German Vollkornbrot (Seeded Bread)

Many years ago, before I was diagnosed with celiac, I spent two years living in Germany. And in a way, I'm grateful for the fact that I wasn't yet diagnosed. Sure, I felt awful most of the time and struggled with all kinds of symptoms that come with undiagnosed gluten intolerance. But on the upside, if I had to be dealing with all of that, at least I was surrounded by some of the best glutenful food I've ever tasted. The softest pretzels, the most delicious and refreshing (and largest) wheat beers, Bavarian potato salad I could probably eat a vat of, and bread. Oh, the bread.

The bread in Germany is of a very different strand than it is here in the U.S. We tend to enjoy softer, more pliable breads here; breads that will soak up your peanut butter and jelly, and cushion your club sandwich. But not German bread. German bread is unapologetically solid. It packs a punch and is often the wholest of whole grain and has a dense texture studded with lots of seeds and nuts.

I love it. 

So when this month's Gluten-free Ratio Rally challenge for bread rolled around, I knew just what I wanted to make: a replica of my favorite German bread, Vollkornbrot ("fully seeded bread"). I relied mainly on dark whole grain flours like teff and buckwheat, added apple cider vinegar for a sourdough-like flavor, and dumped a full cup of seeds in there - pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and chia seeds. And you don't have to stop there. Go wild. Add whatever you want. I'm pretty confident it will turn out to be delicious. 

A big thanks to Karen of Cooking Gluten Free for hosting this month's Rally!

Ruhlman's ratio for bread is 5 parts flour to 3 parts water, but I ended up needing to add a bit more water to mine, so that my ratio ended up more like 5 parts flour to 3.5 parts water. I made this in a bread machine, but you could certainly make it the traditional way and just let it rise for a good 30 - 45 minutes in a warm place before smoothing it into a bread pan and baking in a conventional oven.

This won't rise very much, but that's ok. That's the German way, at least for this particular style of bread. It's meant to be very dense and cut into thin slices. My German roommates and I used to sit around the breakfast table for hours, chatting away the late morning and cutting slice after slice. We would eat it with all kinds of wonderful jams, Nutella, slices of cheese with butter.... After this loaf came out of the breadmaker, I felt so nostalgic that I pulled out some of my homemade German Forest Berry jam to enjoy spread across a toasted piece.

I hope you enjoy as much as I did. Here's the recipe, and be sure to check below for the links to the rest of the fantastic bread creations that my fellow Ratio Rally friends came up with!

Breadmaker German Vollkornbrot (Seeded Bread)

100 g teff flour

75 g buckwheat flour

50 g sorghum flour

25 g potato starch

2 tbsp. flaxseed meal

2 tbsp. chia seeds

1 tsp. salt

1.5 tsp. xanthan gum

175 g warm water

1 tbsp. canola oil

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp. sugar

3 tsp. rapid rise yeast 

1 cup mixed seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, etc.)

Bread machine directions:

Combine the wet ingredients and the yeast into the bread machine pan. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients except for the mixed seeds (which you will add later in the bread machine cycle). Pour them over the wet ingredients and set the bread machine to the gluten-free cycle. After the first rise (during the second knead) or whenever your bread machine tells you to do it, add the cup of mixed seeds and stir to mix well. Make sure to spread the dough out evenly in the pan. Let bake for the rest of the bread machine cycle. Remove from pan when done and let cool on a wire rack.

For conventional ovens:
If you are making this in a conventional oven, no problem! If you go this route, you'll want to proof the yeast before you add it. To do this, stir together about 1/2 cup of the water, the tbsp. sugar, and the 3 tbsp. yeast and let sit in a warm place until it doubles. Combine the dry ingredients, including all of the seeds and nuts, and then add all of the wet ingredients at once and mix well. Place into a greased bread pan, cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 - 60 minutes, or until it's grown substantially in size (it may not double, but it should get marginally bigger). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to about 350 F. When the bread has risen, stick it into the oven and bake for 25 - 40 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when you tap on the bottom and the edges are golden brown.

More Recipes
Check out these other wonderful options for some gluten-free breads to try from my fellow Ratio Rally friends!

