Apricot Sweetened Bread with Apricot Jam Spread
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Apricot Sweetened Bread with Apricot Jam Spread
~ raw, vegan, gluten-free ~
I have never made it a secret that I LOVE bread. I LOVE(d) any flavor, any texture….served in any way. I stopped eating bread (gluten) about six years ago, and it was by far the hardest thing I ever gave up. For those of you who stopped eating bread due to gluten allergies, I am almost positive that we share the same feelings towards it.
Ever wonder why white carbs, such as bread, are so addictive? It has to do with chemicals that travel from the stomach to the part of the brain where you produce dopamine, a hormone, and neurotransmitter that affects the brain’s pleasure and reward centers.
Once these areas of the brain are stimulated, you’ll keep on wanting more of the addictive substance, whether it’s alcohol, drugs, or carbs. Shew, what a trip.
As you read through the ingredient list for this fabulous bread, you are going to stop and linger when your eyes land on psyllium husks. You may scratch your head and ask yourself why a person needs to add this to the bread.
Psyllium husks are the secret to creating moist bread that is nice and spongy instead of dense and dry. Can you make this recipe without it? Yes. But do I recommend it? No. I hope you give this recipe a try, and if you do, please let me know what you think.
Tips on Almond Pulp
People tend always to ask why I use the almond pulp and not the whole nut. It is the key ingredient that helped me to create a light and airy bread batter. You can use whole nuts that have been ground down, but the bread will be heavier and denser. Nothing wrong with that, just not the result that I created for the bread texture.
Every batch of pulp will differ in moisture. This depends on how much of the milk you can squeeze from the nut bag. Therefore, you may need to adjust the amount of liquids being used in pulp recipes. If it is a really dry feeling, more moisture may need to be added. Or if the pulp is wet, less moisture would probably be necessary.
It is also best to make sure that the pulp is unflavored, and that is a step that has to be taken when creating almond milk. There is a link below that you can click on to learn more about this process if you are unfamiliar with it. BUT should your pulp already have small hints of sweetness to it, not to worry… I doubt it would be enough to affect the outcome of this cake.
Ingredients:
Yields 1 (8 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 2 1/2) loaf
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1/2 tsp liquid stevia
- 1 cup diced dried apricots
- 4 cups packed, moist almond pulp
Apricot spread; yields 3/4 cup
- 1 cup diced dried apricots, hydrated in hot water 15 mins
- 2 Tbsp + water
Preparation:
Bread:
- In the food processor, fitted with the “S” blade, pulse together the oats, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, psyllium, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Place in a bowl.
- In the same food processor bowl, combine the maple syrup, bananas, water, stevia, and apricots. Process till mixed but not too long that you break down the apricots too much.
- Add to the dry ingredients, along with the almond pulp. With your hands, mix everything very well. If the batter feels too dry, add a little water 1 Tbsp at a time.
- Place the batter on a non-stick surface and shape it into a loaf. Sprinkle crushed rolled oats and chia seeds on top.
- Transfer to the mesh sheet that comes with the dehydrator.
- Dehydrate at 145 degrees for 1 hour to create a crust on the outside.
- Remove from the dehydrator, place the loaf on a cutting board, and slice pieces to the desired thickness. Don’t slice the bread on the mesh; you don’t want to risk cutting it.
- I did mine at about 1 inch.
- When slicing the bread at this stage, be sure to use a serrated knife (blade has small teeth, this helps to cut through nice and smooth) Also, see-saw back and forth with downward pressure as you cut the slices. This will prevent the dough from squashing down.
- Return the bread to the mesh sheet laying the pieces flat.
- Decrease the temperature to 115 degrees (F) and continue to dehydrate for roughly 6 hours.
- As an indicator, if it is dry enough, touch the center of the bread slices. You don’t want it to be doughy, but you also don’t want the bread to dry out too much.
- Shelf life and storage: My 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 peak of freshness, so don’t expect this bread to have a long shelf life.
Apricot spread:
- Drain the apricots from the soak water, don’t discard the liquid, keep it for step 2.
- Add to the food processor, along with 2 Tbsp soak water, and process till creamy. Add more water if needed.
