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

How to Make Seed and Nut Butters

Sunflower Seed Butter

How to make cheap, homemade spreads and butter

Sorry for the later post today, I'm a little behind because I spent the weekend at the Wisconsin writers conference and was so pooped last night after three days of intensive listening and giddy inspiration (see my last post if you want to hear me being silly-giddy).  

Also, my internet has been going very sloooowly this morning.   I attribute it to the incredible wind storm we had last night in Madison, Wisconsin (where I'm currently at).  This week has been awe-some for weather, and I mean that in the classical sense, rather than the "awesome, dude" sense.  Saturday night we had a fantastical thunder and lightening storm, with the type of lightening that streaks through the air and turns the whole sky purple and thunder that practically shook our apartment (which is a little frightening, we're on the 7th floor - top floor - of a building!!).  

Saturday daytime was incredibly warm, like 21C warm, and sticky muggy-like, but with major winds that rattled our windows and made the whole building creeeeaaaak in the evening.  Seriously, like 50km/hr winds.   These winds were actually breaking the town speed limit, they were going so fast.  Pure recklessness on their part I say.  Someone could have been hurt!  Then, after heat that made the air so heavy it was hard to breathe, the temperature was supposed to drop down to -4, with a chance of snow!!  Sometimes I think we've become so domesticated we forget just how meek and mortal we are in relation to the awe-inspiring (hence awesome) power of nature. Well, that and the power of global warming...

Sooo....on a more uplifting note, I have a recipe here for seed and nut butter.  For those who are allergic to peanut butter or who want an easy and cheap way to make a yummy spread at home, this is a great option.  I use sunflower seed butter (a.k.a sunbutter) here as an example, but it works essentially the same for most seeds and nuts, so feel free to experiment!

 If you have Oral Allergy Syndrome, you may want to be careful with this one, as many people with OAS have problems with sunflower seeds.  I can eat this, but only in small amounts, otherwise my tongue starts to itch and feel like sandpaper!  You could try using cashews, flax seed or hemp seeds instead. 

Sunflower Seed Butter on Sprouted Lentil Bread

Ingredients:  For approximately 1 cup of butter. 

1 c unsalted sunflower seeds (optional, roast in 350F oven for 10 minutes to enhance flavour)*

Honey, agave, brown rice syrup or sugar to taste

Oil (olive or coconut, etc)

Pinch of salt

Directions:

There are two ways you can go about this – coffee/spice grinder or food processor.  If you don’t use a food processor, you will have to add a bit more oil to the paste to make a smoother butter.  You may want to put your grinder in the freezer about half an hour ahead of time to keep the little motor from overheating.  If the grinder gets hot as you work, stop and let it cool down, otherwise it will overheat and cause the oils in the seeds to become rancid.  For more on grinding, see this post on grinding. 

Here are the two methods: 

In a coffee grinder

1. Grind the sunflower seeds into a powder using a coffee /spice grinder.  You will likely have to do this in a few small batches.  

2. Continue grinding until the seeds release their oils and begin to clump.  Remove from grinder into a mixing bowl and repeat with the remaining seeds. 

3. In the bowl, drizzle oil one teaspoon at a time and beat rapidly.  The longer you mix this, the more of the natural oils of the seeds will be released and the less olive or coconut oil you will need.  Partway through, add a pinch of salt and sweetener (sugar, agave, honey, etc) to taste .  Once the desired consistency is achieved, you’re done!  

Sunflower Seed Butter in a grinder, getting clumpy

Paste-y sunbutter

* Consistency is individual - if you like your butter chunkier and harder, use less oil.  If you want it smoother, use more.  Just keep in mind that the butter will harden slightly in the fridge, so make it a wee bit smoother than you actually want it. 

In a food processor

The directions are essentially the same as for the grinder, but you can do this all in one batch.  Grind the seeds into a powder, then whirl in the food processor until it turns in to a paste.  This can take about 10 minutes on and off of grinding (make sure you give your processor a break by letting it cool down periodically.  If it gets hot it can cause the oils in the butter to go rancid).  During this process, you can add oil by the teaspoon, a pinch of salt and sweetener of choice.  I usually end up using about 1 Tbsp. oil in total. I like mine a little sweeter, so I use about 1 Tbsp of honey as well.   

Sunbutter getting clumpy

Sunbutter, almost done

 

Unlike peanut butter, this needs to be refrigerated.  Sunflower seed butter can be used in place of peanut butter in most recipes.  I use it on crackers, Sprouted Lentil Bread (as shown above), mixed with melted chocolate to make sunbutter balls (recipe to come) and sometimes, all on its own by the spoonful ;p

Depending on the nuts or seeds you use, you may find that they require more or less oil.  I personally haven’t experimented with other nuts (I’m allergic to them, of course ) but I’d love to hear your experiences.  

