Chickpea Flour and Honey Bread

Healthy, easy, quick, and gluten-free, this recipe for chickpea bread is the perfect recipe to make a quick bread that is very easy to digest. The best thing about this bread is its juiciness; enjoy it with cream cheese and savory ingredients, from olives to sun-dried tomato — I tell you everything in this post!

By its nature, it is rather a dry bread, and its crust resembles more a loaf bread than a traditional bread (its crust is not very soft but neither is it crunchy). That said, it has a very distinctive flavor: if you like the chickpea taste or you enjoy hummus, you will definitely love this bread!

I still hear my little one saying "It smells so good, Mom, what is it?". I must also say that my second older child said it, and he adores hummus. It's a bread with an intense chickpea aroma that is delicious!

Precisely because of its flavor, it is ideal for customizing with your favorite flavors: use this recipe to make chickpea and sun-dried tomato bread, olive bread... or a sweet chocolate bread. In the recipe I explain how to make it.

Who do I recommend this bread to?

If you are someone who enjoys traditional bread with a crunchy crust and a soft, fluffy crumb, this bread is not for you.

But if you are looking for a very quick bread to make that doesn't require rising or waiting and that you can prepare in 5 minutes and have baked and ready to eat in 30, take note of this recipe!

It's also a perfect option for those seeking gluten-free recipes, as it contains no gluten or flour blends, only chickpea flour.

It's ideal for anyone looking for an aromatic, different bread that can pair with a wide variety of ingredients.

How to enjoy chickpea bread?

Since this is a chickpea-based bread, it is rather dry on the palate, and therefore you will enjoy it a lot with:

• Cream cheese: spread some slices of chickpea bread with cream cheese and enjoy as is, or turn them into little bites (with some roasted vegetables on top, salmon, chorizo, roasted bacon, with tender onion, cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes...
• To accompany roasted meats and fish: that chickpea flavor is ideal for enjoying the bread with the juices from meat and fish dishes. Dip this bread in those dishes and you'll see how delicious it is!
• To make sandwiches with tomato, oil and a good pinch of salt: fill two slices of this bread with any cold cut like jamón ibérico, bacon and cheese, sobrasada... it's perfect for that!
• Toasted, with a little oil and salt and any accompaniment you like.
• To enjoy with sweet toppings: use caramel cream or hazelnut and cocoa spread to smear on a slice of this bread, and both kids and adults will enjoy it a lot.
• It's the ideal base to make savory bread with tomato, onion or olives.
• Add chocolate chips to the dough! Chocolate goes wonderfully with this bread, and when it melts it adds juiciness. You just need to mix chocolate chips or chopped fondant chocolate into the dough and stir well before pouring the batter into the pan.

Ingredients

• 380 gr chickpea flour
• 310 ml water
• 1 tsp of salt heaping (about 10-12 gr)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 packet baking powder type Royal (chemical leavening) (5 gr)
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Optionally: Customize your chickpea bread however you like or according to your purpose:

• Add herbs to the mix: oregano, basil, rosemary... the herb aroma will surely enhance the final result.
• Tender onion (previously sautéed) or chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• Chopped black or green olives
• Chocolate: add some chocolate chips or chopped fondant chocolate, it suits it wonderfully.

Preparation

1. Add the chickpea flour, salt and baking powder to a bowl and mix*.
2. Add the honey and oil.
3. Gradually add the water, without stopping mixing. When you have a homogeneous, moist mixture.
4. If you want to make bread with sun-dried tomato, sweet onion, olives, herbs or chocolate, this is the perfect moment to add the ingredients you want and mix to distribute them throughout the dough. Set aside.
5. Preheat the oven to 200 ºC, top and bottom heat.
6. Prepare a rectangular pan or the Le Creuset terrine with a non-stick spray (to make unmolding easier, you can line it with parchment paper).
7. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust looks golden**.

Notes

*If you use a KitchenAid mixer, put the ingredients directly into the bowl and turn the mixer to speed 2, and do not stop mixing with the flexible paddle attachment from the moment you add the dry ingredients until you obtain the final batter.

**If using the Le Creuset terrine, keep the terrine covered until the batter appears cooked, and you can remove the lid for the last minutes to brown the crust.