I don\’t really like bread. Rice and noodles were my staples growing up, not bread, which I find heavy most times.
One day, on a whim, I bought a cloche to see if I could experiment with making a bread that I liked and hopefully the kids too. I succeeded in the first part of the mission (my better half also likes it) but the kids won\’t eat it. They roll their eyes at mum hiding spinach again! It\’s a dense bread but it\’s full of warm nutty goodness.
- 3 ripe ladyfinger bananas
- 4 eggs
- 4 tbs (55g) chia seeds
- baby spinach leaves (maybe 100g)
- 4 tbs (60g) coconut or olive oil
- 5 or 6 tbs (60g) peppitas
- 1 ice cube (25g) lemon juice
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 tbs (55g) linseed (flaxseed)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbs raw sugar (or equivalent in soaked dates – if you don\’t soak overnight first, your processor will get stuck)
- half to 1 cup raisins
- 2 cups (170g) almond meal
- 2.5 cups (300g) self-raising flour
- optional: 150g sour cream
- Put the cloche in the cold oven so it can warm slowly while preheating to 180C.
- Blitz all the ingredients together except the raisins in a food processor.
- Stir in the raisins.
- Line the cloche with baking paper (an essential step or it will be hard to remove the bread. It doesn\’t have to completely cover the base, just most of it, and it can be sticking out the sides).
- Pour the dough in as evenly as possible.
- Bake for 40 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool before using a spatula along the edge of the cloche to release the bread.
- Use the overhanging baking paper to lift out the bread. Allow to cool further on a rack.
- Store in an airtight container and serve warm with butter.