Hippy Dippy Flax Seed Bread

So, yesterday, I stood in the baking aisle of one of my favorite grocery stores for a good 10 minutes. It's not exactly the biggest grocery store in town, and I think I may have started to weird out the guy shelving the pasta sauce. After reading all the labels, I decided on a hippy dippy bag of flax seeds. Flax seeds are high in omega-3 and fiber!  Yay!  Thus, I present to you, a three-seed bread, dubbed Hippy Dippy Flax Seed Bread. Enjoy!

This is a modification of the recipe I found on the bag of Bob's Red Mill Flax Seed. So, I'm not taking credit. I modified it though, so here's my method.

1 c water
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 c flour (I used 1 c wheat and 2 c white bread flour)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c flax seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp sunflower kernels

Mix yeast and honey in very hot (but not boiling) water.  Allow to rest up to 10 minutes or until yeast proofs and you see little "eruptions."  Meanwhile mix together all dry ingredients.  After yeast is proofed, add oil and mix with wooden spoon.  Add dry ingredients and mix by hand or with a dough hook on a Kitchen Aid.  I usually use the dough hook until a ball forms and then throw it on the counter (literally, I toss it) and knead a bit by hand.

This dough rose REALLY fast.  I left for lunch with my mom and returned in an hour and a half and it had basically grown out of the bowl.  I'm not sure if that's just because it's very warm outside or not.  I actually punched down and allowed dough to rise again.  I almost never do this because I'm not convinced it does much.  But, I didn't feel like baking the loaves quite yet.

I think you could probably braid this bread, but I decided just to form it into a loaf and slash it right before putting it in the oven.  Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.  I'm still loving the pizza stone baking method, so it was a tight squeeze in the oven with our regular challah as well.  Worth it.

So, I dunno.  Is it a challah?  Is it just a tasty bread?  (I tried a little roll of it before Shabbat... it's DELICIOUS!)   The Hazz just walked in from the JCC and said, "THIS LOOKS LIKE A PROFESSIONAL BREAD!"  I know he's my husband, so I'm taking it with a grain of salt, but awwwwwww :)

Enjoy it with all your hippy dippy side dishes like beans and tofu and mixed greens.  Peace out!

 

Look at this bounty!!! Today, I also experimented with fresh yeast. I'll update you all after I try the "regular challah" (challah is never regular!).