Adina | Gluten Free Travelette  Seedy Sandwich Bread
Angela | Angela’s Kitchen  Our Family’s Basic Gluten Free Dairy Free Bread
~Aunt Mae (aka ~Mrs. R) | Honey From Flinty Rocks  Chia Millet Bread
Brooke | B & the boy!  Buckwheat-Oat Bread
Charissa | Zest Bakery  Cherry Pecan Pot Bread, Gluten Free  
Claire | This Gluten-Free Life  German Vollkornbrot (Seeded Bread)
Erin | The Sensitive Epicure English Sandwich Bread (gluten-free & egg-free)   
Jenn | Jenn Cuisine  Gluten Free Boule
Jonathan | The Canary Files Gluten-Free, Vegan Mediterranean Soda Bread
Karen | Cooking Gluten Free!  Gluten Free Sandwich Bread/Gluten Free Naan
Meaghan | The Wicked Good Vegan  Vegan Gluten-Free Bread
Meg | Gluten-Free Boulangerie  Ciabatta (gluten-free, egg-free/vegan)
Monika | Chew on This!  amaranth skillet flatbreads, amaranth mini pita rounds
Morri | Meals with Morri No Knead Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Flatbread (yeast free/grain free) 
Pete & Kelli | No Gluten, No Problem  Gluten-Free Challah
Rachel / The Crispy Cook  Gluten Free Chickpea Sandwich Bread
TR | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies  Gluten Free White Bread
Tara | A Baking Life  Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread & Boule

Flourless Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Oh my GOD were these good.  I scarfed down more of them than I honestly care to admit, although I did give a significant portion of them away, too.  So at least there's that.

Trader Joe's makes gluten-free oats now - did you know that?  I just discovered them recently - and not only are they certified gluten-free, they are also a lot cheaper than their competition - by several dollars.  AND they come with a recipe for oatmeal cookies on the back.  What more could you want from a bag of oats, celiac friends?

I modified the recipe quite a bit, of course.  I added a few different ingredients, reduced the fat, etc. (all my usual courses of action).  And they turned out to be fabulous - they were chewy, moist, and full of flavor.  Everyone who tried these loved them, and I suspect you will, too.

**Update: Since giving up sugar a few months ago, I also created a modified version of these that - in addition to being free of gluten and dairy - is also sugar-free. That modification is below!

Flourless Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen medium cookies

Regular version:
1.5 tbsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/4 cup fig butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sunflower butter or peanut butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups gluten-free oats
5 tbsp. unsalted roasted sunflower seeds
3/4 - 1 cup chocolate chips

Sugar-free version: 
1.5 tbsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/4 cup plain pumpkin puree
1/2 cup Stevia in the raw
1/2 cup nut butter (I used plain salted almond butter, but sunflower or peanut butter will do, too! Just be aware that many nut butters have added sugar)
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups gluten-free oats
1/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds
1/2 - 3/4 cup pecan pieces
**Chocolate chips are usually full of sugar, but if you find ones that aren't, add them back in by all means!

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whip together the Earth Balance, fig butter/pumpkin puree, and white and brown sugar/Stevia until well-mixed.  Add the egg and mix together well.  Add in the nut butter and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the oats, baking powder, and salt.  Stir them into the wet ingredients and mix well.  Add the extras (sunflower seeds, pecans, and/or chocolate chips) and stir in to combine.

Scoop the cookies out by the teaspoonful or tablespoonful onto the cookie sheets and space 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes (JUST until they start to brown on the edges), then remove from the oven.  They probably won't look completely done - that's ok.  Let them sit on the hot cookie sheet for another 3 - 5 minutes or until you can scrape them off onto a wire rack without their falling apart.  Cool completely, then store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Fresh Carrot Salad with Sunflower Seeds and Blueberries

I love cooking - that much should be obvious.  But there are days when even I can't take it.  Days that are so hot, and so lazy, that I just want a 5-minute meal.  To put a bunch of things in a bowl and be done.

Today was one of those days.  And it also happened to be the day that one of my friends sent me the link to the New York Times Minimalist guide to summer salads.  The list is extensive, with almost any ingredient I could think of, put together with ingredients I might not have thought of right away. 

Number 7 on the list caught my eye immediately.  I had carrots.  I had blueberries.  I love both.  It was a done deal. 

This salad comes together in a matter of minutes, and will be a lovely addition to whatever else you're having for dinner, or great on its own as well.  The crunchy carrots and sunflower seeds balance the berries, and the lemon and pepper bring out the flavors in a refreshing, delicious way.  It's delightful.

Save this one for a hot day when you want something quick, refreshing, and cool.  And enjoy.


Fresh Carrot Salad with Sunflower Seeds and Blueberries (from this list)

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup blueberries
1 - 2 tsp. olive oil
2 - 4 tbsp. lemon juice (to taste)
black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients.  Eat.  Enjoy. 

