Bread Rolls (Gluten and sugar Free)

 

Missing my hubby and kids while away from home, coupled with feeling the urge to dig into something processed carb for one of the few times in my health and weight loss journey of the past 8 months and being processed bread free during this period, I decided to test out my mom's oven and the recipe that I picked off a low carb forum earlier on in my journey, thinking that I would make this often and having tried it twice before in the recent past. Thankfully my gluten free cupboard space in my moms' kitchen had all the required ingredients.

Tapioca flour, produced from the cassava or manioc root, both which look like an elongated sweet potato, is one of the purest forms of starch.  I recall my great dad (now departed) telling me many years ago that his forefathers whom were Brahmins (a caste in Hinduism), relied on cassava as their staple source of starch due to it's purity. Traditionally, my family uses cassava often in some form especially during the preparation of food during our festival and prayer periods.   In chatting with my friends from the diaspora and especially those who work migrantly in Johannesburg, they regard cassava as a staple starch too and often bring it into the country at great risk - who would think that cassava would be treated as border control contraband?

According to Wikipedia, Tapioca consists predominantly of carbohydrates, with each cup containing 135g for a total of 544 calories and is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.  Folic acid is present, along with iron and calcium.  One cup of tapioca flour also includes omega-3-acids, omega-6-fatty acids and dietary fibre.  Tapioca remains one of the healthiest foods.

The chia flour addition to these rolls provided a somewhat nutty and sweet flavor and when baked, the rolls turned out pretty much crispy outside, yet soft and chewy inside. I will be trying out this recipe with other gluten free flours in the days to come to test how they blend and taste. The pepper and sesame seeds added the savory flavor.


Ingredients

1 cup tapioca flour

1/3 cup of chia flour or ground chia seeds.

1/2 cup of olive oil.

1/2 cup of warm water

1 egg ,whisked.

1/2 cup of sesame seeds.

Freshly ground salt and pepper

 

Here's How

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

•  Combine the tapioca flour and chia flour in a bowl.

•  Gradually add the water and oil, stirring, until a sticky paste forms.



•  Add the whisked egg and continue to stir.

•  Now for the flavour! Add your sesame seeds and freshly cracked salt and pepper. You may add dried herbs and spices as per your taste preference.



•  With wet hands, roll handfuls of mixture, into your desired shapes, noting that the batter may be difficult to manipulate on your first attempt.

•  On a lined baking tray place each roll with a space between each other.

•  Sprinkle each roll with some extra sesame seeds and a little more salt, if you so desire.

•  Place into the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown and your sesame seeds are toasted on top.  

•  Best served immediately with a dollop of ghee or nut-butter or home-made soup!

This recipe makes 6-8 bread rolls