Very low fat    &&    Grain-free    &&    Vegan option

Giving up grains does not have to mean giving up bread! At least, if your definition of bread is a little flexible. I can’t say I have a recipe for sourdough or a nice crusty french baguette that will fool you into thinking you’re eating regular wheat flour bread, but this chickpea flour bread still unmistakably bready, and versatile enough to fill in just about wherever you need it. It’s light enough to use for a sandwich, and perfect for topping with chutneys or spreads and dipping into soups. My partner (human, with no dietary restrictions) isn’t really a fan of beans (I still don’t know how that’s possible), but he voluntarily gave this bread a taste; he said it’s “passable” and he’d eat it without complaint if served to him… coming from him, that’s a big success!

A couple of the keys to making this recipe work so well are the milk and the roasted yam (always!). You can still make bread if you use water instead of milk and omit the yam, but the bread will be a bit more dry and will taste more reminiscent of beans, so I recommend using milk and yam if at all possible. At this point I’ve just been keeping some roasted yam in my fridge at the ready at all times, since it’s so useful in baking with 100% chickpea flour. It’s super convenient to have handy whenever the need to bake strikes me, and it’s also tasty on its own, mixed into some dal, or as a side in a larger meal if I find I have extra leftover.

Lately I’ve been craving a good savory, juicy sandwich (which is a little weird because I’m not normally much of a sandwich person), so I used the flat bread recipe below to build a reasonable facsimile of a caprese sandwich (see further below): tomatoes, basil, strained low fat cottage cheese (in place of the fresh mozzarella), and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, plus a extra sprinkle of salt and pepper for good measure. In my pre-cyborg days when I tolerated fat better but not at all tomatoes, I’d make myself caprese salads and sandwiches with fresh mozzarella but subbing thick slices of roasted beet for the tomato; it’s not exactly the same, but it’s quite delicious in its own right. Try it out if you can’t have tomatoes, or if you want a new spin on a classic caprese.

I’m hoping to develop a grain-free yeasted loaf bread recipe, and I think I’m close to having a 100% chickpea flour quick-bread that could be sliced and used like sandwich bread too. Stay tuned!

Chickpea Flour Flat Bread

Makes six 4″x 4″ “slices”, or two large naan-style flat breads

Note: About 1h 30 mins total time, including 1 hour rise time.

Bits:

• 1 cup nonfat milk, warmed to about 110ºF (warm to the touch, but not hot; I microwaved a cup of cold milk from the fridge for about 40 seconds) (Substitute plant-based milk for vegan option)
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 tsp (half packet) active dry yeast
• 270 g (2 ¼ cups) chickpea flour
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 90 g (about ½ cup) roasted, mashed yam (optional, but recommended)

Algorithm:

In a small bowl, combine milk, sugar, and yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes for the yeast to wake up. If using water instead of milk, you should see some foam on the surface, but foam will be harder to see if using milk.

Sift the chickpea flour into a medium mixing bowl. Add the salt and cumin, and mix through. Pour in the milk-yeast mixture and add the mashed roasted yam into the chickpea flour and stir gently by hand until you get a very wet dough.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot for 1 hour; the dough will rise a bit, but not quite double in volume.

Put a large baking sheet into the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF.

Tear off a large piece of parchment paper about the size of your baking sheet and set it on the counter. Take a large pinch or two of chickpea flour and rub it around the surface of the parchment paper; a very fine layer should stick; discard excess flour.

For “sandwich bread” squares, pictured above, scoop the dough out onto the parchment. With a rubber spatula, spread the dough out into a large thin rectangle, about 8″ x 12″ and 1/4″ thick. For large naan-style flat breads, scoop the dough into two equal mounds on the parchment paper. With a rubber spatula, spread the dough out into ovals about a 1/2″ thick.

When the oven is done heating to 425ºF, remove the baking sheet, slide the parchment with the dough on it onto the sheet, and place back in the oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until top is fully set, but don’t let it brown. Remove from oven and let cool on the hot baking sheet for 10 minutes. For sandwich bread, slice into six equal 4″x4″ squares (and slice off any rough edges, if you’d like). Top as desired, and enjoy!