- This spread should keep for 5-7 days in the fridge.
The Institute of Culinary Ingredients™
- To learn more about maple syrup by clicking (here).
- Click (here) to learn why I use stevia.
- Why do I specify Ceylon cinnamon? Click (here) to learn why.
- What is Himalayan pink salt, and does it matter? Click (here) to read more about it.
- Are oats gluten-free? Yes, read more about that (here).
- Are oats raw? Yes, they can be found. Click (here) to learn more.
- Do I need to soak and dehydrate oats? Not required but recommended. Click (here) to see why.
- How does psyllium work in a recipe? Learn more (here).
Culinary Explanations:
- Why do I start the dehydrator at 145 degrees (F)? Click (here) to learn the reason behind this.
- When working with fresh ingredients, it is essential to taste test as you build a recipe. Learn why (here).
- Don’t own a dehydrator? Learn how to use your oven (here). I do, however honestly believe that it is a worthwhile investment. Click (here) to learn what I use.
The whole loaf is taken out of the dehydrator after 145 degrees (F) for 1 hour.
Slice between 1/2 -1″ thick, and place on the mesh sheet that comes with the dehydrator. Continue to dry at 115 degrees (F) until the desired texture is met.
© AmieSue.com
Tags: Almond Pulp, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Soy Free, sugar free, Vegan
Just a small comment: You said “diced apricots”. Should it be dried apricots? Anyway, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your wonderful site. Whenever I receive an email alert from your site, I know I’m in for a treat.
Hello Roxana… thank you for your sweet words. They made me smile. :) <---- see hehe I did mean "diced" but I did forget the word dried, so I fixed it to read, "diced, dried apricots" Thank you for pointing that out so I could make it more clear for others. Have a wonderful week! amie sue
I just swooned a little over the title … that bread and jam looks like heaven!
I make this cold-pressed coffee weekly. It is pretty much a staple here. :) I hope you try it (if you like coffee). Have a great evening Lisa, amie sue
Hi! Why do you hydrate the apricots? Aren’t they fresh? Or did you mean dried? How hot should the water be?
I’m so confused about these binders. :)There is psyllium that you just mentioned for a spongy bread. The flax and chia and irish moss give the same gel result. The chia seeds don’t go rancid as fast as the flax and has different nutrients. The irish moss is a sea weed alternative to using the flax and chia seeds. Am I right? Are there any other differences between them and why would a recipe call for more than 1 of them? Thanks for any help. )
Good evening Yuna…. Let me see if I can help you…
Q. Why do you hydrate the apricots? Aren’t they fresh? Or did you mean dried?
A. I used dried apricots in this recipes. First of all, dried fruits give a recipe a different texture than fresh. Fresh fruit has a lot of water in it and could make the batter to wet, plus dried fruit helps everything stick together.
Q. How hot should the water be?
A. If you have good tap water, run it till hot to touch or if you use a kettle on the stove, bring it just under a simmer, don’t let it boil.
Q. I’m so confused about these binders. :)There is psyllium that you just mentioned for a spongy bread. The flax and chia and irish moss give the same gel result. The chia seeds don’t go rancid as fast as the flax and has different nutrients. The irish moss is a sea weed alternative to using the flax and chia seeds. Am I right? Are there any other differences between them and why would a recipe call for more than 1 of them?
A. Psyllium, flax, chia, and Irish moss are indeed used as binders. You are completely right. :) As far as which one get used and why? Well, it all depends on the recipe that it is being used in frankly. For some people it could be due to dietary or availability reasons. Some people might not be able to use psyllium due to digestive issues, some don’t like the flavor of flax seeds so they use chia seeds. A lot of people can’t get Irish moss readily, so they use other alternatives. It could also depend on the recipe and what the end texture is. Or even for aesthetics reasons. Maybe a person doesn’t want their recipe to have the look for seeds in it… so they use something in powder form or even grind the flax or chia seeds. Don’t allow your self to get flustered, I know it can seem confusing at first. In time you will get the hang of it. My suggestion is to look through some of my recipes and try those that use these different ingredients so you can learn how they work in a recipe, how they taste, how they look, what the texture is like… then you can experiment on your own. :) Does this help Yuna? Have a wonderful evening, amie sue
Excalibur is humming happly while drying the bread! :) Only half the amount since that was all I had of pulp.
