This is the kind of thing I like having in the fridge at the beginning of the week. You bake one loaf and breakfast is largely taken care of for the next couple of days.
It is a moist, savoury loaf made with lor cheese, eggs, strained yoghurt, oat flour and almond flour. There is no wheat flour, and it is genuinely protein-rich from the lor, eggs and yoghurt. The crumb is dense and soft rather than bread-like, which is why I think of it as somewhere between a savoury cake and a loaf.
What I like most is that it crosses meals easily. Breakfast with tomatoes, cucumber and olives. Lunch with a salad. A slice in the afternoon when you need something substantial. I usually eat it cold or at room temperature, but it is particularly good sliced thickly and toasted in a little olive oil until the edges are crisp.
Lor sold in Turkey is dry and crumbly. If you cannot find it, ricotta is the closest substitute, but ricotta contains considerably more moisture. Drain it well and hold back the water in the recipe until you have seen the consistency of the batter, adding only as much as you need to make it thick but spoonable.
It keeps for four days in the fridge, and it freezes well too, so any slices you will not eat that week can go straight into the freezer.
Savoury Breakfast Loaf
1 loaf tin (22 cm), Serves 8 to 10 slices
INGREDIENTS:
300 g lor or ricotta cheese
4 large eggs
150 g strained yogurt
60 ml olive oil
60 ml water, plus up to 10 ml more if needed
200 g gf oat flour
50 g almond flour
6 g baking powder
1 g baking soda
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
7 g fine salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
10 g fresh dill, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp nigella seeds, sprinkle half on top
Olive oil, for toasting
Equipment
22 cm loaf tin
Baking paper
Blender or food processor
Large mixing bowl
Spatula
Off-set spatula
Fine grater or Microplane
Wire cooling rack
Skillet, for toasting
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 170 C. Line a 22 cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Place the lor, eggs, yogurt and olive oil into a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth.
In a large bowl, mix the oat flour, almond flour, flaxseed, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and pepper.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until fully combined. Fold in the dill, lemon zest and nigella seeds. The batter should be thick but spoonable.
Leave the batter to rest for 20 minutes.
Scrape into the tin, smooth the top lightly and scatter over the remaining nigella seeds.
Bake at 170°C for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 160°C and continue baking for a further 50 to 60 minutes. The loaf should be golden and set through the centre, with a skewer coming out clean. If the top is browning before the time is up, tent it loosely with foil and carry on. If you have a probe thermometer, the centre should read 96 to 98°C.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then unmould and cool completely, at least 2 hours.
Slice the loaf cold, about 2 cm thick. Warm a little olive oil in a skillet over a medium heat and toast the slices for 2 to 3 minutes a side, until golden and crisp at the edges and hot through. Eat immediately.
Kitchen Notes
Keeps four days in the fridge, wrapped, and slices best straight from cold. It also freezes very well. Slice the cooled loaf, freeze the slices and toast straight from frozen, giving them an extra minute a side.
