Chickpea Flour Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

Chickpea Flour Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

There is a new cookbook in my kitchen — I know, I'm already buried in them — but it's an interesting and inspiring one. It's all about chickpea flour which is one of my favorite ingredients. The Chickpea Flour Cookbook: Healthy Gluten-Free and Grain-Free Recipes to Power Every Meal of the Day by Camilla V. Saulsbury is certainly the first cookbook I've come across focusing on chickpea flour. Over 80 recipes are featured for any time of day. Breakfast, breads, snacks, sides, entrées and even desserts. They all happen to be gluten-free, grain-free and soy-free. And because chickpea flour is the focus, all of the recipes are high in protein which is important for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Most of the recipes are suitable for vegans too, and those that contain dairy are usually accompanied with suggestions on how to make the recipe vegan.

Who knew there could be so many recipes for chickpea flour?

The first recipe I tried was this moist and satisfying bread that is really more like a savory cake. The addition of tangy sun-dried tomatoes and earthy spinach makes each bite a taste experience that you won't soon forget. It's wonderful for breakfast, lunch, as a snack, or as an accompaniment for a main dinner dish.

As always, the opinions expressed here are my own.

Chickpea Flour Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and SpinachChickpea Flour Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach
Recipe by
Adapted from The Chickpea Flour Cookbook: Healthy Gluten-Free and Grain-Free Recipes to Power Every Meal of the Day
Published on November 6, 2015

Soft, moist savory gluten-free and protein-rich bread made with chickpea flour, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients:
  • 2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
  • 6 tablespoons warm water
  • 1 3/4 cups chickpea flour (besan)
  • 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3/4 cup almond milk
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
  • 10 oz (300 g) frozen spinach, thawed (squeeze out as much liquid as possible)
Instructions:
  • Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain and chop.

  • Soak the ground flax seeds with the water in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes to thicken up.

  • Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking dish with oil. Line with parchment paper, leaving enough to hang over the sides. Lightly grease the paper.

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder, baking soda, basil and sea salt.

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flax seed and water mixture, almond milk, olive oil and sugar until well combined.

  • Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just blended. Stir in the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Transfer to the prepared pan and spread evenly.

  • Bake for 25 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean. Leave the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Lift the bread out of the pan using the edges of the parchment paper and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Remove the paper, transfer to a cutting board, and cut into 16 pieces.

  • Notes: I made this recipe vegan by using a flax seed mixture, but you could use two eggs instead. The almond milk can be replaced with dairy milk. A 1/2 cup of crumbled feta or goat cheese could be used instead of the nutritional yeast. Stir it in with the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach.

Makes 1 9-inch loaf

chickpea flour bread

Other recipes using chickpea flour from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen to enjoy:
Chickpea Flour (Besan) Crêpes with Spinach
Chickpea Flour Dumplings Simmered in a Spicy Yogurt Sauce
Chickpea Flour Pancakes (Pudla) with Crushed Peas, Ginger, Chilies and Cilantro
Basmati Rice Spiked with Chickpea Flour Dumplings

16 comments:

Unknown said...

This recipe sounds amazing, as does the cookbook giveaway. I have just recently started eliminating wheat flour from my diet for health reasons, so this would be perfect.

Unknown said...

The cookbook sounds intriguing! Chickpea flour is so versatile - I am always astounded by the creative ways people find to use it. This recipe looks delicious (cannot wait to try it out) and I would love to be able to try the others from the book.

Aaron said...

What is for dinner tonight? And what can I bring?
mutterbumser [at] yahoo [dot] com

Johanna GGG said...

I can't go into the draw but I do love the sound of the book. I am a huge fan of chickpea flour - it is one of my favourite GF flours and I use it regularly. This bread looks really interesting.

Olwyn said...

This book looks like something I would use - I am just starting to explore chickpea flour and besan flour so this s timely! Thank you for telling us about it. I have just started the Whole Food Plant Based diet so making my own bread without oil is my next adventure. Olwyn

Erica Smith said...

Definitely will give this recipe a try, and please put me in the drawing for the book!

tia_b said...

Looks so tempting! Hope to try it soon.

janet @ the taste space said...

I love Camilla's recipes. She has such unique cookbooks. I like how these are all higher protein. Gotta go check it out. :)

Anonymous said...

Haven't tried chickpea flour; the cookbook would be inspirational. Mmoxley@fibrant.com

Herbs Spices and Tradition said...

This recipe looks and sounds amazing, I made savory baked cakes but never tried bread with chickpeas flour, I would love to try soon.

I am big fan of chickpeas flour,many recipes you can see with it on my blog. I am really interested in this book.

I have shared a very interesting story on chickpeas flour with the recipe of "Sweet balls with chickpeas flour"that is besan ke laddoo.

Ann G said...

As a wheat-free mostly-vegan who is tired of starch holding everything together, this cookbook sounds fab!

noa said...

Chickpea flour is fast becoming one of my favourite ingredients, even as a happy gluten consumer. A book full of recipes using it sounds terrific! The chickpea flour blog recipes also look great (hmmmm... dumplings).

sillygirl said...

It would be so cool to win this - I'm cooking more and more with chickpea flour - it all started with Socca!

Quinn said...

It took quite a while to find chickpea flour but I finally found it and bought a bag - now just ready to experiment, so a cookbook would be nice! Thanks for the giveaway opp :)
q dot piper at hotmail dot com

drinkflinger said...

loving all your recipes and learning new ways to a healthier Me and family Thanks dmlcr8@hotmail.com

Juhi said...

Ooh, this would come in so HANDY with all the besan that I always have lying about in my pantry!!