This loaf took a fair few trials to get right! It even took my 5 month old Labrador puppy to eat a whole bag of instant yeast for me to change to using baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Turns out in this case Marina knew that yeast wasn’t the best for this recipe and forced me to change course. A grateful kitchen disaster turned good! This is so delicious and easy to make. My brother who doesn’t usually like my healthier recipes, loved this bread which is saying something. It even works well without the seeds and nuts.

Makes 1 standard loaf

Vegan / Spelt Flour

Ingredients:

210g squash or pumpkin purée (I chopped the veg into small pieces and then cooked in boiling water until very soft, then mash with a spoon or blended into a paste. Use about 180g uncooked)

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp maple syrup

1.5 tsp vanilla extract

240g spelt / plain flour

90g oats

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1.5 tsp ground flaxseed

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g chopped nuts of choice (I used pecans)

3 tbsp seeds plus extra for decorating the top (I used sunflower and pumpkin)

100ml room temperature water

Preheat the oven to 200 C degrees and grease, line a standard loaf tin (2lb / 900g) with baking parchment.

Add the squash/pumpkin purée to a large bowl and mix in the vinegar, maple syrup and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients except the water. Start to stir in a few large spoons of the dry ingredients in with the pumpkin. Then add a little of the water and continue adding a little of the dry and wet ingredients until it comes together into a dough. You might not need all of the water and try to just combine but not over mix the dough. It should only take a few minutes. Spread dough into the baking tin and sprinkle seeds on top. Bake for 40 mins in the middle of the oven and then cover the top with tin foil and bake for a further 15-20mins. It’s ready when it has risen, looks golden on top and when you knock the bottom it should feel quite hard. Leave to cool for at least 20 mins before slicing. This will keep sealed for a couple of days.

Pumpkin Seed Bread