½ cup (45g)rolled/old fashioned oats , plus a few more for sprinkling on top. (Do not use steel cut oats)
3teaspoonsbaking powder
¼teaspoon baking soda, (bicarbonate of soda in the UK)
1teaspoonfine salt
2¼ cups + 2 teaspoons (550mls)water or plant-based milk
1tablespoonmolasses, regular or blackstrap
1tablespoonmaple syrup, or 2 teaspoons sugar
2tablespoonsneutral oil of choice, such as avocado oil, light olive oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, canola oil or melted refined coconut oil (measured after melting) - see notes for oil-free option
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf (or similar) with a little oil. Lay a rectangular strip of parchment paper down the middle to stop the bottom of the bread sticking and to act as handles for lifting the loaf out after it's baked.
To a large mixing bowl add the spelt flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine.
In another bowl add the water/milk, molasses, maple syrup and oil. Whisk them together well.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together gently. Mix until you can no longer see any dry flour but treat it gently and don't beat it hard or use an electric mixer. The batter will be like cake batter consistency.
Spoon the batter into the prepared tin, scatter some more oats over the top and bake for about 1 hour 5 minutes until it's risen and golden and starting to come away from the edges of the pan. A toothpick or metal skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean. Cooking times vary depending on your oven and the pan you use so it might need a few minutes more or less.
Lift the loaf out of the pan and place on a cooling rack. Tip it gently to the side to remove the parchment paper and allow to cool.
NOTES
Molasses gives a great depth of flavour and colour and works really well with the spelt flour. It can be omitted if you don't have any though and won't affect how well the recipe works. OIL-FREE OPTIONYou can omit the oil to make the recipe oil-free. It turns out well but the texture isn't quite as good as when you do use the oil. It also won't keep as long because oil acts as a preservative.