In the fall of 2016, I posted a recipe for curried apple and egg salad . It was pictured piled atop slices of quinoa-flax bread, a recipe I couldn’t yet share because it, or a variation of it, would appear in Bread Toast Crumbs the following April.
I’ve been meaning to share the recipe ever since BTC made its way into the world because it’s one of my favorites—of the 40 variations of the peasant bread included in the book, this (along with a variation of the focaccia ) is the one I make most often.
Like all of the bread recipes in BTC , this one is simple—stir together dry ingredients, add wet, mix to form a sticky dough ball. There is no need to cook the quinoa before adding it to the dough, and I love how it, along with the flax seed, punctuate the loaves with red and brown specks, offering the loveliest crunch throughout.
I prefer making 1.5 times the recipe in BTC and baking it in loaf pans, because we go through it so quickly: my husband and I toast this bread for breakfast nearly every day—it’s so filling and satisfying.
As always: for best results use a scale to measure the ingredients. More than anything else, a scale will make bread baking a breeze.
Quinoa and flax seeds. No need to cook the quinoa ahead of time. I don’t rinse it anymore either. I love using the red quinoa because it looks so pretty in the finished loaf, but you can use any kind of quinoa you have on hand.
The mixed dough should be wet and sticky but should be able to hold together in a rough ball.
Let it rise:
Divide the dough:
Place in buttered loaf pans:
Let it rise again:
Bake it:
Here’s another step-by-step visual guide. This dough I mixed at night before going to sleep, so I used cold water and 1 teaspoon yeast. On the left is the dough destined for loaf pans; on the right is the dough destined for Pyrex bowls . Tip: You can do the long (12 to 18 hours), overnight rise with any bread you bake by simply cutting back the yeast to 1/2 or 1 teaspoon and using cold water in place of lukewarm—just keep in mind that the second rise will take much longer. You have to be patient—when the dough crowns the rim of the vessel it is in, it’s ready for the oven.
Delicious with soft-boiled eggs :
And a pinch of dukkah :
Also delicious as the base of a beet and avocado tartine :
Bread in the kitchen! Almost there … waiting on the hood and some shelves and some molding. I’ll keep you posted. Update: Kitchen is done: Kitchen Reveal.
Description
Adapted from my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs .
This is essentially 1.5 times the recipe in BTC . It’s baked in two buttered loaf pans (as opposed to two Pyrex bowls ). I love it toasted for breakfast smeared with butter and salt or almond butter — it’s so filling and satisfying. See notes below for baking it in 2 Pyrex bowls.
- To create a warm place for your dough to rise, preheat your oven for 1 minute, then shut it off—you should be able to place your hands on the oven grates; it should be about 100ºF.
- 6 cups ( 768 g ) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ( 15 g ) kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ( 12 g ) sugar
- 2½ teaspoons ( 10 g ) instant yeast
- 3/4 cup ( 132 g ) red quinoa
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons ( 52 g ) flax seed or ground flax seed
- 3 cups ( 681 g ) lukewarm water, made my combining 2.25 cups cold water with .75 cups boiling water
- 1/3 cup ( 66 g ) olive oil
- 2 to 3 tablespoons softened butter
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add quinoa and flax seeds and toss to coat. Add the water followed by the oil. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the flour is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball.
- Cover bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot* to rise for 1½ to 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in bulk.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease two loaf pans with the softened butter—be generous. Using two forks, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling it towards the center. Rotate the bowl quarter turns as you deflate, turning the mass into a rough ball as you bring it towards the center.
- Using your two forks and working from the center out, separate the dough into two equal halves. Use the forks to lift each half of dough into the prepared pans. If the dough is too wet to transfer with forks, lightly grease your hands with butter or oil, then transfer each half to bowls. Let the dough rise for 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop near the oven (or other warm, draft-free spot) or until the top of the dough just crowns the rim of the pans.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden all around. Remove bowls from oven and turn loaves out onto cooling racks. If the loaves look pale or feel soft, return them to their pans, and bake 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven, turn out onto cooling rack, and let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
Notes
If using two buttered Pyrex bowls, use these proportions:
4 cups (512 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
½ cup red quinoa
¼ cup flax seed
2 cups lukewarm water, made my combining 1.5 cups cold water with .5 cups boiling water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons softened butter
Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Category: Bread
Method: No-Knead
Cuisine: American
In the fall of 2016, I posted a recipe for curried apple and egg salad . It was pictured piled atop slices of quinoa-flax bread, a recipe I couldn’t yet share because it, or a variation of it, would appear in Bread Toast Crumbs the following April.
