Acorn Bread

Earth Seed School: Recipes

by Jocelyn Jackson

In the Parable’s book series written by Octavia E. Butler there are many recurring themes around food and survival. She shares stories of juicy peaches and people raising rabbits and cultivating oak trees to fortify their lives during societal collapse, to rebuild community, and most importantly, to feel a sense of home.

To honor the very special place that acorns hold in the California ecosystem and traditional foodways, we created a dense savory acorn bread for our community to enjoy. We reflect on the importance of being in right relationship to land, and the ancestral wisdom that gives us the skills to find beauty and radical survival in plants and resources all around us.

Equipment

• 8x4 inch loaf pan or 9x4 for a loaf with a shorter profile

Ingredients

• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

• ¼ cup acorn flour

• 1 cup sunflower seeds, toasted

• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

• 3/4 cups almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

• 3/4 cup flax seeds

• 1/3 cup psyllium seed husks

• 3 tbsp chia seeds

• 2 tsp fine sea salt

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 2 1/2 cups room temperature water

Process

1. Coat bread loaf pan with olive oil. Set aside.

2. In a very large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix to combine.

3. Add maple syrup, olive oil, and water and mix together thoroughly with your hands. 

4. Spoon mixture into your loaf pan and smooth out the top with a wooden spoon.

5. Cover loosely with a clean dish towel and refrigerate for 6-24 hours. You can do this overnight and bake off in the morning.

6. An hour before it's time to bake, pull the bread out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. 

7. Make sure there is a middle rack in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

8. Bake the bread for 60 minutes or so, until nicely browned and cooked through.

9. Remove from the oven, let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely for at least 2 hours. 

10. Slice very thin and eat right away or slice it all up and freeze.