If you love nuts and seeds and you welcome the idea of a dense satiating bread then this Adventure Bread Recipe is most definitely for you!
A few weeks ago as I was scrolling through my Instagram feed I come across a post for an Adventure Bread Recipe by one of my favourite Instagrammers @shutthekaleup . The moment I saw it I became intrigued because ingredients wise it looked very similar to the Life Changing Bread I had tried many years ago, but better.
Adventure Bread as I would later come to learn is a creation of San Francisco native Josey Baker. It is a rich, dense, nut & seed loaf that’s hearty enough to get you through any adventure.
So have you heard of the Life Changing Bread?
When I first transitioned to a gluten free diet I was quite disappointed with my first attempts at homemade gluten free bread. So when I found the Life Changing Bread Recipe by My New Roots on Pinterest I was ecstatic. This bread was not only gluten free, it was going to change my life!
Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy my life changing bread and here’s why :
- I was not a big fan of nuts or seeds
- I was not used to dense breads
- I had major issues with food that had too much ‘texture’
It wasn’t the bread at fault it was me. Looking back I can see that this bread came into my life too soon in my journey. I wasn’t ready.
Adventure Bread is very similar to the Life Changing Bread but there are certain additions which made me sure that THIS would be the life changing bread for me!
My version of the famous Adventure Bread
The first time I made the Adventure Bread I followed Instagrammer @shutthekaleup’s recipe to a tee. But by my second attempt I started to make some tweaks.
Tweak # 1 : As you may know I am an advocate of seed cycling. Which is an ancient food as medicine therapy for balancing female sex hormones. When you practice seed cycling you eat certain seeds in the first phase of your cycle and a different combination in the second half. I therefore had to adapt the recipe so that the seeds in my adventure bread recipe were synchronised.
Tweak # 2 : The second change was the actual nuts used. Although I have grown to LOVE nuts and seeds there are still some that I favour over others. Almonds and Hazelnuts are my nuts of choice.
Tweak # 3 : I chose to process the nuts and seeds until they’re broken down a bit as I do not care for large whole chunks of nuts and seeds in my bread.
How to make Adventure Bread
One of the many beauties of this bread is that it requires no kneading. You basically mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and voila! One of the downsides of this adventure bread is the waiting time.
Full Instructions can be found in the recipe card below but here’s the basic rundown.
Step 1 : Toast the nuts and seeds in the oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 15 minutes. This step is absolutely optional but makes for a much improved flavour. If you buy toasted unsalted nuts and seeds you’re already winning!
Step 2 : Blitz the toasted nuts and seeds in a food processor until the nuts and seeds are broken down but not completely flour like in consistency. You’re going for some texture but not whole chunks of nuts.
Step 3 : Combine the semi ground nuts and seeds with rolled oats and remaining ingredients. Mix, mix mix.
Step 4 : Pour your adventure bread batter into a silicone loaf pan or a regular loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
Step 5 : Cover the loaf pan with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. This step is very important! There are no eggs or gluten in this bread to bind the ingredients together. Psyllium husk is doing the binding and this step allows all the ingredients time to marry together for a bread that slices well and does not fall apart.
Step 6 : When you’re ready to bake your bread remove the loaf from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature on the kitchen counter. Bake the bread for 55 minutes at 400ºF (200ºC)
Step 7 : Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. Yes 2 hours! This step is uber important! If you slice this adventure bread before it has completely cooled it might be gummy on the inside or crumble.
Step 8 : Slice up your bread. Thin slices are best (around ½ inch / 12mm) I usually get 12 slices out of my loaf. Adventure bread slices can be wrapped in parchment paper and frozen for later consumption. The frozen slices can be placed directly into your toaster.
I hope you enjoy my version of the infamous San Francisco Josey Baker Adventure Bread. It’s seed cycling friendly and just one slice of this dense bread will power you through any adventure you may face. Be that wrestling a toddler or a lion. 🙂
Will you give this Adventure Bread a try?
Adventure Bread Recipe (gluten free, vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups water
- 2 cups certified gluten free rolled oats
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- ¾ cup flax seeds
- ½ cup hazelnuts
- ½ cup psyllium husk powder
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF (180ºC) for toasting the nuts and seeds. This step is absolutely optional but makes for a much improved flavour. If you buy toasted unsalted nuts and seeds you’re already winning!
- Toast nuts and seeds in the oven at for about 15 minutes. Keep a close eye on them as they can burn easily.
- Blitz the toasted nuts and seeds in a food processor until the nuts and seeds are broken down but not completely flour like in consistency. You’re going for some texture but not whole chunks of nuts.
- In a large bowl combine the semi ground nuts and seeds with rolled oats and remaining ingredients.
- Mix, mix mix until you have a unified batter.
- Pour your adventure bread batter into a silicone loaf pan or a regular loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
- Cover the loaf pan with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. This step is very important! There are no eggs or gluten in this bread to bind the ingredients together. Psyllium husk is doing the binding and this step allows all the ingredients time to marry together for a bread that slices well and does not fall apart.
- When you’re ready to bake your bread remove the loaf from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature on the kitchen counter. Preheat your oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and bake the bread for 55 minutes.
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. Yes 2 hours! This step is uber important! If you slice this adventure bread before it has completely cooled it might be gummy on the inside or crumble.
- Slice up your bread. Thin slices are best (around ½ inch / 12mm) I usually get 12 slices out of my loaf. Adventure bread slices can be wrapped in parchment paper and frozen for later consumption. The frozen slices can be placed directly into your toaster.
- Enjoy! I like to top mine with hummus and radishes or almond butter and chia seed jam for a sweet treat.
Hey Krystal, does each slice contain 339 cal or the whole bread? Can i pair it with eggs for breakfast?
Hey Michelle! Yes you can most definitely pair it with eggs. As I mentioned in the post I prefer it toasted and you might too 🙂 339 is per serving. One loaf = 12 servings in total. It’s high calorie because its almost all nuts and nuts are a calorie dense food.Hope you enjoy it!
Hi Krystal – this is so fascinating. I love your posts on seed cycling. I’m confused a bit though–I thought you said that the seeds have to be raw but this is baked. So how does that work with the raw issue? Thanks! And by the way, I think we “met” on Google + or somewhere a long time ago so nice to reconnect!
Hi Adrienne, so nice to hear from you. You’re right, to reap the full benefits of seed cycling the seeds should be taken raw and ground. The Adventure Bread Recipe is very flexible so you could easily use any type of nuts and seeds. I have chosen to use flax and pumpkin to keep it seed cycling friendly for those who are following the protocol because what I’ve found is that if you’re doing seed cycling its best to not ‘mix’ the seeds, raw or cooked. Hope that makes sense 🙂
Darnit! I was so excited to try this recipe, but I do not tolerate oats, even GF ones. What do you think about trying it with Cassava flour?
Hi Abby, perhaps another grain of similar consistency like quinoa flakes could work.If you use flour the liquids will probably have to be adjusted.