The Trials and Tribulations of Flax Seed

After reading bloggers singing the praises of flax seed, I knew I had to try it myself. Three recipes and a moderate amount of frustration later, I learned that flax seed meal is not something I will use on its own again; however, mixed with other types of flour (in this case almond), it can add a nutty flavor and a darker, denser texture to baked goods. Today's experiment included three recipes: Apple Flax Muffins http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breads/r/appleflaxmuffin.htm , Focaccia-Style Flax Bread http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breads/r/flaxbasicfoc.htm , and Flax Seed Crackers http://www.healthyflax.com/flax-recipes/Appetizers/Flaxseed%20Crackers.pdf. The cracker recipe is not low carb as written, but I made a couple of substitutions, and it turned out great.

The morning began with a heavenly smell wafting through the house as the apple flax muffins baked. However, the entire family was heartily disappointed in the final product. They were basically flavorless, despite a tablespoon of cinnamon, a tablespoon of vanilla, and a teaspoon of nutmeg (none of which were evident when the muffins came out of the oven). In addition, the "batter" (I use this term loosely because it was stiffer than chocolate chip cookie dough) didn't even out at all. Thus, the way the batter  looked when it was pushed into the muffin cups is how it looked when it was done - not particularly pretty.

Once the muffins passed the doneness test of a clean toothpick and beginning to pull away from the sides (which took a good deal longer than the prescribed 18 minutes), we eagerly tossed a hot one on a plate and added a little a butter for good measure. However, the interior was still doughy. I returned the muffins to the oven to continue baking, but could not get that doughy texture to go away. The tops were pretty brown at the end, but still no luck. Ultimately, the guys and I agreed that these muffins were a waste. Rather than throw them away, though, I crumbled them up and am waiting for them to dry out to make bread crumbs. (I may have to help them along in the oven given the amount of moisture on the inside of these muffins.) Hopefully I'll be able to salvage them for other uses.

Next, I made the Focaccia-Style Flax Bread, though I have to admit I had second thoughts after the muffin debacle. (Both came from the same person on the same website and had many high ratings from previous cooks.) After seeing how dense and doughy the muffins were, I decided to modify this recipe a little. I reduced the flax seed meal from two cups to one and used almond meal for the other. After baking 20 minutes, as directed, it didn't seem quite done, though, so I put another 10 minutes on the timer, but took it out a couple minutes before it went off (for a total of about 28 minutes). As for the taste test, the boy and I agreed that it was infinitely better than the muffins, though not something we'd use on a sandwich. However, the texture reminded us of cornbread, and I think the addition of some shredded cheese and green chilies would make this an acceptable substitute. (I might also increase the sweetness a little and add some chipotle just to kick up the flavor a notch.) I could feature eating this with black eyed peas, bacon seasoned green beans, or a bowl of chili.

While the first recipe of the day was a strike, and the second a base hit, the third was a home run. The flax seed crackers were excellent and filling. (Even the cat approved when offered a bite, and believe me, he has good taste: he loves me, not to mention cheese, bacon, and guacamole.) I did make some changes to the recipe in order to lower the carb count, so I'll post the full recipe below with my modifications. In addition, I must have cut my crackers a good deal smaller, because I ended up with 67 while the recipe had 24. (A Triscuit box contains about 54 crackers.) I was shooting for a Wheat Thins kind of taste with these, and got pretty close, though I think more salt is necessary. However, rather than adding any more to the recipe, I'll sprinkle some directly on the unbaked crackers.
In addition, I may try pressing the crackers with a glass directly on the cookie sheet rather than rolling out the dough. The dough was pretty sticky, and though a spatula took it right off the counter top, I struggled with keeping it off the rolling pin. At the end, I had a couple bits of dough that I pressed with my fingers for the final crackers, and they turned out thinner and crispier than the ones I used a rolling pin on. This might also make it easier to get a uniform size. Though, apparently, uniformity isn't all it's cracked up to be. As I was looking at today's recipes, I had difficulty making the carb counts work out as shown, so I Googled the nutrition facts for flax seed meal and found several different listings. Depending on the brand, flax seed meal can have anywhere between zero to eight net carbs per cup. My package lists the carb count as five grams for two tablespoons, minus four grams of fiber, for a net count of one gram, so that is the number I used. (Of course, the lesson here is read the label!)

Ultimately, though I wasn't thrilled with all of my endeavors, I learned a lot about using flax seed meal today and gained a couple of good recipes for future use.  I'm glad I gave flax seed a try. Enjoy!

Low Carb Flax Seed Crackers

(Adapted from Healthyflax.com)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flax seed meal (4 net carbs)
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour (6 net carbs)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (.6 net carbs)
• 1 teaspoon salt (0 net carbs)
• 4 tablespoons room temperature butter (0 net carbs)
• 1/2 cup almond milk (0 net carbs - I use the unsweetened and then add a little liquid sucralose)
• liquid sucralose to taste (0 net carbs - I love the salty-sweet taste of Wheat Thins, so I added a little sweetener to the dough to move the crackers that direction.)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Mix dry ingredients.
• Add butter and mix until a course meal forms. (This can be done with a whisk, but may be easier with a fork, since the dough will sort of glom up later.)
• Stir in the milk to form a soft dough.
• Divide into quarters and wrap in plastic.
• Chill for at least 10 minutes. (The colder the dough, the easier it is to roll out.)
• Roll the dough out (the thinner the better) on a floured boar d and cut into cracker-sized squares. (You might want to sprinkle a little extra salt on, too.)
• Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 20 minutes. (I turned the crackers over and baked them another 5 to get more even browning. If your crackers are really thin, they may take less time.)
• The crackers become crisper as they cool.

The entire batch came to 10.6 net carbs and made 67 crackers at .158 g. each. (This means 6 or 7 crackers equals 1 g. of carbohydrates.)