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.
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oh my god kiva! This is awsome! this is a revelation! Flax seeds are cheaps. I’m going to get some and make this! yeah for wonderful gluten free recipies!
thank you for sharing!!!
Have you tried chia oatmeal yet??
Yay! I hope you enjoy it…. Flax is pretty cheap these days, thank goodness. This is what my bday cake shall be made of too… I’ll post new recipes when I get the muffin and cake variations down.
I haven’t tried the chia oatmeal yet because I can’t afford chia at the moment, but I’m excited to try. I did make a very yummy flax oatmeal type recipe with applesauce that was much better than my initial try though.
Hi Kiva,
Looks yummy! Do you think I could leave the eggs out or subsitute something else? Eggs give some of us a wicked rash. Would you please share how to make flax crackers? They also sound delicious!! I would love to try these this week.
Thank you!!!
this is a fabulous recipe, i have a lot of flax seeds. i was also thinking about doing acorn flour soon. havesting them, drying them out to get rid of the tannins and grinding it. yumm. we feed flax seeds that have been soaked overnight to our baby, she loves it. very good way to get omega 3s
plantain, hmmm, you could try just leaving the eggs out – i think you’ll end up with a denser bread that way, but likely still very tasty… i’m experimenting with a more soda bread like recipe too, that may be able to do without the eggs. Do you know if it’s the yolk or the white or the whole thing that gives you a rash?
Riana, I hope you enjoy the bread! With acorns, depending on the spp you may need to leach them in running water as well. And even if you don’t need to leach them, they’ll taste far better and last longer if you roast them before grinding.
Flax seeds are yummy, it’s too bad our bodies can’t uptake more of the omega 3’s, they’ve got a pretty sad conversion rate as compared to fish…. Glad Amaya likes the flax too, my seven year old also enjoys them!
Thank you Kiva,
I am not sure which part of the egg it is. I really haven’t experimented. There are three of us in the household who have different reactions to egg. I can handle them now and again but my kids fair worse. When I bake I typically soak flax to get that egg white like gel, baking powder, and a little vinegar. I also usually grind short grain brown rice for my flour. I really like the idea of using all flax. Better for those insulin levels, right? I will make the soda bread this week. We plan on going strawberry picking locally so we have those with our flax bread. mmmmmm.
Yum! Looking forward to trying this. I might get real crazy and try 3 eggs. Challah flax bread!
plantain, definitely better for the insulin levels! do let me know how it comes out without the egg.
nutmeg, I’ve done it with three eggs, and it’s very lovely! I love eggy breads myself, but wanted to give a more “normal bread” recipe first time around.
Oh my, thank you for posting the recipe, Kiva Rose! I’m also picturing this with any kind of nutritive dried herb powders added, like maybe clover or amaranth leaf? Can’t wait to try it out.
AFter several years gluten and casein free, you do get a craving every once in a while. This will add to my gluten-free repertoire (which also includes dosas, those wonderfully sour fermented rice-and-lentil flatbreads). Thank goodness that I’m tolerant of eggs, is all I can say. Blessings to you!
Hi Kiva,
I wanted to let you know I made your bread recipe and messed it up. Too much water. It turned out well in the end though. I turned it into biscotti. there is a pic on my blog if you are interested.
http://plantainpatch.blogspot.com/2008/06/from-flax-bread-to-flax-biscotti.html
Thank you for sharing the recipe.
This is absolutely the BEST GF bread subsitute I have ever tasted Kiva! YOU are a genius!!!
Thank you!!
Hi, Kiva! I’ve just suscribed to your wonderful website this evening and I LOVE it! Thank you so much for the golden flax bread recipe; I can hardly wait to try it. Also, I appreciate your information on insulin resistance. I have type 2 diabetes and my recent attempts to become a vegetarian have failed miserably. Apparently, even with my medications, consuming a lot of beans and grains is a bad idea. At present, I feel rather lethargic and foggy-headed. After reading your information, I recalled how wonderful I began to feel after eliminating beans, grains, and fruit a few years ago. I ate grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, fish, nuts occasionally, and lots and lots of sauteed greens. Well, it’s time to backtrack and resume my journey towards great health! You ARE a genius!
Hi Nettie, good to hear from you! I think you’ll love the bread, it’s very tasty and very adaptable as well. The best quick fix for type 2 diabetes is low carb all the way. It works so well and is so much better than drugs. I’m currently following a high fat paleo diet and I feel great, no blood sugar spikes (or crashes) and I have SO much more energy this way. It’s such a delicious way to eat as well!
Love to you, and good luck!
