Beetroot & goats cheese bread

This recipe is based on an Ottolenghi bread which I have amended to make it dairy free (apart from the eggs),gluten free and yeast free.

It's particularly good with home made soup. I tend to make two at a time and slice up the second loaf to put in freezer so I can defrost one piece at a time.

Ingredients

50g gluten free rolled oats

20g thyme leaves, finely chopped

50g pumpkin seeds

100g Buckwheat flour

100g ground gluten free oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

¹/₄ teaspoon baking soda

1 pinch salt

2 medium beetroot, peeled and finely grated (2 cups or 200 g)

2 eggs

80ml olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon extra for greasing

80g goat’s yogurt

120g young and creamy goat cheese, roughly broken into 3/4-inch/2cm pieces

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease an 8 x 4-inch/20 x 10cm loaf pan and line with parchment paper.

2. Mix the oats, thyme and pumpkin seeds in a small bowl. Put the buckwheat flour and ground oats into a separate bowl with the baking powder, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Whisk to combine and aerate, then add the grated beet and all but 1 tablespoon of the oat and seed mix. Don't stir the mixture; just set it aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and goats yogurt. Pour over the flour and beetroot mixture, then, using a spatula, mix to combine. Add the goat cheese and carefully fold through, trying not to break the pieces as you go.

4. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oat and seed mix. Bake for 40 minutes, then cover tightly with foil and bake for another 40 minutes. A skewer inserted into the middle will not come out completely clean, but it should not be too wet. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and invert the bread so it is resting seed side up. The exterior will be quite crisp and dark.

5. Cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.