This is a lovely, very white-looking bread that’s still made with wholegrain rice and quinoa flour.  I adapted this from a Dove’s Farm recipe and was hard pressed to stop eating it last night with my buttery spread for bread (see blog).   It’s 100% gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free.  Using quinoa flour in this recipe (instead of just rice flour) helps keep you fuller longer.  This is because quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa”) is really a seed and not a grain.  Quinoa is rich in protein (a whopping 14g per 100g!).  If you are catering for fussy tastes which have not tried quinoa before, try omitting the quinoa and substituting with brown rice flour.  The next time you make it, add a little quinoa flour, and keep going until you are up to 50% quinoa.  The bread will be very sweet made with rice flour only, as rice is naturally very high in sugars.

Makes 1 large (1kg) loaf

1kg loaf tin (a standard loaf tin), oiled and (if you have some greaseproof or silicon paper) bottom-lined
Tinfoil
550ml warm water
2 level tsp honey (this is essential, otherwise the yeast won’t come alive)
2 rounded tsp quick yeast
250g quinoa flour, organic if possible
250g brown rice flour, organic if possible
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 scant level tsp Himalayan or Atlantic sea salt (or omit completely)
3 tbsp oil: virgin macadamia oil or (if you cant get this) olive oil

1. In a jug or bowl mix the warm water, honey and quick yeast
2. Into a separate, large bowl sieve the rice flour, quinoa flour, xanthan gum and salt, if using.
3. Beat in the yeast liquid and the oil and beat until well mixed.
4. Pour into tin, smooth the top and leave to rise in a warm place for 90 minutes.  I put a small chopping board on top of a warm radiator for this and balance the tin on top of this, which seems to rise the dough really well.
5. Cover the tin with oiled tinfoil.  After around 75 minutes, turn your oven on to 220C/200 C fan.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, until a needle inserted into the centre of the bread comes out clean.

Why this is better for you
Brown rice and quinoa are whole foods (they have not been refined).  So they’re higher in minerals and vitamins than their white counterparts.   That said, all grains (especially rice) are still naturally high in sugars.  That means if you want your meals to be vitality-boosting, it’s a good idea to keep bread (or other starchy foods, like potatoes) to no more than 1/4 of the meal!!  Research shows that eating only small amounts of carbohydrates (eg. grains, root veg) with lots of veggies and moderate protein helps your body function better than if you live off mostly starchy foods.  Because quinoa is high in protein and protein slows digestion, this bread will keep you fuller, longer, reducing the likelihood of energy dips, weight fain and stress due to fluctuating blood sugar.