Tomorrow, I’ll be flying from Toronto to Vancouver and then from Vancouver to Portland, on my merry way to the Vida Vegan Conference! I seriously can’t wait. In my typical fashion, I’ve been dealing with a lot of anxiety about this trip, but I’m sure I’ll be having too much fun to even notice it. I mean, come on – it’s Portland – only one of the most vegan friendly cities in the world! I’m looking forward to meeting the wonderful people behind many of the blogs I read each day.
Of course, before all the fun happens the traveling has to take place. If I’m going to be traveling for 9-10 hours, I want to have something exciting to look forward to (and of course I mean healthy, great-tasting food). What is it about being trapped on a plane that makes me so hungry? With just a little preparation, I’ll be feasting like a queen. A good book, music, and in-flight TV never hurts either!
This week I racked my brain to think of a new food to bring on the flights. At first, I thought of my Endurance Crackers, but then I decided they were slightly too delicate for travel. I played around with the recipe and this is what I came up with. I’m happy to say this power bread turned out exactly as I hoped. It’s bursting with chia seeds (1 tablespoon per slice!) and it also happens to be gluten and nut-free, making it friendly for many travelers. Best of all, it’s perfectly sturdy for travel.
Plus, it’s only 5 minutes to prep which is a huge bonus, especially when getting ready for a flight. Just like my Endurance Crackers, you simply dump the ingredients into a bowl and stir in water. After that, I spread it into a 9-inch baking dish and baked it for 25 minutes.
Now this is some quick and easy bread – ready in 30 minutes flat! It disappears just as quickly. Try it with all kinds of toppings. I personally love hummus, avocado, and Herbamare as well as almond butter and strawberry jam.
Super Power Chia Bread
Yield
4 slices
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Thick, hearty, and dense – this isn’t your average slice of bread! Packed with 9 grams of protein and over 7 grams of fibre per slice, this bread will keep you going for hours. Inspired by Endurance Crackers.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds*
- 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats, ground into a flour
- 1/4 cup raw buckwheat groats, ground into a flour (or more oat flour)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1 cup water
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325°F and line a 9-inch square pan with two pieces of parchment paper, one going each way.
- Add rolled oats and buckwheat into a high-speed blender. Blend on highest speed until a fine flour forms.
- Add all dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir well until combined. Stir in the water and quickly scoop this mixture into your prepared pan. Spread it out with a spatula as evenly as possible. You can use lightly wet hands to smooth it down if necessary. Sprinkle the bread with Herbamare or fine grain sea salt before going into the oven.
- Bake at 325°F for about 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then lift it out and transfer it to a cooling rack for another 5-10 minutes. Slice and enjoy!
- This bread keeps for 2-3 days max – any longer and it gets gummy in texture. I suggest freezing it for enduring freshness. I like to toast it straight from the freezer!
Tip:
1) I made a batch without sunflower seeds and it still turned out great. I’m sure you can play around with the seeds (or even add nuts!) and reduce them if desired.
2) A reader successfully made a batch using brown rice flour and quinoa flour- I’m sure you can play around with the flours too.
3) I’m not yet sure how long this stays fresh for – my guess is a couple days. However, I expect it should freeze well, but I have yet to try it. I’ll update this when I do and be sure to leave your own tips in the comments section!
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
I hope this bread brightens up your own travels or busts you out of a lunch or breakfast rut. I’d love your feedback on this recipe if you try it out or make other variations.
If you’d like to check out what I’m up to at the conference, you will most likely find me on Instagram documenting my journey. If you are attending the conference, I hope to meet you soon! Please come say hello!
What are your favourite foods to pack on a flight?
Omg awesome! My bf was just asking me to make the chia crackers and I clicked on your site to find this!!!! Woo hoo!
This looks awesome! I’m going to Ireland and Scotland in a few weeks and wanted to find new recipes to try for the trip over. In Denver, our airport has a restaurant that makes awesome lemon hummus that I always get before a flight (as it’s the only real vegan option with protein). They serve it with veggies and pita chips (though they set the pita on the same cutting board with meat) so I ask for extra cucumbers and cornichons instead. I think I’ll make this bread and use it to dip in the hummus this time! I also hate to admit to this, but my favorite snack to eat while flying is gummy bears (they make vegan ones sweetened with agave but it’s still sugar). It’s the only time I really eat them but they’re just so good!
