I made this new version of Mags Killer Bread a few days ago, and we’re absolutely loving it grilled and schmeared with hummus for a little preprandial snack.

The differences between this and my other versions is that 1) I used almond flour rather than sprouted spelt or chickpea flour; 2) I added hemp seeds; 3) I baked it in a casserole–more a focaccia than a loaf; 4) I topped it with sliced kalamata olives and serrano peppers; 4) I covered the bread with foil once the top was brown (about ten or fifteen minutes before the bread reached an internal temperature of 207).

This is a yeast bread, so I’ve added VWG so the yeast has something to act with; however, I have included a gluten-free option below (with pictures of the difference). The gluten-free option tastes the same, but does not rise and is quite a bit denser after baking.

I’m calling this creation “OLA bread” because oatmeal-lentil-almond bread sounds only mildly less disgusting than oatmeal-lentil-almond-hemp-seed-sunflower-seed-quinoa-olive-serrano-pepper bread.

AND THE BREAD IS SO DELICIOUS, it deserves a catchy little name!

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

OLA Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water (divided)
• 2 TBS hemp seeds
• 2 TBS quinoa flakes (or quinoa)
• 2 TBS sunflower seeds
• 1 cup red lentils (uncooked)
• 2 medjool dates
• 1 cup oat flour (I made this by blending whole oats in the Vitamix)
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1.5 tsp baker’s yeast
• 1.5 tsp sea salt
• 4 TBS vital wheat gluten

Step One:

Mix together:

• 1 cup water
• 2 TBS hemp seeds
• 2 TBS quinoa flakes (or quinoa)
• 2 TBS sunflower seeds

Leave to sit for twenty minutes while you get the other steps ready.

Step Two:

Blend in the Vitamix until as smooth as pancake batter:

• 1 cup red lentils (uncooked)
• 2 medjool dates
• 1 cup water

If you don’t have a Vitamix or other high-speed blender, you’ll need to soak your lentils for several hours first.

Step Three:

Mix together in a stand mixer bowl:

• 1 cup oat flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1.5 tsp sea salt
• 1.5 tsp baker’s yeast
• 4 TBS vital wheat gluten (if you want to make this loaf gluten-free, leave out the yeast and VWG and ADD 1/4 cup psyllium husk and 1 TBS baking powder)

Step Four:

Pour the seed/water mix from step one and the lentil mix from step two into the dry mix and blend with the dough hook for a good two or three minutes.

The dough will be very shaggy–not something you can knead, so let the dough hooks do the kneading. Here’s a video so you can see the texture once mixed:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qPNU4gj8Lz7Zojgw9

Line a 9X9 pan with parchment paper on the bottom (I didn’t do this, and it stuck a bit!!) and spray a bit of oil around the sides. I’m not sure if this is necessary since the bread does pull away from the edges.

Cover with saran wrap and let sit for an hour until it doubles in height.

Top with sliced kalamata olives and serrano peppers and pop in the oven for twenty minutes. Insert an internal thermometre and cover with foil and bake until an internal temperature of 207 degrees is achieved. This will take about twenty more minutes (for a total baking time of around 40 minutes).

If you choose to make the gluten-free version, the dough will not double in height–in fact, it will rise very little, but that’s fine. Cover and let it rise a bit for an hour.

Remove from pan and let cool.

Here is the difference between the baked yeast-VWG loaf and the baked gluten-free loaf:

The gluten-free loaf tastes pretty much the same as the yeast loaf, but it’s quite a bit denser. Still delicious though!!

To serve, slice and toast or grill on the stove top. It’s a dense bread, so it’s best eaten warm.

The texture is similar to corn bread, but the crumb is a bit cakier.

As I said, it’s delicious with a schmear of hummus, but equally tasty with a bit of vegan butter…or simply dipped in soup or stew.

And the song of the day is Frazey Ford’s “Done” because we just made plans to meet friends in Nanaimo to see her in concert!