You could also jazz this up and make flavoured butters, like maple syrup and cinnamon, coconut, vanilla, pumpkin pie, chocolate, or anything else you can dream up!  I’d love to hear your ideas on how you might flavour your nut and seed butter.  I'd also love to hear if you’ve tried a great flavoured butter!

*OAS Info: Note that sunflower seeds are amongst the foods that people with OAS can react to.  You may want to substitute another type of seed or nut you know is safe for you to eat if you have any problems with sunflower seeds.  Try cashews, flax or hemp seeds instead.

This post was shared on the following great pages:
My Meatless Mondays on My Sweet and Savory, Melt in your Mouth Mondays at Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, Monday Mania on the Healthy Home Economist, Just Another Meatless Monday on Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, Traditional Tuesday on Cooking Traditional Foods, Tasty Tuesdays on Naptime Creations, Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits on Permanent Posies, Tasty Tuesdays on 33 Shades of Green, Gluten Free Wednesdays on the Gluten-Free Homemaker, Allergy Free Wednesdays on Tessa Domestic Diva

Gluten Free Irish Boxty

Boxty and Yogurt

Gluten Free Boxty (Irish Potato Pancakes) for St. Patrick’s Day

These are so good I had two last night after I made them - one for breakfast, and then another while I was taking these photos!  Oh, and those ones you see in the photo to your right?  I’m eating them right now as I type this. 

So in honour of St. Patrick’s Day this coming weekend, I’ve been looking at things green and Irish.  A couple of days ago I posted about the easy blender green juice I like to drink, and the little ritual involved in it.  I know, it’s not remotely Irish, but it is a lovely emerald green colour.  Today’s recipe is much more Irish inspired.  I’m going to share a gluten free version of Boxty, an Irish potato pancake.  There is even a poem (also with variations) dedicated to boxty:

Boxty on the griddle

Boxty on the pan

If you can’t make boxty

You’ll never get a man

So there you have it.  All of us who want a man must learn to make boxty.  Uhm… 

Anyway, I hope that any Irish folks out there won’t take offense to my alterations, but I found it a bit plain all on its own, and very potato-y.  Boxty is really just mashed or grated potatoes, some milk and some flour (although everyone seems to have a variation on that), then fried in butter or oil.  I wanted something with a bit more nutrition and flavour, but maintain the concept of a cheap potato pancake.  

Also, some people with OralAllergy Syndrome (like me) have problems with white potatoes.  So, I used half sweet potatoes (also because I got a 5lb bag for cheap at the farmer’s market this weekend) and half russet potatoes instead of all russets.   Sweet potatoes are healthier than regular potatoes – they have Vitamin A and C, beta-carotene, iron, and all kinds of other good antioxidants and minerals, but without the starch of regular potatoes. 

These make super cheap, gluten free pancakes, and can be had any time of day, breakfast, lunch, tea time, or for dinner.  Jazz them up with sour cream or yogurt (as I’ve done here), or syrup, whipped cream, jam, fruit, or even use them as a cheap, gluten free sandwich bread.  A bag of potatoes is cheap, and if you boil or bake several at once, you can use the rest for regular mashed potatoes, gnocchi, or shepherd’s pie.  Alternatively, if you have leftover mashed potatoes, use them to make this Irish boxty!

Boxty, Irish Potato Pancakes

Ingredients: (Makes about 12 pancakes)

2 medium sized russet potatoes*

2 smallish – medium sweet potatoes

(about 2 lbs potatoes total)

¾ c milk or milk substitute

¼ cornstarch*

½ c brown rice flour**  

1 ½ tsp salt + extra for sprinkling

¼ tsp pepper

1 egg or egg substitute

Flavourings as desired – I used ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ Tbsp rosemary and a pinch of dried parsley

* Can substitute potato starch, or a gf flour if desired.  I used cornstarch because it’s cheap and it binds the pancake together well.

** I grind my own rice flour with my coffee grinder, it’s slightly grainier than store bought, but in small amounts I don’t notice it at all, and it’s much cheaper than buying rice flour.

Directions

1. Grate one potato, sprinkle with salt, and place in a sieve over a bowl.  Periodically press on the grated potato to squeeze out excess starch and water.*

2. Peel the remaining potatoes and cut into large chunks.  In a large pot, cover and boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 15 minutes.  

3. With a fork, mash the potatoes with ¼ cup of the milk in a bowl until smooth.  Add in the grated potato.

4. Whisk together the remaining ½ c milk with the egg, corn starch, flour, salt and pepper until smooth.  Add to the potatoes and mix until smooth.  Add any desired seasonings and blend again.

