Elsewhere on the Internet (namely on My New Roots) this seedy, flourless, unleavened, barely sweet and totally nutrition-packed bread is called the “Lifechanging Loaf of Bread.” That is quite a claim and one that begs to be debunked, particularly by my own family, some of whom refer to this as my “dirt bread.”

What can I say? Haters gonna hate. That’s life; hence, the abbreviated name for this bread. But for the right person—and you know who you are—this is, if not lifechanging, at least addictive. It relies on oats, chia seeds and psylium husks to hang together and get its breadiness. Whole hazelnuts give it texture and a touch of maple syrup makes it all just right. Toast it, or not, and top it with butter, honey, cheese, caramelized onion, roasted veggies or pretty much anything and give yourself a big fat gold star for healthy eating. Go you!

I’ll leave it to Sara Britton to answer any questions about substitutions and how in the heck she came to experiment with psylium husks. I will tell you, however, to find them in CVS with the Metamucil. Be sure to get the unflavored variety, unless you want your bread to actually taste like Metamucil.

A few other notes: She uses coconut oil or ghee (which I can’t pronounce let alone find) but you can also use butter; I add chopped dates for some chewiness and sweetness; she uses a flexible loaf pan for both mixing and baking. I don’t have one of those so I just used a regular loaf pan and lined the bottom with parchment paper to ease the first turnout (totally worth the effort, unless you want a bonus botched loaf to snack on); finally, I lived large and mixed it all in a bowl, which took away the stress of mixing in tight spaces, which I hate.

And now, just to go on record, for me this is absolutely addictive and perhaps even lifechanging, on a slow day that is.

That’s Life Bread

From My New Roots
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

1 cup / 135g sunflower seeds (or 1/2 cup each pumpkin seeds and sunnies)
½ cup / 90g flax seeds
½ cup / 65g hazelnuts or almonds, roughly chopped or sliced*
**½ cup dried dates or dried fruit of choice, roughly chopped 
1 ½ cups / 145g rolled oats
2 Tbsp chia seeds
4 Tbsp psyllium seed husks (3 Tbsp. if using psyllium husk powder)
1 tsp fine grain sea salt (add ½ tsp. if using coarse salt)
1 Tbsp maple syrup
3 Tbsp melted coconut oil or ghee (or butter)
1 ½ cups / 350ml water

*update: sliced almonds are my go-to for ease of both prep and slicing
**next update: Dates or dried fruit are optional but now an essential part of my dirt bread experience.

Method

1. In a flexible, silicon loaf pan (or a parchment lined regular loaf pan), combine all dry ingredients, stirring well. Whisk maple syrup, oil and water together in a measuring cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick (if the dough is too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until the dough is manageable). Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight. To ensure the dough is ready, it should retain its shape even when you pull the sides of the loaf pan away from it it.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.
3. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing (difficult, but important).
4. Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days. Freezes well too – slice before freezing for quick and easy toast!

Bring It

As mentioned above, for the right person this is the perfect host/hostess gift. If you’re bringing it to a mixed crowd you can always cover your bases (and maximize fans) by adding a loaf of easiest french bread ever or maple oat breakfast bread