For those of us unable to eat grains in any form, bread can seem like a thing of the past. I went years without eating bread, much to my great sadness. And then, I discovered flax! I’d made flax crackers before and they’re great but I had no idea flax could become something firm, fluffy and yummy — something very like bread!

This is my basic recipe, it’s very simple and any part can be modified to suit you needs, it’s really not the kind of thing that falls apart with any variation or omission. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever made it the same way twice! I haven’t tried it as a yeasted bread, so I’m not sure how that would work, but I aim to try.

Amazingly, this bread is really really good. I’ve tried all kind of “fake” bread recipes, but none of them came close to this. This really, truly bread!

Be sure to get high quality flax seed. If it smells strongly or has the least little bit of fishy odor, reject it! I suggest getting whole seeds for this reason. Rancid flax is disgusting tasting and bad for you too. Good flax should be slightly sweet and slippery with a distinctive yet mild aroma and taste.

A word of wisdom: you must understand that flax has a LOT of fiber in it. So, if you’re not accustomed to eating any kind of fiber, well then, flax could have a laxative effect on your belly. That said, I have a super sensitive belly and I have no trouble with flax bread.

• 2/3 C flax meal (I like Bob’s Red Mill Golden Flax, hand ground – but that’s just my preference from what I’ve tried so far)
• 1/3 C almond meal (optional, but nice, other nut meals such as acorn can be substituted)
• 1 – 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
• Salt to taste (I like more salt in my flax bread than I would in regular wheat bread)
• appr 3 tsp olive oil or butter or unrefined coconut oil (depending on what kind of flavor you want)
• 2 eggs (1 egg will suffice, but 2 eggs holds together just a bit better)
• water to texture desired (it makes a big difference, and the wetter it is, the harder it is to get it to cook all the way through, I go for minimal water needed to get things fluid enough to pour the batter)

Mix dry ingredients together well. Gently beat eggs together before adding (optional, but it blends better that way.

The recipe will work for a regular sized pie tin or small loaf pan. Double the recipe for a more normal sized bread loaf pan.Don’t forget to oil the pan well before pouring the batter in.

Get your oven nice and hot (I have wood cookstove, I have no idea what the degrees are, but cooler than for biscuits, more like cornbread temp).

Cook for appr. 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Toothpick or butter knife should could out clean if you insert it into the center of the bread. Enjoy fresh out of the oven or at room temperature for a nice sandwich.

Variations:

For an herbed bread: add small chunks of sharp chedder cheese, a TB of crushed thyme, a Tsp of crushed sage, a tsp of oregano or beebalm, small handful of fresh chopped Rosemary, fresh ground black pepper to taste and maybe some coarse salt on top. You can even add some green onion, broccoli or nettles for extra panache if you like.

Sweet Bread: add cinnamon, honey, cardamom, vanilla and even some fresh fruit like sliced strawberries.

Pancakes: just make the batter thin enough to spread on a hot cast iron pan or griddle. Unsweetened applesauce is nice in the pancakes instead of water.

Pictures are of this mornings bread, with walnuts added for extra texture and arugula and sage added for delightful greeness. This loaf was made a metal pie tin.

~~~~~~

Categories: From the Hearth

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 31st, 2008 at 12:24 pm and is filed under From the Hearth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.