The recipe for this lovely, sweet, dense bread came about after we picked over 5kg of Mulberries …. and then my Harry declared that he didn’t like them, that blueberries were his favourite and please could I make him blueberry bread instead?
That gorgeous face is pretty hard to refuse sometimes!
45g light tasting oil (or use a melted butter that suits)
40g sugar OR 1/4 cup honey/maple syrup
1 cup milk of choice
6tbsp aquafaba OR 2 whole eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp GF baking powder
1 1/2 cup spelt flour (half wholemeal) OR 1 1/3 cup GF flour mix
1/2 cup almond meal OR seed meal
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen).
In a large bowl (or your processor) mix together all of the dry ingredients (Speed 4, 8 seconds), then set aside.
Now place all of the wet ingredients in your processor/blender/nutribullet/thermal cooker and process until well combined (Speed 6, 6 seconds).
Mix the the dry and wet ingredients until combined – don’t over beat them.
Then add the berries – if you are doing this in a food processor, tip mixture into a bowl and fold through blueberries. In a Thermal Cooker, use speed 4 for 8 seconds. Or for ease, sprinkle them on top of the batter once in the pan.
Pour into a small greased loaf pan and bake in a preheated 170C oven for about 1hr, or until cooked through.
Or pour into lined muffin tins and bake for about 25 minutes or until cooked through (makes about 18).
Allow to cool before slicing.
This recipe freezes and defrosts well, and is particularly lovely when slightly warmed (and even toasted!).
We go through quite a lot of yoghurt in this house.
All 6 of us enjoy it, so it is a standard dessert with berries, we use it to make pizza dough and scrolls, plus cakes, smoothies and fruit icy poles and the kids all like to take it to school.
To cut down on costs we used to buy in large tubs and spoon into our reusable squeezey pouches. But it is still not cheap, and unless you are buying plain natural yoghurt, then it is full of sugar and flavourings, which I don’t love!
Soy yoghurt in Ellie’s Lunchbox – We’ve been using these Sinchies containers for over 5 years!
The push for me to make my own was when I realised that 350g of the soy yoghurt that Ellie eats was costing almost $4 but I could buy 1L of Soy milk for just over $2 – Yikes!
I did a bit of research and found that I could buy a non-dairy culture as a starter online. This is the one I use, from Green Living Australia. It was about $22 to buy, but contains enough starter to make 100L – not too bad!!
You can use the non dairy starter to make dairy yoghurt too – but their Dairy Starter does a better job as they work at slightly different temperatures.
The starters do need to be kept in the freezer.
I adapted the instructions from Green Living Australia to make a couple of recipes that suit our family.
If you don’t have access to the starter, you can use simply use 1 heaped tablespoon of your last yoghurt into the milk at the same point the started would go in then whisk it to combine it evenly and continue on with the rest of the steps as per the recipe.
The simplest way to go is to use UHT milk because it has already been heat treated. If you want to use fresh milk then you will need to heat the milk to 90C for 8-10 minutes and then allow to cool to between 37-42C before adding the culture. This allows only the bacteria that you want to culture to be left over.
You will need an accurate cooking thermometer for this recipe. A digital candy thermometer is ideal (they cost under $15 in most big Supermarkets)
Dairy Yoghurt:
1L full cream UHT milk
1/3 cup milk powder (optional, but gives a thicker yoghurt)
1 tbsp sugar (optional, we don’t use it for the dairy milk)
1 dose starter culture
In a large saucepan place the milk, sugar (if using) and powder and whisk to ensure even distribution.
Heat on a gentle heat until it reaches between 41-43C. Remove from heat and tip in culture. The amount required is very small!
this quantity of powder is enough starter for 1.5L!
Whisk again to ensure even distribution.
The idea now is to keep the milk mix at this temperature for the next 18-24 hours. I use both the Easiyo container and my regular thermos (warmed with boiling water before tipping the yoghurt in) – both work equally well. An Electric yoghurt maker is a fancier option but essentially does the same job of keeping the mix at a stable warm temperature.
After about 18-24 hours, check to see that the yoghurt is set, flavour it as you wish and then store in a clean container in the fridge for up to 10 days. We tend to leave the yoghurt plain in the fridge and then flavour it as we choose when we’re serving to allow for more variety – and for no flavour when we’re using it in dough.
If you have tummy difficulties with lactose, then leave the yoghurt fermenting for the full 24 hours and the bacteria will have eaten almost all of the milk sugars (lactose) and you will essentially have a lactose free yoghurt.
