Carrot Bread – Gluten and Dairy Free

This bread is a variation of my favourite gluten and dairy free green. I have discovered it is easy to replace the kale and spinach of the green bread with grated carrot or zucchini and the result is a tasty and nutritious though a slightly denser bread. This delicious bread keeps the bread monster in me very happy, and makes it possible to have a sandwich for lunch or makes a wonderful bread to eat with dips and spreads when entertaining.

I love carrots and have since I was little. I often just eat them straight from the garden just wipe off the dirt and much away. The humble carrot truly is a versatile vegetable that can be used in both savory and sweet baked treats. How could you want for more. The carrot is a root vegetable usually orange in colour, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist. In fact, most carrots were originally deep purple, almost black and red and white varieties were only occasionally being grown. Purple carrots dominated until the 17th century when Dutch farmers developed the modern day orange carrot by crossing various cultivated and wild carrots. Interesting, and today the heirloom purple, black, red, yellow and white carrots are making a comeback.

Carrots are rich in beta-carotene a nutrient known to help protect the skin against damage from sun exposure and improve bone health. There are higher levels of beta-carotene in orange carrots so choose carrots with the deepest, darkest orange color. What’s more, steaming carrots can slightly improve the availability of beta-carotene. It is said that eating carrots with a little bit of fat helps the body make the best use of the beta-carotene contained in this lovely root vegetable.  Carrots provide an excellent source of falcarinol which is a natural compound that has been shown to inhibit the development of many types of cancer. 

Have a go at making this bread!

I promise, it will soon become a staple in your week and can be flavoured according to what herbs and spices you like.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of almond meal
• 1/2 cup of hemp seeds
• 1/2 cup of chia
• 3 tbl of pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
• 3 tbl of psyllium husk
• 1 1/2 tspn of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of dukkah
• 1 tspn of salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 – 3 carrots grated
• 1 garlic clove crushed (optional)
• 3 eggs – lightly beaten
• 2 tbl of olive oil or virgin organic coconut oil (melted)
• 4 tbl of almond milk
• a handful of fresh herbs – basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley
• olive oil for oiling the loaf tin

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180 celsius.
• Oil a standard loaf tin.
• In a bowl place the almond meal, hemp seeds, seeds, psyllium husk,baking powder, dukkah*, salt, pepper and fresh herbs.
• Make a well in the centre an add the carrot, garlic, egg, oil and milk and mix together until well combined.
• Lightly press into a loaf tin.
• Bake for 35 – 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. If the top begins to get too brown cover the loaf tin with foil.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before taking out and allowing bread to finish cooling on a rack.
• The loaf keep well in the fridge for about a week. I keep mine out wrapped in beeswax food wrap as it only lasts a few days.

*Duqqa, du’ah, do’a, or dukkah is an Egyptian condiment consisting of a mixture of herbs, nuts, and spices.