Hello everyone, this is Jewels, one half of Liz and Jewels, but you may also know me as Julia Cawley or simply one of the ladies who writes the new Food In Motion column here on decor8. This month, for our second column, I'll show you how to make gluten- free vegan bread from my Brooklyn kitchen in a very "German" style. I have never been too successful with baking bread in the past, have you? Last time I tried, I confused yeast with baking powder and wondered why the bread didn’t rise. But even when I do follow the recipe step by step, it doesn’t taste as good as what I can buy at a German bakery - because I'm from Germany and if you've ever been there and "experienced" our bread - well, you'd understand what I mean! Here in New York, good bread is a little harder to come by but I found a couple of places that sell some. Most of it is white though, like a German Hausbrot. What seems impossible to find is a grainy, hearty, dark, and healthy bread. I am not vegan, nor do I need to eat gluten-free, but I am a big fan of eating healthily and as Holly spoke about last week in her Healthy Living post, it's important to make healthy choices as often as possible because good food really affects how we feel.

The bread shown below in this little video that I made for you, which I originally found on the blog My New Roots and modified to fit my taste buds, is high in protein, super high in fiber and is full of delicious nuts, oats, and seeds. I believe that this bread is the healthiest kind of bread you can put in your belly. Over here in New York, people think that eating bread is a very unhealthy thing to do, and this is probably true for the soft, light, and fluffy breads you can buy at a super market. The difference about this bread is that it contains Psyllium Seed Husks. They also hold the bread together since the recipe doesn’t contain any flour or eggs. Psyllium Seed Husks are a great source of fiber; they reduce your cholesterol levels, aid digestion, and help with weight loss.

The other cool thing about this bread is that there is no kneading, waiting, more kneading, or anything like that involved. You just put all ingredients in the baking pan, then wait if you want to, for however long you want to, or not at all, then bake it and it’s done!

German Style Gluten-Free Vegan Bread Recipe:

2/3 cups of almonds (or any other kind of nut) 1/2 cup of flax seeds 1 cup of sunflower seeds 4 tablespoons of psyllium seed husks (this bread can’t do without, so you can’t substitute it with anything else!) 2 tablespoons of chia seeds 1,5 cups of rolled oats 1,5 teaspoons of salt 3 tablespoons of maple sirup (or honey) 3 tablespoons of ghee (or coconut oil) 1,5 cups of water

In a baking pan combine all dry ingredients and stir well. Mix the sirup with the ghee and add it to the pan. Lastly, add the water and mix everything with your hands until all dry ingredients are soaked. Smooth out the top and let it sit until it becomes very hard (two hours, a day or overnight). Bake the bread for 20mins at 350° F (175° C). Remove the loaf from the pan, turn it upside down and bake it for another 30mins. Let it cool down completely before slicing it! I added butter and jam - yum!

I hope you find this bread to be as delicious as I do! Enjoy! And next month we'll be back with a summer-y recipe and video for you to enjoy. Until then... - Julia.

(video + photo: julia cawley)