Sunday 3 May 2015

Bread, Books and Scabby Nose Day






It has been absolutely ages since I made gluten free bread so I thought I would treat myself on this lovely long weekend.  It's not as if I can go out or anything.....but more about that later.

I found the recipe somewhere,  adapted it and it's the one I always use now.  It is so much nicer than the bought gf bread, which quite frankly is pretty disgusting.  Here's the recipe:






Seedy Gluten Free Bread

5 oz/150g/1 cup rice flour
4 1/4oz/120g/2/3 cup potato flour
2 oz/50g/scant 1/2 cup gram flour
2 oz/50g/scant 1/2 cup ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon easy-blend dried yeast
2 oz/50g chilled dairy-free margarine (or butter)
2 1/4oz/60g/1/2 cup  combined weight, of mixed seeds and sun dried tomatoes (the ones that come in oil, I cut them into small pieces) 

Sieve the rice, potato and gram flours together in a large bowl, then stir in the ground almonds.

Add the baking powder, xanthan gum, sugar, salt and yeast.

Cut up the margarine and rub into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Mix in the seeds and tomatoes.

Add 14 fl. oz/400ml/scant 1 2/3 cup of warm water and mix to make a smooth batter.

Cover the bowl with cling film and place somewhere warm for 1 1/4 hours

Pre heat the oven to 200/400/gas 6.

Lightly grease a 1 lb/450g loaf tin and pour mixture into it smoothing the top.

Bake for 45 - 50 mins until it sounds hollow when you tap the bottom and the top is nicely browned.

Leave to cool on a wire rack, do not be tempted to try cutting it while warm, it will end in disaster!




Home made bread, free range eggs and seasonal asparagus, what could be better.


I am loving listening to audio books, of course it is not the same as sitting down with a good book, which I don't seem to have much time for lately.  Having someone reading it to me as I am getting on with other things is a joy!  Of course it has to be the right person reading, someone who will do justice to the book, but so far so good.  You can download a little taster which is useful as you can decide if you like the readers voice, you can also have a 'kindle' version with added audio so you can move between the two options. Isn't technology wonderful - well some of it.  The book I have just started is The Bees by Laline Paull, it is the story of Flora 717 an unusual bee and her life in the hive.  It sounds fascinating,  has been shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Award for Fiction, has had high praise from Margaret Atwood one of my favourite authors so promises to be good.  I'm also hoping to read some of the other books on the Short List







I am also about to start on a 'proper' book, it is very short so hopefully I will have time to read it over the weekend.  I am determined to find some time for 'me' this Bank Holiday.   It is written by Jane Darke, a painter and film maker,  the widow of a local playwright Nick Darke.  She writes about the loss of her husband and how her love of the Cornish coast and her daily walks along the beach helped her with her grief and to discover who she is after so many years as part of a couple.  On the subject of Cornish theatre, I have just read that Emma Rice, the artistic director of Cornwall Kneehigh theatre has been named as the new artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe. Lucky Globe, she was wonderful at the Kneehigh and I'm sure will be much missed.  I had been meaning to go to The Globe for ages, I think I will wait until she makes her mark.

You are probably wondering about the scabby nose.  I have Actinic keratoses on my face.  I've never been one to sunbathe but years of living by the sea, leading to my face catching the sun (all that salty sea air) have left their damage.  Getting fed up with a couple of areas on my nose and one on my cheek that kept scabbing over, I asked my G.P. to 'freeze"  them on Friday.  I now have a very red nose and one huge scab that looks like an alien has taken up residence on my nose,  I'm hiding at home so I don't frighten the horses!

I haven't linked up with 'The Year in Books for ages, so in an attempt to read more I am joining in this month.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my Five on Friday.  If you missed out on the pepper giveaway, more will be offered by Dawn on her blog Doing it for Ourselves.

Chickpea xx








30 comments:

  1. Your bread looks amazing, there is nothing like home made bread.
    Keep your stunning photos coming.

    luv
    irene
    xxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Irene. You asked about my camera, it's a Sony cyber shot.

      Delete
  2. I have copied your bread recipe my daughter is gluten free, thank you for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Both if us baking bread - lol Your gluten free bread looks very yumny - and now you have me craving fresh asparagus - which won't be available here until December (sob)...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree gluten free bread is not tasty, but yours does look good. I hope your nose heals soon, you did the right thing having the treatment. take care x

    ReplyDelete
  5. The bread looks good - thanks for sharing the recipe. The book sounds interesting too. Sorry to hear about your nose. I can sympathise as I suffer from a hideous skin condition (rosacea) that primarily affects my nose! I lived with a bright red, scabby nose for years but after 18 months of laser treatment, I can look fairly normal for a while (but it's only a temporary fix sadly) - hope yours heals soon.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey Chickpea,
    I have noted both your books for future reading. Anyone that is endorsed by the great Ms Atwood deserves a gander.
    Leanne xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your bread recipe looks yummy! I hope your face heals quickly, and that the treatment proves successful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for the bread recipe, Chickpea. I am wheat free at the moment and missing real bread so I will give it a try. I agree with you that GF bread that you buy in the shops is odd and I find I am better off without it (have wasted ££££s coming to that conclusion!).

    I hope your skin heals quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I do hope the freezing works for you, enjoy yourself hiding away with a good book and lots of yummy things to nibble :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Those eggs look delicious. I've never tried gluten free bread before. I might just give your recipe a try. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not as good as 'real' bread, but better than none at all

      Delete
  11. Your bread looks delicious, and then I saw the eggs and asparagus and that just looks amazing! Yum. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I hope your skin improves quickly. Take care and enjoy your week!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love Atwood and if she says The Bees is good, it must be good. Adding it to my list. Your bread/egg/asparagus lunch looks super delicious, I am hungry just looking at the photo. Hope your skin heals quickly. xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your bread looks great and I really like the idea of using ground almonds - never tried that before but will give it a go. Hope your nose heals quickly x

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have a scabby nose too, they took a basel cell carcinoma off the side of my nose last week.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Asparagus and eggs... A match made in heaven. I hope your face heals quickly. I had a couple of patches frozen on my back despite not being one to sunbathe. Although I guess in my teens I wasn't so aware of sun damage.

    ReplyDelete
  16. On your recommendation, I have just ordered Jane Darke's book . . . and three more books which accidentally fell into my Amazon basket . . . . *blush*. I think I should send you the bill.
    I hope your nasty scab is disappearing by now and you can venture out without a hood over your head.
    I also looked into the possibility of a week's holiday on a camp site near Tehidy - I really fancy walking with my dog through those woods. Hmmm . . it seems that you are costing me lots of money, Chickpea!

    ReplyDelete

I love reading your comments and will try to reply to all you lovely people xx Spam will be deleted so don't even bother!