What a day this Sunday turned out to be! After a great morning of worship and a hubby gone away AGAIN for a performance in Detroit, I decided to make most of my “restful” day. After having a great lunch at Chipotle I decided to roam around my city, soaking up some rays before closing myself into my humble abode. Since the snow had already melted the day returned to feeling late into fall instead of winter, even though the temperature was around the 20’s. BRRRR.
When I returned to my home, I decided to pounce on this recipe like a bad boy. This was my first time to make my own bread from scratch. Since I changed my eating lifestyle, it has been pretty hard to find good hearty bread that did not seem to be too dry or tasteless. If I had my choice I would choose a good sourdough if I had no choice, but my body would say otherwise. I miss my frequent trips to Whole Foods where I could get an assortment of hearty, rustic loafs, but, alas, the nearest Whole Foods is an hour away! I have other choices but somehow shelling out 6 to 7 bucks a loaf makes me cringe. As I was flipping through the September issue of Vegetarian Times, I ran into an article describing the health benefits of flaxseeds. I had already started taking flaxseed meal on a regular basis, but when I got to the recipe talking about a Vegan bread, I was all over it.
Since I started looking at the recipe several days ago I knew that I would have to leave 1/2 a cup of flaxseeds soaking in water in order for me to have the bread ready and finished before my hubby came back home. Let me tell you something. This bread recipe was the easiest bread recipe I have ever thought of making. 🙂 I forgot that I have made a recipe that my grandmother has made for years called Heavy Bread, but it does not have any yeast in it, so it was VERY dense. This flaxseed bread was the MOST delicious bread I have ever had.
The crust was crisp and tasty with a hint of sweetness. The bread itself was somewhat dense and FULL of flavor! Each bite cried to be savored. My hubby arrived home, exclaiming, “What is that great smell?” I replied in return, “Honey, it is delicious warm HOMEMADE bread awaiting you!” Who wouldn’t want to hear something like that?
The recipe says it makes one Boule, but it made 2 for me, which is wonderful. The more bread, the merrier, you know? The other thing that require modification was an additional 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour. The dough was very sticky and would not adhere until more than the required flour was added.
Enjoy this bread as much as we did!
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
- 1 cup plus 1 Tbs. flaxseeds, divided,
- plus more for sprinkling top of bread
- 2 Tbs. sugar, agave nectar, or honey (I used agave)
- 1 0.25-oz. pkg. or 2 1/2 tsp active yeast (not rapid-rise)
- 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
- 2 1/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill organic whole-wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt (I thought the salt factor was perfect, but I had the hubby piling on the salted butter since his palate has not acclamated. Add an additional 1/2 tsp if you like)
- Place 1/2 cup flaxseeds in bowl, and cover with 3 inches water. Let soak overnight.
