Spruce up your day with this flavorful, yummy Italian Bread! It adds that special flair to snacks and lunches during the day. It can be enjoyed with a little cheese on top, in a sandwich or with veggies on the side. There is enough tastiness to simply eat it by itself as well. Bon Appetite!

Old Italian culinary tradition and Mediterranean mystique come to mind with each bite I take. I crafted the seasonings with great care as I created my raw Italian Bread. Capturing that unforgettable “Italian taste” was my goal. That flavor combination evokes visions of sculpture, hillsides dotted with olive trees, ships in the sea, and red tile roofs baking in the intense Mediterranean sun.

I love the care and detail that each family takes in the drying and curing of tomatoes. The roma tomatoes are chosen because of their lack of water content. The thickness of the slices used for drying purposes is very important due to the curing process which comes later. After slicing them up, the italians used to take them up to the tile roof of the house and spread them out to dry. When they shriveled up completely, the families would gather them up. Some liquid was then heated up and the tomatoes added to the hot liquid. Some recipes called for white wine mixed with water in order to bring out the flavor of the tomatoes. The tomatoes were left to simmer 1 to 2 minutes in the pan. After that, they were laid out on a towel to dry for an hour. Curing them for further use consisted of layering them in a jar with extra virgin olive oil and capers placed over each layer. Basil, garlic, oregano and salt were the most common seasonings used in the curing process. Various dishes required different seasonings so the jars of preserved tomatoes were also unique in their seasoning combination.

This tradition is honored in this bread of mine. I can taste the blend of seasonings with every bite. I see the chunks of sun dried tomatoes as I go along and remember the old country.

Kelly’s Italian Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups sprouted buckwheat groats
1 cup flax seeds
2 tbsp. agave
½ tsp. Himalayan sea salt
1 Thai pepper (remove seeds)
1 tbsp. shallots
¾ cup filtered water
3 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 tbsp. lemon juice
¼ cup julienne basil
½ cup Kelly’s sun dried tomatoes
½ cup pine nuts

Directions:
Place the flax seeds in a coffee grinder and grind into meal. In a Cuisinart with an S blade, add the buckwheat groats, the flax meal, water, agave, salt, Thai pepper (chopped into small pieces), shallots (chopped into small pieces), nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. Mix until forms a thick paste. Scrape down the sides while mixing. Place into a large bowl and set aside.

Take 6 basil leaves and stack them on top of each other. Roll them up lengthwise and slice into thin slices beginning on one end. Repeat the process until all the basil is chopped into julienne slices.

Chop Kelly’s sun dried tomatoes into small pieces. Take the tomatoes, pine nuts, and basil strips. Add them to the batter and hand mix until evenly distributed.

Place a 3” round cutter onto a dehydrator tray with a teflex sheet. Put 1 heaping tbsp. of batter into the cutter and press it down evenly. You will need a small bowl of water to dip your fingers into, since the batter is very sticky. Slowly remove the mold and rinse the mold to remove all batter before repeating the process. After all of the batter is molded and on the dehydrator sheet, dehydrate for 1 hour at 145 degrees. Then remove from the dehydrator and flip the batter over. Continue dehydrating for 8 to 10 hours at 115 degrees.

Makes 18 slices

Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days. Can freeze for up to 1 month.