posted an early version of this as a bread on the site, but this new version is working much better, and yes, the photo is true to the bars. I took it [...]