Flax Seed Recipes - Whole Wheat Bread with Ground Flax

Prep
Grind your wheat and flax and combine them in a separate bowl.

I use a KitchenAid mixer to make my bread, so I use the mixer bowl to start my yeast.

Start
Add one cup warm water and 2 tsp honey to the bowl. Stir til dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast onto the liquid. Let sit for 10 minutes, or until you have a nice foamy cap on top of the water. I either place my bowl in a warm (not hot) oven or in a sink filled with hot water.

Mix
Add 3 cups warm water, 2/3 cup honey, and salt to the bowl. Use the mixing beater on low (1) to begin to mix ingredients.

Add 3 or 4 cups of your flour to the bowl. Let it mix for a minute or two until you have a nice pancake batter-like consistency.

Knead
Slowly add flour a bit at a time and the dough will start to form. After adding a few cups of flour, take out the mixing beater and replace with the dough hook.

Continue to add flour, scraping the bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add flour until the dough pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Dough will be sticky, however. This isn't white flour so don't expect a nice pizza-dough ball you can spin around over your head.

Rise #1
Lightly spray a large mixing bowl with non-stick spray and drop the dough into the bowl. Cover with wax paper (also lightly sprayed) and a dish towel.

Place bowl in a nice warm spot to rise. I like to heat the oven up a little bit and then put the bowl in. Just warm it up. Don't cook the dough. Some people use the oven light to do this.

Let dough double in size, about 50 - 60 minutes.

Lift & Separate
Punch down the dough with your clean fist and place the dough onto a cutting board.

Cut the dough into 4 equal sections. I use a culinary scale to weigh them. Each hunk should weigh between 1 lb. 4 oz - 1 lb. 8 oz.

Rise #2
Shape each hunk into something round, cover with a cloth, and let rise again for about 10 minutes.

While the dough is rising, get out 4 medium bread pans (I like Pyrex pans myself) and spray with non-stick spray.

Shape
Flatten each dough ball and form a rough rectangle. Roll the dough up like a jelly or cinammon roll, trying to avoid air pockets as you roll.

After rolling it up, pinch the ends and seam closed and drop the loaf seam-side down into your pans.

Rise #3
Place the pans in a warm spot with a towel covering them for about 50 minutes. The dough should rise almost to the same height the baked bread will be - 1 1/2 inches above the top of the pan.

Bake
Pre-heat over to 400°. Place pans in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and bake for another 20 minutes.

Bread is done when it's nice and brown on top and makes a hollow sound when you tap on it with your finger.

Cool
Remove from the pans immediately and place bread on a wire rack. Do not bag the bread until it has cooled completely (it'll sweat, otherwise).

Eat the bread within 2 - 3 days. After that, the bread will start to have a poor taste and texture. The bread will freeze and defrost perfectly when placed in freezer-proof zip-loc bags. Just remove from freezer and let it defrost on the counter.


Last Words
This recipe can be made by kneading by hand instead of using a mixer. Some might want to touch the dough in order to reconnect with Mother Earth. To each her own... I find wheat bread dough pretty sticky and it just seems easier to use a mixer. You decide.

Flax
It's much better and less expensive to grind your own flax seed. I buy my the top-quality flax direct from the farmer at Goldenflax.com. Greg Grahn at Golden Flax works with growers to produce the most nutritious flax seed you can buy.

Don't know much about flax?

Learn all about the documented health benefits of flax.

I've heard some people comment that flax seed has kind of a fishy smell or flavor. That is only a sign that the ground flax seed is rancid and should be thrown out. Fresh ground flax seed tastes good and has a nutty flavor.

I use a small coffee grinder just like this one to grind flax right when I need it. It grinds flax quickly and evenly and doesn't take up much space.

Wheat
One of the most important factors in this recipe is the quality of your wheat flour. Poor wheat flour will make this bread turn out flat and hard. Yechhh!

So where can you get good wheat for grinding?

• Wheat Montana Prairie Gold

I've used Wheat Montana wheat for years now and it turns out the best baked products - bar none. The Folkvord family has run Wheat Montana farms for three generations in Montana and care about their products. They sell only non-GMO and certified chemical/pesticide free products.

You can purchase directly from Wheat Montana, or you can use their dealer locator to find someone nearby.

Also, most Whole Foods Market stores have their products in bulk as well as grinders right in the store. The ground flour should then be placed in the freezer or used within a few days.

Believe me, there is a difference compared to run-of-the-mill wheat.

If you want to grind your own wheat, you can buy an excellent grinder for just a few hundred dollars. Believe me, it's worth it.

This is the grinder I use. It turns 8 cups of wheat berries into 12 cups of fine flour in 3 or 4 minutes. Excellent!