Chickpea Soda Bread
I have a gazillion gluten free bread recipes but this is the easiest one by far with the fewest ingredients. This makes for a large loaf and you will get around 10 slices out of it. Caraway is one of my favourite ingredients and pairs perfectly with the chick pea flour. If you don’t like caraway, use herbs (fresh or dried) such as rosemary or oregano.
Ingredients
4 cups gram flour
1.5 tspn bicarb of soda
8 tblspn ground flaxseed
4 tblspn olive oil
3 cups milk of choice. I use hemp milk or coconut milk
2 tspn apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 tblspn caraway seeds
1 tspn salt
Method
Preheat oven to 180C and grease a loaf tin with oil. I lay a strip of baking paper on the bottom and up the sides so I can just lift it out. I also use a silicon loaf tin as nothing sticks.
Mix the milk and vinegar in a small jug and leave to curdle for a few mins. I normally add the olive oil in here as well so the liquid is in one place. Don’t worry that the oil just sits on the top.
Add the dry ingredients together and mix well. You can put this into a food processor if you like.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Pour into the tin and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until well risen and brown on top. If it starts going too dark you can always put some tin foil on the top. The top of it rises beautifully, splitting open like a loaf.
Test it is cooked with a skewer coming out clean.
Leave to cool for 15 minutes before turning out and leaving to cool.
This keeps well in the fridge for about 4 days. Alternatively freeze it in slices and use as needed. It toasts very well.
Food facts
Caraway belongs to a class of herbs called calmatives which are plants helpful for easing gastrointestinal discomfort. Whilst more therapeutic taken alone (as a tea), they have been found to soothe the muscles of the digestive tract, relieving spasms as well as helping with heartburn and excess gas.
Chick peas are a rich source of plant based protein, vitamins, minerals and fibre and especially rich in B vitamins, iron, and magnesium. They can aid digestion and have a relatively low glycemic load. Chickpeas are legumes which are allergens for some people. Also if you follow a low FODMAP diet to manage IBS or other digestive conditions, you need to avoid chickpeas.