If you're into healthy food blogs this bread won't be new to you. I have seen it pop up on every blog I follow but I think I first read about it on Sarah Britton's vibrant blog My New Roots. She calls it life changing loaf of bread and it really is. The concept intrigued me but I couldn't ever find psyllium, which is an essential ingredient of this vegan protein-rich bread without flour. Since there's no flour AND no eggs in it, there must be something else holding it together, and that's psyllium. When I finally found psyllium I still needed a gentle nudge to try the recipe, sometimes I'm just so cautious, which is really weird since I love experimenting in the kitchen.
This vegan protein bread is dense but not in a bad way - it's just bursting with flavor and nutrients. And it also does a great job inspiring you to make more healthy choices which Sarah Britton is all about. It sure inspired me to make a very healthy vegan toast with spinach, avocado and black salt, and then also a sweet little version with persimmon. I wish I could bite into any of those two right now!
Since I didn't adapt her recipe, I will send you off to Sarah's blog (you can also buy her book full of similarly genius ideas here), but when the protein bread is baked, come back and check my two toasts, ok?:)
Avocado spinach and black salt toast
Avocado toast was such a revelation for me! I love avocado and putting it on toast just makes it so much better - from a mere fruit it becomes a whole meal. Black salt is also a wonderful addition to a vegan diet (or any other, except for low sodium diet maybe) if you can find it. Avocado and black salt make a delicious combo that may remind some of you of boiled eggs (the creamy texture of avocado+the slightly sulphury taste of black salt). If you don't have black salt, try using gomashio instead (or even just sea/Himalayan salt).2 pieces Sarah's protein bread
a little knob vegan butter (optional)
a few leaves baby spinach
half avocado
pinch black salt
Toast the bread on the grill so it gets nice grill marks.
While it's toasting, wash and dry the spinach leaves and peel and slice the avocado.
Butter the bread, place spinach leaves on it, top with avocado slices and a pinch of black salt.
Persimmon vegan toast
This is so simple but so so good! Persimmons are naturally so sweet they are like natures preserves. No sugar needed here! Just be sure you buy Fuyu persimmon for this toast. "You need to know which you're dealing with: while non-astringent varieties can be eaten, firm and crisp, while barely ripe, the astringent kind – rich, sweet, spicy – are mouth-puckeringly tart until fully ripe. Fortunately, it's not hard to tell when a Hachiya persimmon is ripe, a process that may take several weeks: they should be so soft that their sweet, almost jelly-like, flesh practically bursts through their skins" says The Guardian.
a knob of coconut butter/oil or vegan butter
Half Fuyu persimmon (the hard variety)
Toast the bread, spread some butter or coconut oil on it and top with ripe Fuyu persimmon. A dash of vanilla powder might be nice if you're feeling extra fancy.
