An innovative baker has come up with a proven tip for shedding those extra pounds: pea bread.

Baker Ingrid Eissfeldt used her loaf by going back to the way Middle Ages bread was baked.

It is now taking centre stage as a substitute for wheat in bread.

While peas are used in protein shakes and body-building food, Ingrid believes she is the first to sell pea bread.

"It was all the rage in the Middle Ages," she said. "It provided much-needed protein for peasants who couldn't afford meat."

Ingrid, 56, has been baking loaves in Whitstable for 10 years and stumbled on the pea trail inadvertently.

"Three years ago I ordered rice for gluten-free bread from our supplier and was told that it was the last pallet as all rice-growing nations had an export embargo due to failed harvests," she said.

"That's when I started looking around for healthier crops than wheat that could be grown in the UK - which led me to peas."

German-born Ingrid, who came to the UK as an au-pair aged 18, discovered that peas were classed as a grain in the Middle Ages and ticked all the boxes for nutritional requirements.

"I couldn't understand why pea bread hadn't made a comeback," she said.

Ingrid set to work on a bread recipe using the peas though finding enough of them proved tough.

"To my surprise it was really very difficult finding organic dried peas and we had to wait for months for our first pallet," she said.

The waiting paid off when Ingrid introduced her pea bread for the first time at the Real Food Show in London, where it was voted Festival Loaf.