I’ve been meaning to share the recipe ever since BTC made its way into the world because it’s one of my favorites—of the 40 variations of the peasant bread included in the book, this (along with a variation of the focaccia ) is the one I make most often.
Like all of the bread recipes in BTC , this one is simple—stir together dry ingredients, add wet, mix to form a sticky dough ball. There is no need to cook the quinoa before adding it to the dough, and I love how it, along with the flax seed, punctuate the loaves with red and brown specks, offering the loveliest crunch throughout.
I prefer making 1.5 times the recipe in BTC and baking it in loaf pans, because we go through it so quickly: my husband and I toast this bread for breakfast nearly every day—it’s so filling and satisfying.
As always: for best results use a scale to measure the ingredients. More than anything else, a scale will make bread baking a breeze.
Quinoa and flax seeds. No need to cook the quinoa ahead of time. I don’t rinse it anymore either. I love using the red quinoa because it looks so pretty in the finished loaf, but you can use any kind of quinoa you have on hand.
The mixed dough should be wet and sticky but should be able to hold together in a rough ball.
Let it rise:
Divide the dough:
Place in buttered loaf pans:
Let it rise again:
Bake it:
Here’s another step-by-step visual guide. This dough I mixed at night before going to sleep, so I used cold water and 1 teaspoon yeast. On the left is the dough destined for loaf pans; on the right is the dough destined for Pyrex bowls . Tip: You can do the long (12 to 18 hours), overnight rise with any bread you bake by simply cutting back the yeast to 1/2 or 1 teaspoon and using cold water in place of lukewarm—just keep in mind that the second rise will take much longer. You have to be patient—when the dough crowns the rim of the vessel it is in, it’s ready for the oven.
Delicious with soft-boiled eggs :
And a pinch of dukkah :
Also delicious as the base of a beet and avocado tartine :
Bread in the kitchen! Almost there … waiting on the hood and some shelves and some molding. I’ll keep you posted. Update: Kitchen is done: Kitchen Reveal.
Description
Adapted from my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs .
This is essentially 1.5 times the recipe in BTC . It’s baked in two buttered loaf pans (as opposed to two Pyrex bowls ). I love it toasted for breakfast smeared with butter and salt or almond butter — it’s so filling and satisfying. See notes below for baking it in 2 Pyrex bowls.
- To create a warm place for your dough to rise, preheat your oven for 1 minute, then shut it off—you should be able to place your hands on the oven grates; it should be about 100ºF.
- 6 cups ( 768 g ) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ( 15 g ) kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ( 12 g ) sugar
- 2½ teaspoons ( 10 g ) instant yeast
- 3/4 cup ( 132 g ) red quinoa
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons ( 52 g ) flax seed or ground flax seed
- 3 cups ( 681 g ) lukewarm water, made my combining 2.25 cups cold water with .75 cups boiling water
- 1/3 cup ( 66 g ) olive oil
- 2 to 3 tablespoons softened butter
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add quinoa and flax seeds and toss to coat. Add the water followed by the oil. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the flour is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball.
- Cover bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot* to rise for 1½ to 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in bulk.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease two loaf pans with the softened butter—be generous. Using two forks, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling it towards the center. Rotate the bowl quarter turns as you deflate, turning the mass into a rough ball as you bring it towards the center.
