It’s my agave’s week to cook, so I can just sit back & relax as the food comes to me! But after seeing this savory quick bread recipe referenced on the Vegan Mofo Roundup, I just couldn’t stay away from the kitchen today.
I don’t usually refer to recipes, and when I do it’s often just for inspiration. I tend to cook on the fly and jot my own procedure down for later rumination, however; when it comes to baking, I lack the confidence to play. I always follow the recipe. I don’t substitute. I don’t guess on measurements. I just stick to the finely-made plan — until today.
You see, I’ve been holding on to some teff flour for awhile now. For those who aren’t familiar with it, teff is a gluten-free super-grain that’s jam-packed with protein, calcium, potassium & iron. It also has a deliciously distinct flavor and is most commonly recognized in injera, that sticky-yummy-flat-fermented “bubble bread” found in Ethiopian cuisine.
I didn’t want to make injera, though. It’s widely available here due to Minneapolis’ sizable Ethiopian refugee population. Off-hand I can name 3 African bakeries nearby that offer fresh injera daily, not to mention the coops & markets that distribute it.
So. Why not use this super-grain to make the quick bread?
Now, I didn’t change the recipe all that much, but since I don’t quite understand the chemistry of using gluten-free flour (or of quick bread itself, for that matter), I wasn’t sure what would happen. Luckily the results have delighted us. We ate half of the loaf immediately with our split pea soup (thanks for the soup, agave!), and I can’t wait to have more for breakfast. Hooray!
I have riffed off the original bread recipe, in my own words, below. I hope you try it some time!
Teff Quick Bread
Implements:
- oven
- food processor
- baking/loaf pan (Mine was 5x9x3)
- measuring implements
Ingredients:
- 1 c teff flour
- 2 c all purpose flour
- 1 T baking powder
- 1/2 t sea salt + some to sprinkle on top
- 1/3 c olive oil
- 1 c + a several tablespoons warm water
- Earth Balance
Procedure:
- Preheat your oven to 375F.
- Grease a bread pan with Earth Balance (or similar vegan margarine)
- Mix the dry ingredients in your food processor. Then slowly add the oil & 1 cup water while still mixing. Let it run for awhile - the goal is to have it form into a dough ball. Add more water bit by bit until it does that!* The transformation will be obvious.
- Press dough ball into the greased pan. Flip dough over & press into it again.
- Cover with foil & bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil, sprinkle with sea salt & bake for 20 more minutes.
*I had to add a lot more water than the original recipe called for in order for the ball to form (I didn’t count - but probably several tablespoons). This is probably due to the fact that high-protein flours like teff absorb more water than low-protein flours.
Wanna Shake it up?
- Let’s use 100% teff flour & make it super-potent and completely gluten-free! I anticipate needing a lot more water - maybe I should research baking with teff. If you try this, let me know how it goes!
