This bread will really help clean out your arteries. It has a cup of flaxseed, which dramatically cuts bad LDL cholesterol, and no refined sugar. Warm spices add flavor and mask the taste of flaxseed (which we know not everyone likes). So this flax bread is actually one of the healthiest sandwich loaves you can make, with a mild taste. It’s also easy to assemble, with just one rise period before it’s baked, so making heart-healthy flax bread isn’t a full-day project either. Just throw your ingredients together in one bowl, give it a good knead, and it’s out of your hands — you can just feel good about breakfast tomorrow.
And if you’re looking for another healthy breakfast add-on, look no further than my recipe for Baked Cinnamon Honey Granola.
Heart-Healthy Flax Bread
Course: BreakfastCuisine: American12
servings30
minutes45
minutesIngredients
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
6 tbsp + 1 cup warm water* (see notes)
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup flaxseed meal
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups bread flour* (see notes)
Directions
- Add yeast to a large mixing bowl with 6 tbsp warm water. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Mix honey, vegetable oil, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cocoa powder into the yeast mixture, then mix in remaining 1 cup warm water. Add flaxseed, whole wheat flour, 1 cup bread flour and mix with a spoon.
- Add 1/2 cup more bread flour to dough and work surface and start pulling together the dough with your hands. Add more bread flour as necessary (up to 1 3/4 cups total) while kneading with both hands until the dough is soft, elastic, and completely combined (for me this takes 10-15 minutes).
- Coat a 9 x 5 loaf pan with vegetable oil and shape the dough into a loaf, placing it in the pan. Flip the dough to make sure all sides are coated with oil, then cover and let it rise in a warm place for one hour or until it’s doubled in size.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 mins, or until loaf is browned on top and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool completely, then slice. It’s ready to eat!
Notes
- You may wonder: how warm is ‘warm water’? If you have a kitchen thermometer, you may want to measure a temperature in between 100-110 degrees F (any more will kill active dry yeast). If you don’t have a thermometer, no worries, just touch the water and remember that if it feels hot to you, it’s hot to the yeast as well. Just keep it warm enough to feel comfortable.
- If you don’t like the taste of flaxseed, feel free to add 3/4 cup of flaxseed and replace the remaining 1/4 cup with bread flour.
- No, bread flour can’t be replaced with regular all-purpose or wheat flour; its protein content is important when it comes to loaves. But if you’re planning to make more breads, it’s worth investing in some quality bread flour.
This recipe was adapted from the book Cholesterol Cures by Prevention Health Books.
