Baking Bread

I don’t necessarily follow any sort of diet, i.e. gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, etc. However, if I can manage to make something that I really enjoy and it happens to be so, I’m all for it. I like the challenge of finding new ways to take old recipes and attempt to make them taste the same as if they contained one or all of the above. I do try to limit the amount of processed foods and extra sugar floating around everywhere. I try to focus on filling my body with healthy, nutritious, organic food for the most part but don’t refrain from the indulgence of treats. Because I don’t believe in that.

All that being said, bread is big thing I’m working on bettering. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I find it hard to have just eggs for breakfast without some sort of bread on the side. It doesn’t seem the same. And I love a fresh loaf of white bread as much as the next person but I don’t think it constitutes as a great thing to have everyday. I came across Sarah B’s recipe for a fabulous bread recipe and I’ve been making it ever since. It’s my new go-to bread and the one I have with my breakfast eggs.

I made mine with pumpkin seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts, and sunflower seeds. And along with the psyllium husks I added a tablespoon of Maca powder. First few times I made it, as I was without a silicon pan, I spent intervals of time scraping off the parchment until I could get it back in the oven for its second bake. A silicon pan does work best, from my experience. And it’s true what she says- it really does make the best toast ever.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

One of my favorite things about carving pumpkins out for Halloween is that you get to pick out all the seeds to roast in the oven. And whilst Halloween isn’t celebrated the way it was when I was little, I still enjoying getting a pumpkin each year, solely so I can consume it and it’s entirety!

It’s a tedious task but completely worth it, and if you’ve made the seeds fresh, you know what I mean. As a kid, I loved it when we finished hollowing out a pumpkin, as I knew my mom would be delivering fresh, warm, yummy seeds from the oven.

I usually make them savoury, but this year I’m also going to try to make a sweet version using coconut oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

For the savoury ones:
Once I’d taken all the seeds from my pumpkin, I made sure to rinse them really well and then dried them overnight on a sheet pan. When I was ready to toast them, I simply added some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and tossed to coat them. I baked them at 350°C for about 8-10 minutes.

It’s that simple! Not only are pumpkin seeds healthy for you (they’re full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants) but they make a tasty snack 🙂