The sugar is optional in dairy milks since there is already lactose available to feed the culture, however, adding a simple sugar increases the carbohydrate available for the culture to eat and improves the end result. Green Living Australia say that the sugar is used up by the bacteria and won’t be there in the end.
Soy yoghurt:
1L soy UHT milk** (opt for the no added sugar, organic version if you can so you can control the quantity of sugar)
1 tbsp sugar
1 dose starter culture
**I buy a ‘protein rich’ Soy milk which has the bean content upped to 21% and it makes for a really amazing thick yoghurt – much closer to the store bought variety!
In a large saucepan place the milk and sugar and whisk to ensure even distribution.
Heat on a gentle heat until it reaches between 37-41C. Remove from heat and tip in culture. The amount required is very small!
Whisk again to ensure even distribution.
Place in Thermos/Easiyo container and follow same storage and flavouring guidelines as for Dairy yoghurt.
The sugar isn’t optional when you are making soy yoghurt as the soy bean doesn’t have the same natural sugars to feed the cultures.
The enrich the calcium content you can add a few drops of calcium carbonate before tipping in to the thermos, which also helps with giving a thicker yoghurt.
To get a Greek style yoghurt you need to strain the end yoghurt through a nut milk bag.
We don’t have very much white bread in our house. But occasionally, a soft white bread sandwich (with cheese and gherkin as my preference!) is amazing.
The base for all the recipes is below.
500g white spelt
1 heaped tsp yeast
1 heaped tsp coconut sugar
15g olive oil
275g luke warm water
1 tsp salt
olive oil to cover
1 heaped tsp pea protein powder OR 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional but acts as a bread improver)
To make the Sandwich Loafor rolls seeded add: 20g flax seeds and 20g chia seeds
For Fruit Toast: remove 100g of white spelt and replace with 100g wholemeal spelt and add 2 tsp mixed spice, 1 tbsp extra coconut sugar and 3/4 cup dried fruit of choice.
For the Sticky Finger Buns: add 1 tsp of mixed spice, 1 tbsp extra coconut sugar, optional 1/2 cup of sultanas and icing (1 tbsp melted Nuttelex whisked together with 4 tbsp pure icing sugar, few drops food colouring and topped with GF sprinkles).
Place the water, yeast and sugar in the food processor and pulse briefly to combine or speed 2 for 6 seconds). Allow to stand for 5 minutes (a good time to check that your yeast is still active. Look for it foaming).
Add seeds (milled first if you’d prefer less obvious ‘bits’) and spices if applicable and pulse again to combine.
Add flour, pea protein, salt and oil (in that order) and process to bring together (speed 6 for 15 seconds).
Tip onto a lightly floured mat and knead until dough is soft and elastic.
Add in fruit and knead at this point if using.
Cover with oil, using hands and place in a clean oiled bowl, cover and place in a warm place to double in size (about – 45 mins-1 hour).
Knock back the dough and place into oiled loaf tin or break into bun size (about 10-12 rolls or finger buns of equal weight – rolled tightly for buns) and place on a lined baking tray. It is a very light and fluffy dough so be careful not to over work it.
Need to work on making them more finger like!
Leave to double in size again (approximately another hour).
Place into a preheated 250C oven for 10 minutes, then drop temperature to 190C and cook for a further 25 minutes, or until golden on top and bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Leave to cool before slicing.
Sandwich loaf and rolls (plus some Yoghurt Dough Cheeseymite scrolls!)
Harry the ‘Carbivore’!!
For the sticky finger buns and bread rolls, place into a preheated 190C oven and cook for about 15-18 minutes or until bottoms sounds hollow when tapped. Ice while warm.
My biggest boy, William, is about to turn 7 and has recently become quite interested in ‘creations’ in the kitchen.
A couple of weeks ago, he made this smoothie which has now become known as a Will-kshake in our house and he was very keen for me to share it with you!
We made it in our Nutribullet, but you could also do it in a high powered blender.
It is very thick and filling and he tells me that it’s like having soft serve ice-cream for breakfast 🙂
So thick that the straw stands alone!
1 cup milk of choice, nice and cold
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1/3 cup frozen mango
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 a ripe banana (fresh or frozen – frozen makes it even thicker)
Add all ingredients to cup and blend until smooth.
I love that it is healthier and much faster than the normal jam making process!
4 small apples, peeled and cored
3 cups strawberries, hulled
4 tbsp coconut sugar/maple syrup (Optional)
40ml water
4 tbsp chia seeds
Stew the apples together with the water and sugar (if using). (100C on speed 2 for about 10 mins in the Bellini)
Add strawberries and blend until you reach your desired consistency for jam
Add the chia seeds and stir until well combined.
