Menopause Bread Recipe
By Terri Nagib of Middle Way Wellness
In honour of World Menopause Month:
Menopause Bread Recipe
This recipe is a wonderful addition to any peri-menopausal or menopausal day. Also known as ‘HRT cake’, traditionally the idea is to take a little time for yourself every day, enjoying a slice or 2 of the bread with a cuppa herbal tea – the perfect pairing!
The bread is gluten-free and dairy-free (depending on the milk and flour you choose) as well as being high in fibre, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and phytoestrogens which are all especially beneficial for supporting hormone health.
Ingredients (you’ll need two standard size loaf tins)
• 2 cups dried fruit (I used raisins and chopped soft apricots, but cranberries or chopped dried dates or prunes also work well)
• 1 & 1/2 cups of porridge oats
• 2 & 1/4 cups of buckwheat flour (You can substitute spelt, soy, rice or oat flour)
• 3/4 cup of ground flaxseeds (linseeds
• 1/2 cup of chopped or flaked almonds
• 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup of sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon (ceylon tastes best!)
• 3/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• 3 pieces of stem ginger – roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon of malt extract or runny honey (optional)
• 1 litre of almond milk (you can substitute with oat or soya milk)
Instructions:
• 1. Pre-heat your oven to 180°.
• 2. Grease and line 2 x 1lb loaf tins (or line with baking parchment)
• 3. Throw all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and mix them.
• 4. Add the chopped stem ginger, dried fruit, the almond milk and the optional malt extract/honey, and immediately stir well, to mix thoroughly.
• 5. Leave to soak for 30min. The mixture should be a textured cake batter consistency. If too stiff, add a very little more milk, but don’t make it too runny.
• 6. Spoon the mixture into the two loaf tins, and gently level off the surface of each cake.
• 7. Place both loaf tins on a baking tray, and pop into the oven. Bake for 50-60mins until golden brown on top, and until a skewer poked in comes out mostly clean.
• Note: It’s a dense bread so it may even take an extra 10 minutes but don’t be too quick to think its underbaked – letting the loaf sit for an hour it will start to firm up inside turning lovely and moist.
• 8. Carefully remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack.
• 9. Slice and enjoy 1-2 slices a day. Keeps in the freezer for up to two months (recommed to slice first), or in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Terri Nagib, Nutritional Therapist
Middle Way Wellness
Visit Terri’s page here to find out more about her work as a Nutritional Therapist, and how she may be able to help you.
