Gluten Free Flax Meal Sandwich Bread

Gluten free, egg free, nut free, soy free

 

Flax Meal and Millet Sandwich Bread

This flax and millet bread is cheap, easy and takes all of 20 - 25 minutes from start to finish.  Oh, and it’s also super tasty.  It makes a great sandwich bread because it is soft and flexible, doesn’t crumble and isn’t dry or gummy.  Grinding your own flax meal and millet flour in a coffee grinder using flax seeds and millet is even cheaper than buying flax meal and millet flour (check here for more info on grinding your own flour), so if you grind your own flour this bread can be made for very cheap indeed.   

If you are ok with buying from the bulk section it’s even cheaper as flax seeds and millet can be had much cheaper in bulk bins than pre-packaged.  Be careful, though; people who are celiac or very gluten sensitive should be aware of the potential for cross- contamination from other glutinous bulk products.  Personally, I’m super gluten intolerant and have never had a problem with bulk bins, but there is a possibility of contamination so it’s up to you to decide if you want to take your chances. 

 

When I first discovered I was gluten intolerant, I used to make a flax bread that was wonderfully soft and yummy.  The problem was that it also required something like 5 eggs, which can get pricey, especially when you buy free range like I do.  So I stopped making it and moved on to other things.  However, a few weeks ago I was preparing to leave my Wisconsin home with hubby-to-be and spend the summer back home in Vancouver, BC.  I was trying to use up whatever was leftover in the apartment and I was low on flours to make my regular bread things, but had a bag of flax seeds, which I knew I could grind up to make my own flax meal.  So I searched around the internet for a gluten free, egg free flax bread recipe.  I found this one here for a flax pizza crust.  I adapted it to make use of whatever was in the cupboard and came up with this gluten free flax bread.  

Flax Meal Bread

It makes a great sandwich bread, but can also be eaten plain, or slathered with your favorite toast toppings.  I also like to spread Chocolate Raisin and Date Spread on it as a snack.

Ingredients:*

1 c + 1Tbsp ground flax (flax meal)

½ c millet flour (or about ¼ + 1Tbsp millet, ground)

1 tsp salt, plus a bit more for sprinkling

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 c water

Optional Seasonings

2 tsp oregano

½ Tbsp dried onion

1 tsp garlic powder

½ Tbsp rosemary

Shredded cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients, optional seasonings and water together. 

2. Let rest for 5 minutes to thicken.  Don’t let it sit longer than this or else the dough will become too thick to spread. 

3. In the meantime, prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with oil, or laid with parchment paper and sprayed lightly with oil.

4. Preheat oven to 450F. 

5. Spread flax batter over the sheet, about ¼” thick, sprinkle with more salt, and bake about 10 minutes, until hardened but still slightly springy. 

What’s your favorite way to use flax meal and flax seeds?

* OAS Information: Some people with Oral Allergy Syndrome may have problems with some of the herbs used here (even though I suggest using dried, which *should* be safe).  You may want to substitute these with something you know you can safely eat. 

This post was shared with the following great blog hops: Made from Scratch Monday, My Meatless Mondays, Monday Mania, Just Another Meatless Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Traditional Tuesdays Whole Food Wednesday  Real Food Wednesday Gluten Free Wednesday Allergy Free Wednesdays

Make Your Own Gluten Free Flour!

Adventures in Grinding 
 I've been wanting to do this for ages but it took me forever to finally get around to it - grinding rice and beans to make my own gluten free flours.  When I found out I was gluten intolerant I quickly discovered how expensive gluten free flours can be.  I looked in to buying a flour mill to grind my own, but they too were really expensive.  Now yes, if you can afford the initial investment it will pay itself off in the long run, but it's making the initial investment that's the problem - I'm poor, remember? For me it's really taking a leap when there are so many different mills out there with varied reviews.

So I've finally bought a coffee grinder for under $20.  I was so excited I had to try it out right away of course.  And I'm really quite pleased with the results.  I tried it on white rice flour, chick peas, and flax seed.  The white rice came out pretty fine, and didn't require too much grinding.  The chick peas were very noisy to begin with, but once they ground down the flour came out decent, only a bit gritty. (I may not do this again with dried chickpeas as they're pretty hard. I'm afraid they'll crack the plastic.  Perhaps I'll soak them, dry them in the oven or dehydrator, then grind)  The flax seed ground up fantastically!!  I'm really thrilled about that because it can be expensive to buy the flour, whereas the seeds are cheap, and it practically doubles in size once ground.  I'm also happy with the rice flour because now I can just buy the rice in bulk and grind it whenever I need it.

UPDATE: I've also tried grinding sprouted seeds in my coffee grinder, with great success.  I've ground sprouted lentils and chickpeas in the grinder.  While the paste is not entirely smooth, this has not been a problem since I use them to bake breads (sprouted green lentil bread, sprouted red lentil bread, and chickpea bread) and don't mind them being a bit chunky.  You could transfer these to a food processor afterwards though to make a smoother paste if desired.  I've also used my grinder to make sunflower seed butter!  Recipe to be posted soon.  The grinder gets a bit messier with the damp sprouts, but mine always cleans up fine if I swish a bit of water in it and wipe it down with a damp towel.  The grinder works better than my food processor for the initial break-down of sprouts and flour. 

Also - I've now used it to make green pea and white bean flour, which is fantastic because gluten free folks need more protein, iron and fibre in their breads since we're missing out on the nutrients of whole wheat flours. 

The important thing to remember about using a coffee or spice grinder to make your own rice flour, or types of flour, is that you should pulse the grinder, rather than holding it on for long periods because this will probably kill the engine and can destroy the oils in your flours. The grinder gets warm when I let it run too long, so try putting it in the freezer for an hour or two before hand, or letting it cool between batches.  Also, if you use your grinder for coffee beans, make sure you give it a good clean before you use it for flours and seeds, or else your baked goods will come out coffee flavoured! (This may not be a bad thing, depending on your recipe :)

I'm so pleased with my flours I've decided to try and concoct my own chick pea/rice flour bread with my freshly ground flours.  More on that later...  In the meantime, here's a photo of my lovely ground flax and my new grinder :)