No Bake Chex Mix Granola Bars

I've had a couple of attempts at granola bars recently, mainly because they can get so expensive to buy at the store.  So far, mine have mostly turned into granola because they just won't flippin' stay together long enough to be called bars. 

I won't claim that these are the sturdiest of bars.  But as you can see, they stayed in the shape of bars long enough to be photographed.  So that's something.  They actually stayed bars all day, especially if they were in the fridge.  I don't think they'd necessarily survive a long hike in a backpack (at least, not without some serious tupperware protection), but they have definite potential for someone who is looking for bars for light use. I know I'll be making them again.

And they are really, really tasty.  A friend of mine had sent me a link for Grain-free Granola Bars, and I thought, why not?  It fits in with my general pursuit of bars at the moment.  But I'm not grain-free, nor did I want to rely solely on nuts for my bars.  So I adapted it and added some finely ground-up honey nut chex, and more honey than what was originally called for.  I also studded mine with some crushed chocolate chips because.....well, I don't have a reason, actually.  Because chocolate is never a bad thing to add. 

If you want a stickier bar, feel free to add more honey, or maybe some agave nectar or maple syrup.  Experiment with your own favorite combination of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit.  Go with Cinnamon Chex instead of Honey Nut.  Make these your own!

No Bake Chex Mix Granola Bars (Adapted from "Grain-free Granola Bars" on the Joyful Abode blog)
Makes one 8 x 8 pan of granola bars (about 15 small bars)
*You can double this recipe for thicker bars, or for a 9 x 13 pan.

1 cup Honey Nut Chex, ground finely
1/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds, ground finely (but not into a paste/butter!)
2 - 3 tbsp. of combination of flax seeds, chia seeds, and sesame seeds, ground up finely
1 tsp. salt
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I used Let's Go Organic 40% Reduced Fat)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or your favorite dried fruit)
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp. coconut oil (substitute another oil or butter if you don't have it)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 - 1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 - 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Don't preheat the oven.  They're no-bake - yay!

Line an 8 x 8 pan with a sheet of wax paper (believe me, you'll want to have that paper there or you'll never get these out of the pan whole).

In a large bowl, combine the ground chex, almond meal, ground sunflower seeds, salt, ground flax, chia, and sesame seeds, dried cranberries, and the shredded coconut.

In a small saucepan, heat combine the honey, coconut oil, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Heat over low-medium heat until melted and it starts to bubble.  Pour over the dry mixture and stir well to coat.

Pour it into the pan and if desired, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the mixture (they might melt a little if it's still warm from the honey/coconut oil).  Using another piece of wax paper, press it really hard into the pan.  Like, really hard.  Remember, you want these to become bars!

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.  When ready to eat, remove the wax paper from the pan and cut into bars.  Store in the fridge so they stay in bar form.

Quinoa Pilaf with Sweet Potato, Pears, Avocados, and Toasted Sunflower Seeds

I make a lot of quinoa around here.  This is partly because it's so healthy (complete protein!), but also because it's so easy to transport to school for the many meals I eat away from home.  Usually I toss it with sauteed vegetables, or chicken sausage, or both.  But recently, I created a totally new kind of pilaf.  I would never have tried this combination of flavors without my trusty copy of Culinary Artistry, which lists ingredients that are, shall we say, friendly with one another.  It was a bit like playing a matching game, looking up different ingredients to cross-check and make sure that they all (hypothetically) would pair well together.  And they did!  This was delicious, despite sounding a bit strange at first.  I will definitely add it to my repertoire of go-to quick and easy meals.

Quinoa Pilaf with Sweet Potato, Pears, Avocados, and Toasted Sunflower Seeds

1/2 cup quinoa, cooked as directed with chicken or vegetable broth and cooled (should end up being about 1 cup of cooked quinoa)
1/4 cup toasted unsalted sunflower seeds
1 medium sweet potato, baked or microwaved until tender and then chopped/shredded
1/2 avocado, chopped
1 small or 1/2 medium pear, chopped finely
1/2 tsp. sea salt (more or less to your own taste)
1 tbsp. agave nectar
1 tbsp. parsley, shredded finely (optional)
Ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and toss until well-mixed.  Serve immediately.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

**Hint:  If you are not serving/eating this right away, it is best to add the avocado and pear just before serving so they stay as fresh as possible and don't get brown.  If you're going to have leftovers, add the avocado and pear as you eat it