Just made this delish bread – yum! Next time I’m going to try sreading it out into a circle (slightly thinner) and bake it on a pizza stone so it’s more like a cracker/pizza crust….will keep you posted…
I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your candid mentioning of anxiety. When I first started struggling with anxiety, the shame I felt about it was almost as bad as the issue itself. Its so helpful and heartening to me to see a positive role model like yourself putting it out there that its something you deal with from time to time, and it makes me feel much less alone! I also think its brave of you.
Have fun on your trip!
I can’t wait to try this. Do you think i could use ground flax instead of chia? I don’t have access to chia seeds where I live, unfortunately.
Have an amazing time at the conference Ange!! I can’t wait to hear all about it and I’m sure it’ll be a wonderful experience. Great job on this recipe. I’m addicted to avocado right now so that sounds like the perfect topper! :)
I just made this and it turned out amazing!! Thank you sooo much, its just what I was looking for!!!
This looks like some seriously healthy, good-for-you bread! I need to work this into the lineup! I’ve been into chia seeds again after not using them for 3-4 yrs..I dont know why, I just sort of forgot about them. This would be the perfect use for them!
Thanks for the recipe share! I’ve been wanting a GF bread that is not full of added starches.
If you have some free time to explore in Portland, you should check out the vegan mall. It’s a vegan bakery, grocery store, clothing shop, and tattoo shop on one block. SE 12th & Stark!
I just made this and it is GOOD! The photo with the hummus and avocado inspired me so I made hummus, too.
I’m thinking this might also be good “bike ride food” to stuff in my jersey pockets on 50+ milers….
Thanks! Love your blog!
:)
-Kate
Angela, I’ve been following your blog for over a year now…and I’ve made many of your recipes…always a success (and I am a tough critic of recipes!). I’m going on a cruise tomorrow and I made the last minute energy bars, the gluten fee crackers, the happy trails adventure cookies and the endurance crackers. I had to comment when I read your entry about the crackers being too fragile for travel. I just layered them and the other crackers in a ziplock container and they look like they’ll be fine! My motheris gluten free and she is going to love all the snacks. Thanks again for making such a great blog with perfect recipes and great photography! Bon voyage!!
That’s so great to know! Thanks for trying everything out and bon voyage!
I just made this bread but substituted cinnamon for the Herbs and added in some organic dried cranberries and a few chopped dates. SO GOOD!! Making it a sweeter version limits my possibilities for toppings, but I didn’t have any oregano or thyme on hand. The bread is absolutely delicious with almond butter.
I made this tonight! Delicious. I didn’t have any sunflower seeds so I substituted sliced almonds (which I roughly chopped). So good… Thank you so much for the creative, delicious, inspiring recipes.
My nerd is showing, but I have to say: the first thing I thought was “It’s Lembas!” I wonder if it keeps one as full for as long? You’ll have to let us know:)
http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Lembas
These turned out so good! My hubs and I have almost polished off all of the slices :) I subbed quinoa flour and brown rice flour, and it’s delish! Thanks for posting!
Great subs, thanks for the tip!!
These look amazing! I will be heading to a camping road trip this weekend and can’t wait to make them. Also, welcome to Portland! I’m from here and am vegan but didn’t even know about the conference, so will look it up! I am so inspired by you! Thanks for all you do!
What a creative recipe. I am quite intrigued by it. I think I’ll give it a try this weekend!!
Thanks for the recipe. Will definitely try this on the weekend.
Hello! I just made this bread and it taste delish but had a question about the mixture. Once you’ve added the water is the mixture supposed to be really runny? As in really, really runny? I decided to thicken it up with chickpea flour and cornstarch just in case I’d done something wrong, and it still came out nice and tasty!
Hey Laura, it is runny at first and then it thickens up quickly from the chia seeds. I will clarify this in the recipe – either way it will turn out! Thanks for trying it and letting me know how it went!
I love your endurance crackers, so I know I’ll love this recipe too! It looks like a great energy-dense snack for hiking this summer.
I hope you have a great time at the conference – I can’t wait to hear all about it!