Meet my latest quick bread creation – a combination of mandarin, strawberry and crunchy chia seeds!
I love quick breads. When you need something easy, sweet and not-too-fancy a quick bread is the perfect solution. Quick breads easily adapt to the season at hand and make a great breakfast, snack, or dessert solution. At the moment my inbox is being flooded with amazing pumpkin and sweet potato creations from my northern hemisphere internet friends, and I am trying to stave off seasonally-inappropriate cravings by focusing on the fresh spring flavours that are appearing in my local markets. It’s all about focusing on being grateful for what nature is laying down right in front of you.
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This Mandarin Strawberry Chia Bread is what happens when you combine the freshest spring strawberries with peak of the season mandarins. I think we already know that I love any citrus and poppy seed combination (see here, here, or here), so chia seeds are a fresh new take on my seedy trend provide the subtle crunch I crave among the fluffy moist crumbs.
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Quick breads are one of the easiest gluten free treats to make too! If you are new to gluten free baking I would definitely recommend starting off here. When you take away the gluten present in wheat flour structure and sustained rise can be an issue: quick breads still contain eggs for binding and structure, and baking powder for rise. When you use the right combination of gluten free flours (see my preferred mix below) your end product will be just as fluffy and moist as a gluten-containing product. No soggy, gluggy messes here! Just fresh mandarin flavoured batter studded with sweet strawberries with the crunchy goodness of chia seeds.
Of course, if you are not baking for gluten free tummies then you can substitute the total weight of gluten free flours for plain flour.
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Mandarin Strawberry Chia Bread
Gluten free | Makes one 9 x 5 inch loaf tin | Leftovers will keep well-wrapped at room temperature for up to three days, or well-wrapped in the freezer for up to two months
Ingredients:
- 100 grams brown rice flour
- 100 grams almond meal
- 80 grams white rice flour
- 60 grams buckwheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds (I had white ones, but black would work too)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons rice bran oil (or other flavourless vegetable oil)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 mandarin
- Juice of 1 mandarin
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 250 grams small strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 1 tablespoon white rice flour
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and line a 9×5 inch loaf tin with baking paper.
- In a large bowl whisk together the brown rice flour, almond meal, white rice flour, buckwheat flour, salt, baking powder and chia seeds.
- In a separate bowl whisk together buttermilk, eggs, rice bran oil, vanilla, mandarin juice, mandarin zest and caster sugar until completely smooth.
- Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined.
- Toss strawberries with white rice flour, this will stop them from sinking in the cake. Gently stir strawberries through batter.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Place in oven and bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and take out of tin. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