5. Heat a pan or griddle to medium –high heat.  Test this by dropping a drop of water on the pan – if it dances across the pan it is ready.  Add 1 Tbsp oil or butter to the pan.  Scoop batter on pan in pancake-sized drops (about ¼ c full)

6. Fry with a lid on for 4-5 minutes, until nicely browned on the bottom.  Flip, and fry 4-5 minutes uncovered on the opposite side. 

7. Remove from heat and repeat.  Serve warm with toppings.    

*Some people use all grated potatoes while others use all mashed potatoes.  Since I was using sweet potatoes I felt they would be better mashed, but wanted some grated for texture, and to lessen the starch.  This is simply personal preference and if you want to skip the extra step of grating the potatoes you can use all mashed instead. 

I readily confess I’m not very familiar with Irish cuisine, but am experimenting with Irish foods for this week’s theme.  If you have a favorite Irish dish, or an experience with boxty, I’d love to hear about it!  

*OAS Info: Potatoes are a common OAS food.  The boiling and cooking process here *should* kill the allergen proteins and make them safe to eat, but if in doubt use all sweet potatoes instead, or avoid altogether. 

Grow Your Own Bread2 - Sprouted Red Lentil Bread

Sprouted Red Lentil Bread 

Red Lentil Bread with olive oil and balsamic dip

a.k.a. Another gluten free sprouted bread for under $1

free of dairy, yeast, eggs, sugar, gluten, nuts, soy

There are some seriously lovely layers to this bread.  The soft outer crust is naturally bright orange, while the creamy caraway seed speckled inside calls for you to take a giant bite out of it.  I was so thrilled with the success of the sprouted bread I made a couple of weeks ago that I decided to keep experimenting; this time I tried baking bread with sprouted red lentils.  Now I can’t tell which one I like more, this simple sprouted red lentil bread, or the sprouted green lentil bread that inspired it.  While the green lentil bread has a deep, earthy flavour with an added sweetness thanks to the raisins, there is something addictive about this red lentil one.  Both breads are very filling, and therefore provide lots of bang for your gluten free buck!  If you’re an impatient baker like me, you’ll appreciate that the sprouted red lentil bread is much faster to soak, sprout and bake than the green one.  

Sprouted breads combine so many of the things I love: cooking gluten free on a budget; growing healthy sprouts; eating sustainably; and eating good tasty food.  Lentils are so good for you that you can eat this gluten free Essene bread guilt free.  Lentils are high in fibre, but super low in calories and have no fat.  They have been shown to help balance blood sugar levels and are high in iron = perfect for diabetics and ladies who are lacking in iron now and then.  With their high protein and iron content, lentils are also a vegetarian’s best friend.  

           So last week I started sprouting red lentils to try to create a similar version of my gluten free Essenebread of the previous week.  At the same time I was still enthusiastic about using my new coffee grinder to make flour and wondered if I couldn’t do something with lentil flour.  I came across this red lentil flour bread recipe from natural noshing that helped form the base of this sprouted red lentil bread.  I’m really pleased with the results of this bread.  If you don’t have caraway seeds on hand, you could use dried rosemary, onion flakes, or other seasonings instead.  Next week I’ll share another sprouted bread I’ve concocted – sprouted chickpea bread – so be sure to check back!     

Red Lentils

Ingredients

1/3 c red lentils, soaked for one hour only and sprouted for 1 day (click here for more details on sprouting)*

2/3c dry lentils

1c water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp caraway seed

Oil for greasing pie plate

Directions

    1. Grease a round pie plate with oil (your choice, canola, olive, coconut, etc)  You could also use a baking sheet, oiled and covered in parchment paper, or a square baking pan. 

                

    2. Grind the sprouted lentils, either in a coffee grinder or food processor.  I actually just use my coffee grinder, it works better than my food processor.  See here for using a coffee grinder for grinding flour.  I do the sprouted lentils first as they are stickier, than the dry, as the dry will absorb the mashed leftovers and make it easier to clean the grinder after!

        

    3. Grind the 2/3 c dry lentils, also in grinder of choice.  See here for more details. 

        4. Add water, salt and caraway seeds to ground lentils and combine.  This will be a spreadable paste.        

    5. Preheat oven to 350F.

        6. Pour paste into plate or pan and let rest 5-10 minutes while oven heats up.  

  

          7. Bake about 15 minutes.  If using a baking sheet, this may cook faster as it will be thinner.  

      This is wonderful on its own, or, drizzle some olive oil on a plate, then add a splash of balsamic vinegar.  It's the perfect appetizer for a Mediterranean inspired event!  Add a glass of red wine and nothing else is required...

*OAS Info: Lentils are a common OAS food.  The sprouting and baking process *should* destroy the allergen proteins and make this safer for OAS folks to eat.  If in doubt, check with your doctor. 

This recipe was shared on:
 Simple Lives Thursdays

Freaky Friday

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 :)