Gluten-free Soda Bread

A quick, easy recipe for a delicious nutty bread with a great texture, especially good toasted

Makes one 400g loaf

400g in total of gluten-free flours, grains and seeds of your choice: feel free to experiment, use what you have and add seeds eg linseeds (flaxseeds), poppy, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin
My current favourite blends are:

1. 150g buckwheat flour, 100g rice flour, 100g oatmeal, 50g porridge oats (for a texture and flavour like Irish soda bread, but be careful if you are intolerant of oats)
2. 80g buckwheat flour, 120g tapioca flour, 80g potato flour, 40g teff flour, 20g amaranth grain, 60g polenta
3. 100g buckwheat flour, 50g rice flour, 50g tapioca flour, 50g potato flour, 50g polenta, 30g teff flour, 30g sorghum flour, 20g amaranth grain, 20g maize flour

Mix your chosen blend together well in a large bowl, adding 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1tsp salt.

In a separate bowl, beat one egg into 300ml buttermilk, natural yogurt, or milk soured with about 1tsp of lemon juice. Dissolve 3 tsp psyllium husk in a scant 250ml water (this is the essential ingredient that binds everything together; it is widely available in health food stores or online).

Add the liquids to the flour mix and blend everything together thoroughly. Line a large loaf pan with baking paper and tip the dough into the tin. Sprinkle a few more seeds on top if you wish. Bake at 180-200˚C for 30-45 minutes, until the base of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool completely then store in the baking paper and foil.

Skye Beans

A quick, satisfying dish for a cold wet passage in Scotland or anywhere

Serves 1

1 teaspoon Marmite dissolved in a little hot water
1 small tin (200g) baked beans
50g strong cheese, cut into small cubes

Mix the dissolved Marmite into the beans in a small pan over a medium heat, stir in the cheese cubes and warm until the cheese begins to melt and the liquid is bubbling gently.

Serve in a bowl with a spoon and some hot buttered toast.