Fig & Peanut Butter on Zucchini Coconut Flour Bread

Lately, I'm getting really into creating each component of a meal from scratch. Earlier this week I went to a talk in Auckland by the Women's Collective where I heard Megan May from Little Bird Organics, Auckland's resident Raw Foodie and Rebecca Wadey from The Centre (a yoga & wellness centre which sits above Little Bird) speak. One of the things that stood out to me the most from this talk is how much love and dedication goes into Megan's food. Rebecca told of how you may not realise but every little thing at Little Bird is made from it's raw form- coconut water from the inside of a coconut, not from a bottle and almond milk made completely from scratch. It's these little differences and attention to detail which make Megans food so ridiculously good but also shows her passion towards her whole message and belief. Basically, the don't take shortcuts just because they can and I think it's something everyone could learn from.

While many other cafes would happily grab a box of almond milk, Megan goes well and beyond to ensure her food is made with the upmost love and this really stood out to me to pay more attention to what I fuel my body with and where every food source comes from. 

I loved hearing these two inspiring Women speak and walked away with an even greater appreciation for what they do for the Auckland Health & Wellness Community. Little Bird hands down has the best raw treats I've ever tasted and I think they do such a fantastic role at creating a really fantastic community.


These past few weeks I've been trying my hand at different coconut flour breads as I was given three bags as gifts over the past few weeks and really wanted to find a way to effectively use it. Sometimes I look at it and think back on failed muffin attempts and become discouraged, but I think the biggest thing about coconut flour is just knowing how to use it properly.


What I've realised about baking with coconut flour:

-It's best to pair it back with another flour- almond, gluten free flour or rice flour will make sure it's a little bit more dense. Going half/half and pairing it back with another type of flour will make for a better consistency in your baking.
-Coconut flour to wheat flour is not a one-to-one ratio so you must ensure you are using 1/4 cup of coconut flour for each full cup wheat flour if you are replacing it in recipes.
-Coconut flour is incredibly absorbent meaning most recipes using it have a very large number of eggs and a very small overall quantity of flour
-If you're substituting wheat flour for coconut flour in one of your favourite recipes, keep in mind that it might not always come out right the first time but don't get too discouraged, you’ll start to get an idea how well it absorbs and how the batter should probably look at the end after a few attempts.

Yesterday I went up to the beautiful Matakana markets, an hour north of Auckland and picked up some of the first figs of the season, I can't tell you how happy I am to see these beautiful fruits again! (Bit of a produce nerd) Fresh figs are one of my favourite fruits and I love to use them in baking. I paired these fresh figs back with my homemade peanut butter on top of my homemade Zucchini Coconut Flour Bread. 

This bread has a really good consistency and is really easy to make. I added a banana into this recipe to make it a sweet bread however you can leave out the banana and add in walnuts, and garlic for a really nice savoury bread. 

I was lucky enough to use fresh Zucchinis from my grandmas garden- always a bonus!

Zuccini Coconut Flour Bread

You will need:

-1 medium Zucchini, grated

-6 eggs

1/2 cup coconut or olive oil

-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup coconut flour

-1/2 cup almond meal flour or gluten free flour

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon baking powder

Optional for sweet bread:

2 tablespoons coconut sugar or rice malt syrup

1 banana, mashed

Optional for savoury bread:

-1/3 cup chopped walnuts

-1 teaspoon dried or freshly grated garlic

Method:

1.  Grate your zucchini and wrap in a paper towel to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. This step is really important and you must make sure you get out all the water as you can otherwise the consistency of the bread won't bake correctly. 

2. In a bowl, mix the eggs, oil, apple cider vinegar, and zucchini.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut flour, almond flour or gluten free flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Optional: If you're making a sweet bread, here's where you want to add in your sweetener and mashed banana and if you're going for a savoury bread, here's where you want to add in your walnuts and garlic. 

4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to combine
5. Pour into a greased loaf pan that has been lined with parchment paper and sprinkle the top with sea salt.
6. Bake at 180°C for 450-60 minutes or until cooked through.

7. Allow to cool completely before serving. I'm really impatient and always grab things out of the container before they've cooled but for this bread especially, it's really important to allow it to set as the coconut flour really needs to continue to set otherwise you'll find it will crumble or break apart. 

8. Slice with a bread knife and store in the fridge or freezer. 

Serve toasted.

My favourite serving suggestions:

-Fig & Peanut Butter

-Honey

-Poached eggs and garlic hummus

-Homemade Kale Pesto