Ok, this isn’t really a “bread.” It has no yeast, no grain, and therefore no gluten. It’s perfect if you want a bread-like food but don’t (or can’t) eat actual bread. This little “loaf” comes out flat, and when cut, the slices have the shape of biscotti, as you can see in the photo above. It mixes up in minutes, bakes quickly, and can be eaten fresh out of the oven, so it’s a great snack or way to hit the spot if you’re wanting something sweet. I don’t crave sweets that often, but when I do, I love to have a couple of slices of this with some raw honey on it. Totally hits the spot!

The recipe comes from the awesome Kiva Rose at anima.org (read the post here). Their cooking is pretty loose and free there, and her recipe didn’t call for many exact amounts of anything. So this is how I’ve used the recipe, and it gives me pretty consistent results:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup organic flax meal (you can also do 2/3 c flax and 1/3 c nut flour)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-2 pinches of salt
• Spices – you can get creative here and make the bread sweet or savory. So far, I’ve only made it by adding cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger (I don’t measure amounts, I just toss some in), and I love it this way. But you could use pretty much anything you think would be tasty
• 2 eggs
• 3 tsp. butter or coconut oil – I’ve tried both, and it comes out fine either way
• Some water to make fluid enough to pour

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl & mix well.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.
4. Add just enough water to make the mixture somewhat pourable; I think usually a half cup of water does it. Best to just add a little bit at a time, because you don’t want it *too* wet (I’ve done this, and if it’s too wet, it won’t cook right).
5. Grease a loaf pan and pour batter into it. It won’t be a very deep amount of batter:
   
6. Bake for about 25-30 minutes (adjust depending on your oven, what kind of pan you use, etc). I use the “knife test” to make sure it’s done: insert a knife into the middle and see if it comes out clean.
7. Remove loaf from pan and let cool; here you can see how thin it is:
   
8. Feel free to slice it while still warm. It’s really good like that. Here’s a biscotti-shaped slice:
   
9. Enjoy! It should keep fine for a few days, probably up to a week in the fridge. I usually cut a couple of slices, warm them in the toaster oven, and then add whatever goodies I want on top. As you can imagine, there are lots of ways you could enjoy this recipe (add all sorts of herbs & cheese to the batter, or melt stuff on top, or spread on homemade preserves, or eat with mixed berries, or…)

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday for February 17, 2010.