Pour into sterlized jars and place in the fridge. The chia will swell and help the jam to set.
This jam doesn’t have nearly as much sugar as regular jam so it will not keep as long, but that’s not so much of an issue when you can make it so quickly and in smaller quantities!
This also works well with mulberries in place of the strawberries. For the mulberry version I add in the sliced skin of a lemon or an orange to the stewing apples, then remove then skin when I put the jam into jars.
These are a more traditional version of those yummy Easter treats. They are a little quicker and less complicated than the ones I posted a couple of years ago but they aren’t gluten free because of the spelt (You can find the other version here). Or check out the my simple coeliac version after the recipe.
These are delicious and my whole family scoffed them (… well, Ellie did, after I picked out her fruit 😉 I guess I’ll be making another batch that is fruit free). And I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more rapid response of ‘more more more!’ from George!!
Bun mixture
280 g luke-warm water
2 tsp instant yeast
500 g spelt flour (I do half wholemeal – and this year I’ve use half Khorasan)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional, but it works as a bread improver)
1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
40 g coconut sugar
1 tbsp mixed spice
30 g Nuttelex/Vegan butter/melted tasteless coconut oil
200 g sultanas or mixed fruit
White cross mixture
equal parts plain GF flour and water.
Mix together until smooth and place into a piping bag (or a freezer bag with a hole cut in the corner).
Sugar Glaze mixture (optional)
equal parts water and sugar
Place both ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir regularly and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.
——
Place all of the bun ingredients, except the fruit in a large food processor, in this order: water, sugar, yeast, flour, spices, salt, oil/butter, vinegar. Pulse until the dough is roughly brought together. (speed 5 for 15 seconds followed by speed 2 for 1 minute)
Tip onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. (just bring it together if you’ve use a machine kneading function)
Tip the fruit onto the dough and knead again until the fruit is evenly distributed. OR if you’re using a machine with a knead function – tip the fruit in gradually through the top opening during the start of the kneading.
Form dough into a ball and place in a bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.
Knock the dough down with your fingers and then break into 12 even pieces and place on lined baking tray.
Leave tray in a warm (breeze free) area for about 45 mins to rise.
Pipe the cross on to the buns and then place in a pre-heated 180C oven for 15-18 minutes.
If you wish to use the glaze, gloss them with the sugar glaze using a pastry brush as soon as you remove the buns from the oven.
To make a coeliac friendly version: replace the spelt flour with 2 cups of a plain GF flour mix plus 1 1/2 cups of almond or seed meal (I make my seed meal from a equal combination of milled sunflower, pepita and flax seeds). GF breads only get one rise (without the gluten there isn’t the same structure for the CO2 ,formed by the yeast, to get trapped), so once you have made the dough, bring it together (skip the kneading step as there isn’t gluten to develop!) and break into 12 pieces of even weight, place on a tray and cover, allowing to rise for about 45 mins to an hour. (place them a little closer together than I did here, to encourage them rising up, instead of out!). Apply cross and bake following normal recipe. As with all GF products, they are best eaten fresh, but if you freeze them in an airtight wrap and bag, whilst still warm, the defrost and rewarm quite well.
To make these a chocolate version (an anathema to me, but my kids have begged for them!), add handful of vegan choc chips. Don’t put the choc chips in the food processor, as they’ll get shredded. Rather add them in at the same stage you would have added the fruit. Then pipe with a chocolate cross (the normal cross mix, but remove 1 tsp of the flour and add 1 tsp pure icing sugar and 1/2 tsp cocoa).
Enjoy – and I hope that this year your Hot Cross Buns will remind you of the joy and hope that the Cross of Jesus has brought 🙂
OPTIONAL – 1 tsp maple syrup (I tend to leave this out for me)
Place the oats on the processor and blitz until fine (Speed 9, 8 seconds)
Place the banana, syrup (if using), salt, seed butter and about 25mls of milk in the processor/blender and pulse a few times.
Scrape down the sides. Then while the processor is running, add in the dates one at a time. Process for a further 20 seconds (Speed 4 during the addition then up to 7 for 10 seconds).
Add in the rest of the milk and the ice blocks (through the chute whilst running) and process until well combined and fairly smooth. (Speed 6)
Serve immediately.
If you’re using a bullet style blender, use half of the ingredients in each of 2 large cups.
*I’ve recently been using cow’s milk as my husband’s taste preference. I use 1/4 full cream milk and 3/4 cold water.
