Well guys, here we have my second homemade healthy bread recipe – and this time I’ve given it a little protein kick! As I have mentioned (MANY times), I love toast, especially when it has nut butter on it…! And I’ve taken a big interest this year in coming up with my own recipes for homemade breads and nut butters, so that I can share them with you and hopefully convince you just how easy it is to make them at home!

This recipe is a bit of a variation on my Sweet Potato Chia Oat Loaf posted a few weeks ago, so you’ll be chuffed to know it doesn’t require a huge amount of ingredient changes! I felt like giving the recipe a boost with added vegan protein powder – I was curious to see how the texture and taste would change. Happily, the result was an all-round success, so I’m sharing it with you! I have mentioned the particular vegan protein brand I use in the ingredients list below. As far as I can tell from my protein baking thus far, you can sub this with your own brand you use, provided it is either a rice or pea protein blend. I don’t think whey will substitute the same way from what I’ve read – but Google a conversion if you want to try it!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (Not essential, but I’m experimenting with it in cooking currently!)
• 1 tbsp honey/maple/sweetener of choice (I used Sweet Freedom Choc Shot)
• 1 tbsp raw cacao powder (I use Nua Naturals)
• 1 tbsp whole chia seeds (I use Chia Bia Seeds)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 30g Brown Rice Protein Powder (I used That Protein Brown Rice & Raw Cacao Protein)
• 1 cup almond milk (I use Alpro)
• 1 large sweet potato (approximately 400g weight)
• 150g oats (I use Flahavans Progress Oatlets – you will blend this into oat flour)

Method

1. Cook your sweet potato by roasting in the oven for approximately 30 minutes at 200C fan oven. Alternatively, you can cook by steaming, but I never do that, so I’ll leave this decision to yourselves guys! Either way, before or after you cook it, peel off the skin and set aside to cool.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 190C (fan oven).
3. Measure out the oats, and ground into oat flour using a blender or food processor.
4. Take a large bowl, and add the oat flour to it.
5. Next, add each of your dry ingredients to the oat flour – protein powder, cinnamon, baking powder, cacao powder, and chia seeds.
6. Take a smaller bowl, and add the sweet potato to it. Mash using a fork, OR blend in your food processor to give a puree texture.
7. Now add each of the wet ingredients to the sweet potato – almond milk, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar. Mix until well combined.
8. Now to make your dough! Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients, and get mixing! This does require a bit of an arm workout, so be ready!
9. When you’ve got to a doughy texture, you’re ready to bake! Bear in mind its absolutely fine to add a little more almond milk if your dough is a bit dry when you mix everything together.
10. Line a baking tin with grease-proof paper, and add your dough to it. Smooth it down using the back of a spoon so that the height of the loaf is even and the surface is smooth too.
11. Bake in the oven for approximately 45 minutes. Check at 45 minutes and insert a toothpick into the bread – if it comes out almost completely clean, you’re good to go!
12. Leave to cool for about 2-3 hours before cutting – this is ESSENTIAL. I left mine overnight actually, and it sliced up perfectly the next day! Don’t skip this step – however tempted you are!

Enjoy guys! I am so excited to continue to develop new healthy bread & nut butter recipes for you! I’m thinking Buckwheat/Spelt Bread next, and Pumpkin and/or Hazelnut Butter! Any requests or suggestions just let me know! Tag me if you try this recipe out – @theirishbalance on Instagram!

Ciara 🙂 x