16 Apr Soaked seed, spelt and oat flatbreads

These were inspired by the crackers and breads in Dearbhla Reynolds book ‘The Cultured club’. She is queen of the fermentation world and suggests soaking nuts and seeds and oats etc before cooking for easier digestion. In this recipe we make the batter and allow it to slightly ferment overnight. This helps to breakdown Phytate, an anti nutrient which interferes with Iron, calcium and magnesium absorption in the gut. The cider vinegar helps this breakdown process. By soaking and allowing the germinating process to begin, the phytates are broken down and this allows the nutrients in the nuts and seeds etc to be released.
These flatbreads are high in protein, good oils and soluble fibre and are perfect served with dips like hummus or just buttered or topped with goats cheese or vegan cheese.

50g porridge oats
100g spelt wholegrain flour
3 tbsp quinoa
3 tbsp psyllium husks
2 tbsp flaxseeds
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
50g whole almonds
3 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil melted
1 tsp sea or Himalayan salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp cider vinegar
200 ml or more water to mix

Heat oven on gas mark 4 or 180 C.
Place all the ingredients except the flour, psyllium and oats, into a food processor and process to break up the nuts and seeds but not finely ground.
Place in a bowl with the other dry ingredients, make a well in the centre and add the oil, vinegar and enough water to make a very thick sticky batter that you couldn’t roll out if you tried.
Cover the top of the bowl with cling film (not touching the batter) and leave on your counter top overnight.

In the morning the batter will have stiffened into a dough and so turn out onto a floured surface and knead for a minute adding more flour if it is too soft to roll out.
Roll into a large thin rectangle and using the side of a spatula slice into squares and place on a lightly greased baking tray – you will need two baking trays to do this.

Bake in the lower part of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned.

Remove from the trays and place on cooling rack to cool.  Store in an airtight tin for a week.