- Using your two forks and working from the center out, separate the dough into two equal halves. Use the forks to lift each half of dough into the prepared pans. If the dough is too wet to transfer with forks, lightly grease your hands with butter or oil, then transfer each half to bowls. Let the dough rise for 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop near the oven (or other warm, draft-free spot) or until the top of the dough just crowns the rim of the pans.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden all around. Remove bowls from oven and turn loaves out onto cooling racks. If the loaves look pale or feel soft, return them to their pans, and bake 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven, turn out onto cooling rack, and let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
Notes
If using two buttered Pyrex bowls, use these proportions:
4 cups (512 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
½ cup red quinoa
¼ cup flax seed
2 cups lukewarm water, made my combining 1.5 cups cold water with .5 cups boiling water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons softened butter
Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Category: Bread
Method: No-Knead
Cuisine: American
In the fall of 2016, I posted a recipe for curried apple and egg salad . It was pictured piled atop slices of quinoa-flax bread, a recipe I couldn’t yet share because it, or a variation of it, would appear in Bread Toast Crumbs the following April.
I’ve been meaning to share the recipe ever since BTC made its way into the world because it’s one of my favorites—of the 40 variations of the peasant bread included in the book, this (along with a variation of the focaccia ) is the one I make most often.
Like all of the bread recipes in BTC , this one is simple—stir together dry ingredients, add wet, mix to form a sticky dough ball. There is no need to cook the quinoa before adding it to the dough, and I love how it, along with the flax seed, punctuate the loaves with red and brown specks, offering the loveliest crunch throughout.
I prefer making 1.5 times the recipe in BTC and baking it in loaf pans, because we go through it so quickly: my husband and I toast this bread for breakfast nearly every day—it’s so filling and satisfying.
As always: for best results use a scale to measure the ingredients. More than anything else, a scale will make bread baking a breeze.
Quinoa and flax seeds. No need to cook the quinoa ahead of time. I don’t rinse it anymore either. I love using the red quinoa because it looks so pretty in the finished loaf, but you can use any kind of quinoa you have on hand.
The mixed dough should be wet and sticky but should be able to hold together in a rough ball.
Let it rise:
Divide the dough:
Place in buttered loaf pans:
Let it rise again:
Bake it:
Here’s another step-by-step visual guide. This dough I mixed at night before going to sleep, so I used cold water and 1 teaspoon yeast. On the left is the dough destined for loaf pans; on the right is the dough destined for Pyrex bowls . Tip: You can do the long (12 to 18 hours), overnight rise with any bread you bake by simply cutting back the yeast to 1/2 or 1 teaspoon and using cold water in place of lukewarm—just keep in mind that the second rise will take much longer. You have to be patient—when the dough crowns the rim of the vessel it is in, it’s ready for the oven.
Delicious with soft-boiled eggs :
And a pinch of dukkah :
Also delicious as the base of a beet and avocado tartine :
Bread in the kitchen! Almost there … waiting on the hood and some shelves and some molding. I’ll keep you posted. Update: Kitchen is done: Kitchen Reveal.
Description
Adapted from my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs .
This is essentially 1.5 times the recipe in BTC . It’s baked in two buttered loaf pans (as opposed to two Pyrex bowls ). I love it toasted for breakfast smeared with butter and salt or almond butter — it’s so filling and satisfying. See notes below for baking it in 2 Pyrex bowls.
- To create a warm place for your dough to rise, preheat your oven for 1 minute, then shut it off—you should be able to place your hands on the oven grates; it should be about 100ºF.
- 6 cups ( 768 g ) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ( 15 g ) kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ( 12 g ) sugar
- 2½ teaspoons ( 10 g ) instant yeast
- 3/4 cup ( 132 g ) red quinoa
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons ( 52 g ) flax seed or ground flax seed
- 3 cups ( 681 g ) lukewarm water, made my combining 2.25 cups cold water with .75 cups boiling water
- 1/3 cup ( 66 g ) olive oil
- 2 to 3 tablespoons softened butter
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add quinoa and flax seeds and toss to coat. Add the water followed by the oil. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the flour is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball.
- Cover bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot* to rise for 1½ to 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in bulk.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease two loaf pans with the softened butter—be generous. Using two forks, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling it towards the center. Rotate the bowl quarter turns as you deflate, turning the mass into a rough ball as you bring it towards the center.