I love these delicious, soft biscuits – They are very easy and quick to knock up as they are made from ingredients that I always have on hand.
They are low in sugar but they are sweet enough to take the edge off those cravings.
The fibre and protein help them to boost your energy levels and keep you full for a while … what’s not to love?! Great for afternoon tea…. Or even breakfast!
See below the recipe for a Coeliac version and a few extras.
2 medium bananas, very ripe
3 cups rolled oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup nut and seed based protein powder (plain almond or seed meal if you’re short on time!)
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp milk of choice (unsweetened vanilla almond is great here)
3 tbsp aquafaba OR 1 whole egg
Pinch salt flakes
Blend together all the wet ingredients, including the banana, until just smooth (speed 5, 6 secs)
In a separate bowl mix together the oats, seed/nut meal, salt and cinnamon. (Speed 4, 6 secs)
Add the banana mix to the dry mix and process until well combined (speed 4, 8 secs, scrape and repeat if required).
Place spoonfuls on a lined baking tray and cook in a preheated moderate oven for about 12 minutes.
I think these are best served with an afternoon cuppa!
Makes about 24 biscuits.
Extra Options:
To make these coeliac friendly use 2 cups puffed rice and 1 cup rolled quinoa in place of the oats.
Add a tbsp of cocoa or cacao for a chocolate version.
For a sweeter option stir through some chopped dried fruit (dates or sultanas are my favourite but cranberries or apple work too) … Or even a handful of chopped dark chocolate.
This recipe was my attempt at replicating something like the doughy bread rolls you can buy from major supermarkets and bakeries that have the cheese and bacon baked on top.
They are a quick bread rather than a long rising yeast dough which makes for much simpler, speedy lunches.
It is VERY popular, especially with my big boys, and so is another of the recipes that I make to freeze for the lunchboxes. I make 2 versions.
The ‘regular’ version:
2.5cups SR flour
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter
1 cup grated cheese
Optional – about 120g ham, roughly chopped
For the more allergy friendly version:
2.5cups spelt flour (half wholemeal)
2.5tsp GF baking powder
1 cup milk of choice
1 tbsp vegan butter (ghee or coconut oil work well too)
1/2 cup grated Bio cheese (or 1/2cup of nutritional yeast*)
about 120g GF ham, roughly chopped
*If you’re not using the cheese, but the nutritional yeast, add an extra tsp of butter.
If you are leaving out the cheese or ham in either of these mixes, add in a pinch of salt.
In a food processor, pulse together the flours, butter, milk, and baking powder (if required). Process for about 20 seconds until a rough dough forms.
Add in the cheese (and ham) and process again until combined.
For thevegetarian/vegan option, I omit the ham and add some chopped chives and some pepper, or some sundried tomatoes.
Tip dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently to bring together.
Break dough into 8 portions and form into a roll shape.
To make these look more like the store bought ones I sometimes use only half of the cheese in the dough and reserve the rest with the ham and a smear of tomato paste for the top.
Place on a lined baking tray and bake in a preheated 200C oven for about 15-20mins or until the bottoms are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
Especially delicious served warm.
Makes 8 rolls – and any left overs freeze and defrost well.
No pretending here …. chocolate chip, gingerbread pancakes are a sometimes food!! Definitely for special occasions … and what better occasion than the celebration of the birth of our Saviour?!
I have adapted these from My Whole Food Life and you can find the original here
1 3/4 cups GF SR flour (or 2 cups spelt)
1 tbsp coconut sugar
3 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp aquafaba OR 2 flax eggs OR 2 small eggs
1/4 cup pureed apple (or unsweetened apple sauce)
1 1/4 cups milk of choice
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/3 cup chopped dark choc of choice
Mix together the flour, sugar, spices and salt in one bowl. (Speed 4, 6 seconds, then set aside).
In another bowl combine the milk, syrup, apple and aquafaba (or eggs). Whisk until well combined. (Speed 5, 10 seconds).
Combine the dry and wet ingredients and then stir through the chocolate. (Add the dry mix back into the thermal cooker bowl that contains the wet mix and speed 4 for 10 seconds, then add choc and use speed 4 for 5 seconds).
Cook tablespoons of the mixture in a hot frying pan – turn when bubbles appear and cook until both sides are golden brown.
Serve warm … with some extra syrup if you want to be really decadent!
My preference for this recipe now is to use the Aquafaba because they give a lighter more ‘normal’ pancake. They also make the mix more liquid so it is easier to just pour into the hot pan.
Itchin' Kitchen 
