A balanced diet is essential for a good immune system
And suddenly I’m home again. Crazy, if someone had told me last Tuesday that I would be back at the deserted Munich airport on Saturday morning, I would probably have advised him to seek professional help. It can be that quick… But I’m back here now and did something last night that I probably haven’t done in the last 3 years: I baked a loaf of bread! And it was so unexpectedly good that I had to share it with you! Sometimes I am actually surprised by my housewife qualities! What quarantine can do in 3 days!
Bread has been something very special for me since childhood. The smell of freshly baked bread has something more homely than almost anything else. That’s why one of my very first blog posts dealt with the topic “Traditional Bakery vs. In-Store Bakery”.
Now more than ever, we are dealing with the topic of health. It’s a shame that it only took a pandemic to wake us up, to finally deal more with the really important things in life. Since our diet is an important part of our immune system, it is important to take care of it right now, as well as adequate sleep, mental health, and physical activity. I will tell you why good intestinal health is important in one of the following blog posts. Stay tuned! 😉
Buckwheat flour as a substitute for wheat flour
In this recipe I deliberately use buckwheat. However, the taste of buckwheat is not for everyone. I have already told you why I really like buckwheat and keep trying to incorporate it into my recipes. At the same time, the buckwheat flour makes the bread gluten-free and whole-grained, since buckwheat is always processed as the whole grain. And of course, it’s vegan! In addition, you don’t have to let it rise.
Ginger and turmeric are real superfoods that have a lot to offer and give this bread that certain something. Hardly any other food is as anti-inflammatory as they are. Why turmeric is so special and why you should always combine some freshly ground pepper, I’ve already told you in my recipe for golden milk. Incidentally, it’s also delicious, especially in the current, still cold springtime.
Equipment
- loaf pan
- bakery paper
- mixer with dough hook
Ingredients
- 500 g buckwheat flour
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 100 g flax seeds
- 150 g sunflower seeds
- 30 g walnuts
- 1 pack baking powder
- 3 tsp sea salt
- 3 tsp agave syrup
- 2 tsp turmeric ground
- 12 tbsp water lukewarm
- 500 ml water lukewarm
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cm ginger
- pepper ground
- rapeseed oil for the mold if necessary
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees air circulation or 220 degrees top and bottom heat.
- Mix the chia seeds with 12 tablespoons of lukewarm water in a small vessel and let them soak for about 15 minutes till a jelly-like mass is formed.
- In the meantime, mix all other ingredients apart from the ginger, pepper and rapeseed oil in a large bowl and knead well. Use either the dough hook of your mixer or your hand to make a dough. Add chia seeds and blend.
- If necessary, grease the loaf pan with rapeseed oil and/or line it with baking paper and add the dough. Grate the fresh ginger and grind the pepper both over it.
- Score the dough 2-3 times and bake the bread on the center rail for about 45-50 minutes, depending on the oven and thickness of your loaf pan. You know whether the bread is ready when you put a wooden skewer in and pull it out cleanly. I always prefer it a little crispier. That’s why I turn off the oven after 45 minutes and let the bread bake a little while the heat is still in. Take out, allow to cool and scarf it down!
Nutrients
Alternatives
My brother Milan baked the bread on his YouTube channel (German language) and it was delicious, even “super geil”! What a surprise! 😉
However, he did not use baking soda. Instead, he used yeast. Therefore, you do not have to put apple cider vinegar or agave syrup. With yeast, you have to let the dough rise for an hour before you put it in the oven.
Alternatively, you can of course leave the bread naturally and use neither ginger nor turmeric. You can also leave out the agave syrup if you don’t want any added sugar. However, you shouldn’t omit the pepper if you use turmeric, because only then the positive effect of turmeric shows to advantage. If you don’t like walnuts or have a nut allergy, you can of course simply omit them. I often add half a small chopped apple or a handful of dried apple pieces to the bread dough. That makes the chia-buckwheat bread even juicier. Generally, I try to buy all ingredients in Demeter quality, at least they should be organic.
Why do I need apple cider vinegar for baking my bread?
When you looked through the ingredients, you probably wondered why I use apple cider vinegar. The apple cider vinegar is used to make the bread a little more juicy and fluffy. By using baking soda, you need an acid to make it work better. Even when baking bread with sourdough, a little vinegar can aid in rising the dough while baking. Alternatively, you can also use lemon juice or another vinegar here. Since the used amount is so little and the taste of buckwheat, turmeric and ginger is relatively strong, you shouldn’t taste anything of the vinegar in the finished bread. Apple cider vinegar also has many other healthy qualities, which I will tell you more about soon.
The chia-buckwheat bread has a very intense taste, so it is particularly suitable for plain bread toppings, pure or with vegetable margarine, and some coarse sea salt. I personally also eat it with intensive spreads such as with a wild garlic pesto or with my beetroot hummus. There are no limits to your creativity! 😉 Did you already try my wholemeal spelt bread?
Here are some more recipes! To stay up to date, here is my Facebook Fan page – sharing is caring! I would be glad if you share a bit of my journey with me! 😉
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