Onion Cheese Bread

To say that I enjoy these raw breads, is an understatement.  I LOVE them!  I was always one of those who could live on bread alone.  It didn’t matter what form, shape, or flavor it came in… I ate it, I loved it.  But over 4 years ago, I stopped eating gluten.  I went cold-turkey overnight and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy.  Throughout this process I even stayed clear of processed breads that are labeled gluten-free.  Why?  Well, in my own discoveries, just because something is  gluten-free, it doesn’t mean that it is any healthier for you.  Plus, by eating substitutes as I was trying to wean myself away from gluten, I felt it only kept my cravings for the real deal.  Bread products were an addiction for me.  Now, I am a recovering Bread-O-Holic!   With this 4 year buffer I now find that I can behave myself if left alone in the same room with a loaf of fresh-baked bread!   I  never lost the battle but we both have walked out a bit buttered er battered!   This bread recipe is dense and has a full-bodied flavor.  You can slice it as thin or as thick as you desire.  You can shape it into a loaf, or a round or a stick.  Knead it, beat it, spank it and rub a little love into it!  “Roll it, pat it, mark it with a B, Put it in the dehydrator just for me.”

Ingredients: yields 1 loaf

• 2 cups raw almonds, soaked and dehydrated
• 2 cups onion (peeled, quartered)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I used sun-dried tomatoes soaked in oil)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1½ tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup flax meal
• 1/2 cup psyllium husks
• 1 cup nutritional yeast (I prefer Red Star brand)

Preparation:

1. Place the  almonds into the food processor and chop until they reach a very small nugget size.  Be careful that you don’t over process.  You don’t want the almonds to release too much oil.   Remove from food processor and place in a separate bowl.
2. No need to wash the food processor bowl – add the onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, water and salt.  Process until everything is well combined and broken down.
3. Add in the almonds, flax meal, psyllium husks and nutritional yeast.  Process until everything is well combined.  If the mixture is too dry add  water no more than 2 Tbsps at a time.  You want the batter to stick together when you pinch it.
4. Remove the dough and form a bread loaf with your hands.  Using a sharp knife cut shallow indentations, creating score marks to the size of bread slices that you want in the end.
5. Brush the top with some olive oil and then sprinkle on dried onion flakes, if desired.
6. Set the dehydrator on 145 degrees and place the bread on the mesh sheet that comes with your dehydrator, dry at this temperature for 1 hour.  This is to create the crust.   Set a timer so you don’t forget!  Read here about drying times set at 145 degrees.
7. Remove the bread from the dehydrator and slice the bread into the desired thicknesses.  Lay them flat on the mesh sheet that comes with your dehydrator.
8. Reduce the heat to 105 and continue drying for about 16 hours.
9. Shelf life and storage:  My personal recommendation would be to store this bread in an air-tight container, in the fridge, for 3-5 days.  The more moisture that is left in your bread, the shorter the shelf life.  Therefore, shelf life will vary with your drying technique.  Whenever I make this bread, it never lasts very long enough to spoil.   Keep in mind, the whole purpose of eating a raw diet is to eat foods at their peek of freshness, so don’t expect this bread to have a long expiration date.

At this stage, I had just formed the loaf size, scored the top, brushed it with olive oil and dusted with dried onion flakes.

Equipment Needed: (my personal recommendations)

Food processor or blender

Dehydrator

 

 

Posted on Sunday, March 18th, 2012 at 9:47 am. Filed under: Breads / Wraps Tags: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Soy Free, sugar-free, Vegan RSS 2.0 feed.