Gluten-Free Coconut Bread

Why avoid gluten? you ask…well I can’t say that I am in anyway following a gluten-free diet but over the years in my health journey I have significantly reduced it’s consumption and I always feel great when avoiding or eating less glutenous product.You could also read up more on why to avoid gluten, this seemingly innocent food component.

One of the hardest things to give up is white bread made with refined flours and oils, but a great way to curb those carb cravings is to eat other variations of bread, in fact, back in the day before man started refining grains, bread was made with wholegrain, it was heavy, dense and very filling, kinda like this bread recipe but all the same, delicious, nutritious and somewhat easy to make.

Ingredients

• 1 cup finger millet/wimbi flour
• 1 cup dessicated coconut or coconut flour
• 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds (optional but it helps add more nutrition to bread)
• 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum
• 3/4 cup luke-warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon of natural Himalayan salt/sea salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar preferably unrefined demerara or palm sugar or even honey
• active dry yeast
• extra virgin olive oil
• unsalted butter
• honey

Recipe

1. Make sourdough by mixing 1 cup finger millet/wimbi flour with 3/4 cup luke-warm water, 1/2 teaspoon of natural Himalayan salt/sea salt, 1 tablespoon sugar (preferably unrefined demerara or palm sugar or even honey) and 1/3 teaspoon of active dry yeast. Whisk well to combine and cover with a cloth and leave it to ferment for at least 8 hours but ideally 2-4 days for extra tangy flavor and better texture.
2. On D-day, mix 1 cup dessicated coconut or coconut flour, 1 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil, 1/2 tablespoon of unsalted butter for flavor and another 1/3 of honey – the sweetness works really well with the sourness of the dough.
3. Add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum (without it the bread will just crumble and fall, available at all health stores), 1/2 teaspoon of active dry yeast to 1/3 cup warm water and mix into the dough. Mix everything together to make a slightly soft dough and cover with a cloth, put it in your oven – WITHOUT PUTTING OVEN ON – It just needs a place where the humidity is controlled, then put a bowl of pipping hot water on the bottom rack in the oven. This technique is really important as the steam from the water keeps the dough moist and also to make it rise faster. Note that this heavy type of dough will not rise as much as the wheat one but it will still rise a little bit and so this step is also important.
4. After 1 hour, punch down the dough, knead it lightly again and then shape your bread, I prefer a ball shape to cook perfectly on the inside while making a nice crust on the outside. Bench-proof on a lightly buttered baking sheet. Back in the oven, turned off, with steaming water beneath, another 1 hour.
5. Remove dough from oven then preheat it 180 Degrees Celsius and brush dough with extra virgin olive oil then bake for 30 minutes.
6. After the 30 minutes of baking crank up the heat to 230 degrees and set timer for 5 minutes, this will help brown the crust which means more flavor and better texture.
7. Cool on a rack for another 1 hour, i’s all about patience.

Serve with a spread of honey and some green tea, delish.