Quinoa Flour Bread – With and Without Milk, Yeast
Adding quinoa to breads provides a great source of protein that can help bolster a vegetarian or vegan diet, and adds wholesome nutrients and a great taste to any bread.
Making homemade breads can be a great way to tailor dinner accompaniments or sandwiches to your liking. You know exactly what ingredients are going into the bread, and can adjust the recipe to accommodate any dietary considerations. Such is the case for making quinoa breads, which can be as simple as adding quinoa flour to regular breads, or as complicated as baking cooked quinoa into a loaf, or creating gluten-free versions of your favorites. Adding quinoa to breads provides a great source of protein that can help bolster a vegetarian or vegan diet, and adds wholesome nutrients and a great taste to any bread.
This version produces a cross between a quick bread and a yeast bread, but can be modified to go either way depending on the desired consistency and ingredients. For example, it is easy to swap out the whole wheat flour for oat flour or other gluten-free alternative, as well as eliminate the eggs or yeast and add baking soda and baking powder for a vegetarian version. The recipe can then be vegan if you add a different sweetener like agave syrup and change up the milk used. Whichever way you decide to make them, quinoa breads can provide a quick easy source of nutritious goodness to any meal.
Makes: 1 loaf
Prep time: 20 min Rise time: 60 min Bake time: 40 min
Ingredients
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons honey
¾ cup water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
1 ½ cup quinoa flour
½ cup milk
2 large eggs
¼ cup canola oil (or other light oil)
2 tablespoons chopped oats
Instructions
- If you do not have quinoa flour on hand, use a blender or food processor to grind up whole, uncooked quinoa until you achieve a fine powder*. Coarsely chop a few tablespoons of oats for a topping.
- In a large bowl, combine ¾ cup of warm water, honey, and salt. Then add 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast**. The water should be warm enough to dissolve the yeast quickly but not hot to the touch. Stir the yeast until it has dissolved in the water and let the mixture rest for 5 minutes, or until it becomes frothy.
- Add your quinoa flour and whole wheat (or oat) flour and mix until coarse clumps form. Then add the egg and milk and mix until everything is combined. Loosely cover the dough and let it rise for about an hour.
- Preheat an oven to 400°F/205°C and grease a 9 by 5 by 3 loaf pan. Spoon the dough into your pan, sprinkle with the chopped oats, and cook in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until the crust becomes firm and brown.
- Allow your loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then finish cooling on a cooling rack.
* I used an older blender, which took some time to grind up the quinoa and left some larger pieces behind. However, I liked the added crunch in the texture of the bread, so you can decide how coarse or fine you want your flour.
** This recipe works up just as well without yeast and the rising process. To make a quick bread without yeast, just mix all the other wet ingredients together and then combine with the dry ingredients. If experimenting with other versions that don’t include yeast, make sure you use some kind of leavening agent, such as eggs, baking soda, or baking powder.
Enjoy!
