My Daily Bread and Crackers

Wahoo … 2017!  High expectations for another amazing year, with lots of challenges and big goals.   Top of the list is a commitment to keeping up with regular contributions to Fresh Kitchen and in doing so keeping us all fueled with fresh and tasty exciting meals and snacks.  Please let me know if you see anything we should try!  I am always looking for new inspiration and would love to hear from you.

I thought to start the year with something basic that is a constant in my life, this ‘bread’ originated with Sarah Britton from My New Roots   Life Changing Loaf Of Bread,I have been making variations since she first posted it in 2013, and love it.  Over time I have made some changes to suit me,such as chopping the seeds and nuts, to make the bread and crackers hold together better for slicing and toasting.   I also use brown rice flakes which means it’s completely gluten free and changes up the ingredients we are eating on a regular basis.  The bread then led to the crackers, because I love crispy things and these are just a variation of the bread rolled and baked so it was a bit of a no brainer once you get the bread recipe down pat.   As with most things, I make these are very adaptable. You can swap the seeds and nuts, and add spices as you like, and the bread keeps well in the fridge – it lasts me nearly a fortnight!

My Daily Bread

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup almonds
  • 1/2 cup ground linseed (flaxseed)
  • 2 tbsp chia seed
  • 4 tbsp psyllium husks
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups brown rice flakes
  • 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 cups water

I start by melting the coconut oil.  Then either by hand or MUCH EASIER  in the food processor, chopping your pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and almonds using the pulse button on the food processor. You want these to be roughly chopped and not toochopped seeds and almondsfine ground in texture.  Put these in a medium bowl, add the rest of your dry ingredients and give a stir to mix together then add your wet ingredients and stir well.  It will be quite sloppy for a start but the psyllium quickly starts absorbing the water and you are left with a firmish mix.   Put this in a loaf tin and leave to soak for at least two hours, sometimes I will leave it overnight and cook the next day,  this soaking allows the water to be absorbed and also makes for optimal nutrition and digestion.nut and seed bread

After soaking, and when you are ready to cook, heat oven to 180’c

Cook for 1/2 an hour then tip out of loaf tin on to a baking tray and cook a further 1/2 hour.

It is now ready for you to enjoy.  I keep my loaf wrapped in the refrigerator and it lasts up to a fortnight (and possibly longer) but it has always gone by then in my house.

 

Seeded Crackers

These are delicious and quite filling crackers that are great eaten on their own as a snack, or spread with avocado, hummus, or your favourite dip or spread and maybe some fridge pickles.  They are quite assertive in flavour so possibly too tasty for a fine cheese.

This is  enough for three trays of crackers

Ingredients

  • I make these using the most of the same ingredients as above.   I do take out the almonds and instead add 1/4 cup of sesame seeds. Once again add what you like as long as you don’t change the proportions too much, poppy seeds buckwheat groats, nuts etc…
  • tsp of flavours such as fennel seeds or caraway seeds or cumin and coriander seeds, possibly chilli flakes or…….
  • instead of 2 cups of water add 1 1/2 cups of water for a slightly drier mix

For the crackers I put the brown rice flakes in the processor to pulse as well as my seeds this keeps the mix a bit finer and holds everything together better when it is rolled out.seed crackers

seed crackers

seed crackersTear off 4 sheets of baking paper as large as your baking trays.

Once the mix comes together (a few seconds) I place big spoons of about 1 1/2 cup on to a sheet of baking paper then I put another sheet over top of this and using a rolling pin start rolling out. Once it starts taking up most of the sheet and is fairly thin I take the top sheet off and using a knife patch it up and make it a little more square. I then put the baking paper it over again and give it a final roll out so that it covers most of the baking sheet and is quite thin. You don’t want it to be too thin or the crackers will become too fragile.  I then use the sheet I used on top and start the next tray of crackers, until I have three sheets rolled out.  Put these all aside for a minimum of a couple of hours (or longer) until you are ready to bake.

When you are ready to bake, score the crackers into the desired size and shape you want.

Heat oven to 160’/170’c (depending on how hot your oven runs!).

These will burn easily so they will need to be cooked at quite a low temperature.

Bake for 25-30 mins and then flip over and cook another 10 minutesnut and seed bread and crackers

 

2 Comments

  1. Hi Anne – I have been making these crackers for awhile too – everyone loves them. I gave the recipe to my friend Dianne and she makes a combination of the two by pressing the mixture about 1/4 inch thick into egg poaching rings. Once they are compressed she lifts the ring off and bakes them with cheese on top or plain. She says they are like seedy muffins! She keeps the mixture in a covered bowl and makes them fresh daily for breakfast and lunch. I am really enjoying catching up with you on your blog keep up the good work!!!

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