Hi again! I tried the bread recipe and it’s fabulous! By the way, I like the sound of the high fat paleo diet…it seems wise that I eat that way myself (besides, I know such food is quite yummy). I appreciate the recent posting about the elk kabobs, wild greens, and everything else! I’m still hoping to return one day because I have so much to learn from you. Until then, much love to all! Happy birthday!
Nettie
Hi Kiva Rose,
Suzen put me on to your website and I’ve been having a great old time reading it up. Fabulous information. I wanted to tell you that I have been eating the flax bread every day for over a week now and it has stopped my hot flashes. As soon as I would lay down at night they would begin but so far they haven’t been bothering me. I knew flax seeds were good for this but never found a simple palatable recipe before. Thank you.
I also wanted to ask about the elderberry elixir. Is there any reason the elderberries need to be dried ? I have fresh ones nearby.
Cheers !
Siobhan (Pronounced Shavonne)
Siobhan, so glad you’re enjoying the blog! Great about the flax bread for you, it’s a remarkable yumminess and healing too. In this case likely because of the moistening effects (among other things) of the oil, since hot flashes are often caused by yin deficiency with false heat.
I’ve used both fresh or dried elderberries for the elixir, they’re both great… i just used dried in the recipe for convenience.
Blessings,
Kiva
So making the elixir would I used twice the amount of fresh elderberries to dried ? Didn’t think to ask you that this morning.
I am looking forward so much to making this ! Would it be wise to use this as a preventative, say a tablespoon a day, or would it be better to keep it until a problem starts ?
Blessings to you too,
Siobhan
Siobhan, I use a proportion of 1:5 for dried berries and 1:2 for fresh. Or just fill the jar with berries and then add however much brandy and honey/glycerine. I think a few slices of fresh ginger are especially nice with fresh elderberries. I sometimes add a higher percentage of alcohol to the fresh since there’s so much juice (water) and will go off more easily.
It’s a great tonic so there’s no reason not to take it if you want it, and plus it’s a great lung/kidney tonic but for effectiveness purposes that’s not necessary, just take it as symptoms start or once you get exposed.
Sounds lovely, I’ll definitely add the ginger since I am in love with it. Thank you Kiva !
I’m gluten free but I find that GF breads (both commercial and homemade) are full of starches, binders, gums…etc and you end up with a bread that is anything but natural and with a gummy texture. Far from satifiying…
I’m now turning to SCD and paleo bread recipes: they’re different yes but so more more nutritious and you don’t need to eat much.
Kiva, I thought you might like these paleo bread recipes:
http://nikkisblogspot.com/2008/03/paleo-foccacia-sandwiches-and-cake-recipes/
This looks wonderful! Am always looking for natural low carb recipes. Will try this baked in a loaf pan with the egg whites folded back in. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi, I made this yesterday, can’t believe how great it turned out. Thank you so much for your recipe.
Just made this and it is really good. I added a tsp of chopped fresh rosemary. Baked it in a glass pie plate with some parchment paper underneath. Came right out of the plate and tasted perfect. Have tried numerous other bread substitutes with disappointment and this one is worth it, plus it’s easy.
this is brilliant!!! I’m on a primal diet and never thought id eat bread again.
I suspected this might be one of those dishes which is nutritous but you have to force it down, but it is genuinely tasty.
ps. my 1st batch was inedible as i added 1.5tsp of slat for some reason! Next batch i used about 1/4 tsp and it is great!
This looks interesting. I just started this, so can’t wait to make it. Tomorrow.
I’m a newbie…I have a whole container of golden flax seed…so what is flax meal? It’s not just ground flax seeds, is it? Guess I’d need to look online or at a health food store (none around here)…do thay have at places like Publix?
Thanks!
Yes, flax meal is just finely ground flax seeds.
They do carry it in some grocery stores, depends on your region though.
Glad you enjoyed the post!
This just came out of my oven and I had the first warm bite, it’s very good and has a nice texture. I baked it at 375 for 15 mins. I put it in a cake pan that was bigger than it would hold so I just kind of rounded it in the middle.
I just love it. I know this will make a great herb bread, or even a sweet bread. Plus it’s so easy to be gluten free and it’s so much healthier than most gluten free breads! Most of the gluten free breads I’ve tried to make have way too many ingredients and the ingredients make me wonder if I really want to eat it. Then it comes out all icky half the time. So much effort, the ingredients are so expensive, and I’ve wasted half a day.
Thank you for this easy, healthy, bread that I can change around and make many different types of bread out of.
I’m really enjoying your site. Too bad I’m on the east coast, I’d love to visit.