Smells heavenly and can’t wait to take a piece with me to work. Will be thinking of you when taking the first bite.
miss and love you
Jana XX
Good day Jana… so wonderful to hear from you! I do hope that when you take your first bite that your thoughts of me are good. hehe :) I hope all is well and will chat with you soon! love and hugs my dear frien
I wonder, if I don’t have almond pulp on hand, could I use almond meal and water? I would imagine it’s not quite the same measurement, but I just seem to make more cashew milk and I don’t strain it, hence, no pulp.
Hello Laura,
I haven’t tried my breads with ground almost flour. I like the texture that the almond pulp gives it so I have stuck with it. You are more than welcome to experiment. :) When adding liquid just be sure to start out with less than more and add as needed. Let me know if you try it. Have a blessed day, amie sue
Oh man that looks awesome…Need to go shopping! :)
I was also kinda wondering what your thoughts were on Ezekiel Bread? I only heard about it the other day (no one in Norway knows about this – well..its in the Bible but still).
I know its not raw but it sounds intr enough :)
Good evening Idapie,
It is good to hear from you… and a great question. As you may know… Ezekiel bread is a nutty bread that contains absolutely no flour. It is made from four grains and four beans. Typically it contains wheat, spelt or rye, barley, millet, lentils, great northern beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans.
Personally, Bob and I don’t eat Ezekiel Bread because most of it contains gluten. And even if a person isn’t gluten allergies or is celiac, I just don’t feel that gluten is healthy for a person. But that is my opinion based off what I have read and personally experienced.
They are making gluten free options now days but to be honest, I just don’t eat breads, unless I make them. I went gluten-free over 6 years ago now and even though I LOVE bread… it has just become a food that I don’t even think about. Bob will have some gluten-free breads every now and then but struggles to find one that he really enjoys, therefore I make the raw breads when he has a deep desire for them.
The main thing I want to say is that you personally need to decide on what your body needs for optimum health and trust me, I know that can be a challenge to figure out. Even though my site a raw site, I am not here to tell anyone that they have to eat a raw diet in order to be healthy. Our bodies are so individual and unique as to how it responds to food based off of our current health, our environment, genetics, and everything else that inhabits “the bubble of life” that surrounds us. :)
I hope I answered your question. Have a blessed evening, amie sue
Oh goodness! I greatly appreciate your detailed answer, it was just what I was after :)
I try to steer away from gluten myself, but also a huge bread-lover (seeing its our biggest staple here in Norway) so I would love to try out some dehydrated breads – and the above recipe looks absolutely fab! :D Have to give it a whizz. Thanks heaps for the info, Amie Sue!
You bet Idapie, I am glad that you found it useful. :) Bread a VERY hard thing for people to remove from their diet but there are amazing substitutions that can slide into their place… like these raw breads. I encourage you try them. Just remember that since they don’t have yeasts in them that they won’t get all fluffy. They more on the dense side and very filling. With these breads I really don’t miss what I use to know as bread in my past. Have a blessed day and keep in touch Idapie. :) amie sue
Hi Amie-sue,
I love this apricot spread on my bread.
I wonder if you know choco spread, like nutella?
The kids love this!
Do you know how I can make a healthy version of it?
Thank you so much, Amie-sue!
Thanks for coming back and sharing this with me Christa. So glad that you liked it. :) I haven’t made a raw version of nutella yet. I haven’t even had the real thing so I am not sure what it tastes like. I know it’s popular though, so right now I don’t have a recipe for it. Have a great weekend, amie sue
Hello! Sorry if this has been asked, but is there a good substitute for the almond pulp? Is there a nut base that can be made without using something leftover from juicing or making nut milk? Thank you for your time and I love your recipes!!!
Hello Meredith,
You can always try using ground nuts such as almonds, macadamia, or cashews. The almond pulp gives the bread more body and a lighter texture, and fewer calories. I am happy to hear that you are enjoying the recipes. :) Many blessings, amie sue
Amie-Sue thank you so much for answering me so quickly!