- Using your two forks and working from the center out, separate the dough into two equal halves. Use the forks to lift each half of dough into the prepared pans. If the dough is too wet to transfer with forks, lightly grease your hands with butter or oil, then transfer each half to bowls. Let the dough rise for 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop near the oven (or other warm, draft-free spot) or until the top of the dough just crowns the rim of the pans.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden all around. Remove bowls from oven and turn loaves out onto cooling racks. If the loaves look pale or feel soft, return them to their pans, and bake 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven, turn out onto cooling rack, and let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
Notes
If using two buttered Pyrex bowls, use these proportions:
4 cups (512 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
½ cup red quinoa
¼ cup flax seed
2 cups lukewarm water, made my combining 1.5 cups cold water with .5 cups boiling water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons softened butter
Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Category: Bread
Method: No-Knead
Cuisine: American
Description
Adapted from my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs .
This is essentially 1.5 times the recipe in BTC . It’s baked in two buttered loaf pans (as opposed to two Pyrex bowls ). I love it toasted for breakfast smeared with butter and salt or almond butter — it’s so filling and satisfying. See notes below for baking it in 2 Pyrex bowls.
- To create a warm place for your dough to rise, preheat your oven for 1 minute, then shut it off—you should be able to place your hands on the oven grates; it should be about 100ºF.
- 6 cups ( 768 g ) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ( 15 g ) kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ( 12 g ) sugar
- 2½ teaspoons ( 10 g ) instant yeast
- 3/4 cup ( 132 g ) red quinoa
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons ( 52 g ) flax seed or ground flax seed
- 3 cups ( 681 g ) lukewarm water, made my combining 2.25 cups cold water with .75 cups boiling water
- 1/3 cup ( 66 g ) olive oil
- 2 to 3 tablespoons softened butter
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add quinoa and flax seeds and toss to coat. Add the water followed by the oil. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the flour is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball.
- Cover bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot* to rise for 1½ to 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in bulk.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease two loaf pans with the softened butter—be generous. Using two forks, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling it towards the center. Rotate the bowl quarter turns as you deflate, turning the mass into a rough ball as you bring it towards the center.
- Using your two forks and working from the center out, separate the dough into two equal halves. Use the forks to lift each half of dough into the prepared pans. If the dough is too wet to transfer with forks, lightly grease your hands with butter or oil, then transfer each half to bowls. Let the dough rise for 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop near the oven (or other warm, draft-free spot) or until the top of the dough just crowns the rim of the pans.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden all around. Remove bowls from oven and turn loaves out onto cooling racks. If the loaves look pale or feel soft, return them to their pans, and bake 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven, turn out onto cooling rack, and let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
Notes
If using two buttered Pyrex bowls, use these proportions:
4 cups (512 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
½ cup red quinoa
¼ cup flax seed
2 cups lukewarm water, made my combining 1.5 cups cold water with .5 cups boiling water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons softened butter
Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Category: Bread
Method: No-Knead
Cuisine: American
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2018/02/23/quinoa-flax-toasting-bread/
A few weeks ago, I set out to make the roasted beet and avocado salad from Josh McFadden’s Six Seasons . I was Instagram-storying the process, and when I pulled my beets from the oven only to discover they needed much more time, someone messaged me: “Try cooking beets in your Instant Pot,” she said. “They’ll be done in 30 minutes, and the skins will fly off.”
And so I did. And I’ve been cooking my beets in the Instant Pot ever since. Sometimes I find the beets need a little more than 30 minutes, sometimes less, and, as I’ve discovered with other IP cooking experiments, the IP doesn’t necessarily make the beet-cooking process that much faster: it takes a few minutes for the pot to come to pressure, and then the beets cook for 30 to 35 minutes, and then they cool for another 10. But somehow, as with other IP experiments, the IP makes it feel easier, and I’ve been cooking beets more often because of it.
It looks kind of fancy and fussy, but it’s actually incredibly easy to assemble thanks to a simple trick (see below), and it tastes so good, the rich, creamy avocado a perfect foil for the bright, vinegar-soaked beets.
A few notes:
Beets: Dress them with vinegar when they are still warm. I remember reading this tip in an Ina Garten book several years ago, but a note in Six Seasons reminded me of its importance: “Always dress cooked roots and potatoes while they are still warm. The acidic ingredients will be absorbed more deeply, making your final dish nicely bright.”
