TToday's recipe is based on my book Pumpkin, Mulberry, and Spelled Breakfast Bars People and the planet eat for fun. These can be made with any bits and bobs you have in your store cupboard that need to be used up, so they were easy to adapt for the purposes of this column.
Breakfast bar with everything you need
These are nutritious and extremely delicious take-home breakfasts, so it was very welcome to meet Emma Breed, an artisan sourdough baker from Cape Town, South Africa. Recreate them on InstagramAmong other things, she calls them “the best on-the-go breakfasts,” adding that they're “highly nutritious and easy to modify depending on what nuts, seeds, and dried berries you have in your cupboard.”
She uses sorghum puffs, baobab powder, and spelled flour for an African twist, but you can make it with any flour you have at home. There's also no need to peel diced squash, root vegetables, or apples before roasting them. The skin adds flavor, texture, fiber, and other nutritional value.
make 12 bars
250-300g squashor sweet root vegetables (parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, etc.) or apples
1 tablespoon virgin or light olive oil
200g mixed nutsCoarsely chopped nuts such as Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and walnuts
200g mixed dried fruitPitless dates, figs, apricots, etc.
Grain flakes 65gRolled oats, spelled flour, rye, etc.
2 tablespoons flour – I used buckwheat flour
1 pinch of sea salt
optional additions
50g nut butter
20g puff grains or cereal – Quinoa, millet, or rice crispies
Mixed dried fruit 50g – Mulberries, cranberries, and/or sultanas
Mixed seeds 100g – Pumpkin, sunflower, flaxseed
Cacao nibs, chocolate chips and/or baobab powder,taste
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas. 6. Cut the pumpkin, root vegetable, or apple into 1-2cm cubes and spread them out on a baking tray. Sprinkle with oil and bake for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, grind 150g of nuts into coarse powder. Add one third of the roasted pumpkin/vegetables/apple cubes and all the dried fruits and mix into a thick paste.
Gather the remaining 50g chopped nuts, flaked grains, flour and salt in a bowl and add the remaining roasted pumpkin/vegetables/apple cubes.
Now you have the main ingredients for your breakfast bar. Search your cupboards for other optional add-ons, such as nut butters, puffed grains or cereals, extra dried fruit, seeds, and other ingredients that need to be tasted.
Knead everything in a large bowl until well mixed, then press into a lined medium baking tin or tray. Bake in a hot oven for 25-30 minutes or until the bar mix begins to brown, then remove. Cut into bars while still hot and let cool overnight in a tray. Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