I know beets can be polarizing, but if you’re on the fence, try dousing them with vinegar and sea salt—they are irresistible.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot , don’t despair! You can cook beets how we’ve all been cooking beets before the birth of the IP. I like salt-roasting them, but you can steam roast or boil them, too. Notes in the recipe below.
PS: Perfect Instant Pot Brown Rice | Perfect Instant Pot Soft-Boiled Eggs
Here’s how a play-by-play. Place beets in your Instant Pot with 1 cup water:
Secure the lid into place, and turn valve to sealing. Using the manual settings and high pressure, cook the beets for 35 minutes. (This is the one I have: the 6-qt IP Duo .)
Let the valve release naturally for 10 minutes.
Let the beets cool briefly.
Cut off the root end of each beet, then rub off the skins—paper towels helps here.
Slice beets thinly.
Salt them.
Douse them in vinegar.
Mash an avocado or two with salt and lemon.
Meanwhile slice and toast some bread .
Spread the mash over the toast. A pinch of dukkah , if you have it on hand, is nice but totally optional.
Stack the beets and make a slit into the stack.
<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://alexandracooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/addingthebeetrosets.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Toasts topped with beet “roses”. - 83”>
Twist the beets into little horns and arrange on top of the avocados.
Sprinkle with greens and drizzle with olive oil.
Description
If you don’t have an Instant Pot , you can either roast the beets in the oven as here (salt-roasted beet salad with walnuts and goat cheese) or you can simply boil them until they are knife tender or you can steam-roast them: scrub the beets to remove any dirt, place them in small baking dish (a pie plate or an 8- or 9-inch pan), pour in 1/4 cup water, season the beets with salt, cover pan tightly with foil, and bake for about an hour or until the beets are knife tender.
I know “medium-sized” is very vague, but I haven’t been weighing the beets. The ones I’ve been buying have not been massive, but they have not been tiny either. It may take some trial and error to get the timing right and depending on which IP you have, the timing may vary. I have this one: 6-qt IP-Duo .
If you have dukkah on hand, a pinch of it it nice here, but it’s totally optional.
For the Instant-Pot Beets:
- 3 to 4 medium-sized beets, see notes
For the tartine:
- 3 to 4 cooked beets, skins removed
- flaky sea salt, like Maldon, or kosher salt
- white balsamic vinegar
- 1 to 2 ripe avocados
- squeeze of lemon
- 4 slices quinoa-flax bread or other seedy bread
- handful or arugula or pea shoots or micro greens
- drizzle olive oil
- Place steamer insert and 1 cup water in the inner pot of your Instant Pot. Place beets on top of steamer insert. Secure lid in place. Turn valve to Sealing. Select manual, high pressure, and adjust the time to 35 minutes.
- When the time has lapsed, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then turn the valve to venting, carefully remove the lid, carefully remove the beets. A knife should insert into the flesh of the beet easily. If it doesn’t, return beets to pot and cook 5 to 10 minutes longer. Let beets cool for about 5 minutes or until you are able to handle them. Slice off the root end. Use paper towels to rub off the skin.
- Thinly slice the beets. I like to do this on a mandoline, but if this makes you nervous, simply slice the beets thinly with a knife. Transfer them to a shallow bowl and while they are still warm, season them with salt and douse them with vinegar. Set them aside.
- Halve the avocado, remove the pit, transfer the flesh to a bowl and mash with a pinch of sea salt and lemon to taste. Depending on the size of the avocados, you may need 1 or 2. Taste this mixture — it should taste well seasoned, so adjust with salt and lemon as needed.
- Place slices of bread in a toaster or stick them under the broiler (watching closely) until they are lightly toasted. Spread the avocado mash evenly across each slice of toast. Stack the slices of beets into 3 or 4 small piles. Point the tip of your knife into the center of the top beet on one of the stacks, then slice straight down through the stack. Repeat with the remaining stacks.
- Twist each beet into a little horn and nestle onto each avocado-smeared slice of toast until each slice of toast is covered with the beets. Sprinkle a tiny amount of greens over each toast. Drizzle with olive oil. Serve.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 mintues
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
