Flax Focaccia Becomes Parsely Bruschetta
This is the bread recipe that changed my life --well, at least temporarily, in a small way. As you will see from the bruschetta below and more recipes in the days to come, I have turned this focaccia bread base into several other interesting types of baked goods.
First, however, I do need to disclose that this focaccia recipe is really not my own. It is Laura Dolson's and was pointed out to me by someone in the low carb group that I frequent regularly. I made minor changes to it, removing the artificial sweetener and a couple of other items.
I'm now on a flax kick --this flat type bread is full of super healthy fiber and is delicious to boot. And since it is so very nourishing I was a bit surprised that my guinea pigs liked it every bit as much as I did.
2 cups flax meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 tablespoon agave nectar
5 eggs, whisked
½ cup water
⅓ cup olive oil
- In a large bowl combine flax meal, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt
- In a smaller bowl, mix together agave, eggs, water and olive oil
- Stir wet ingredients into dry, mixing well, then allow to stand for 2-3 minutes so that batter thickens
- Pour batter into a 11-by-7-Inch pyrex baking dish
- Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or so until a knife comes out clean
- Remove from oven and cool
As I mentioned, the recipe above is my version of Laura Dolson's low carb bread. However, the creation below is 100% my own. So, go ahead and eat the above bread plain, or proceed onward to toast the bread and make a delicious savory topping for it with wholesome, fresh herbs.
1 batch focaccia
1 small onion, minced
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, minced
¼ cup olive oil
- Slice focaccia bread into squares and place on a parchment lined baking sheet
- In a small bowl, combine onion, parsley, rosemary and olive oil
- Spoon mixture onto bread squares
- Bake at 350° until onions are browned
- Remove from oven and bread will be crunchy; drizzle with more olive oil if desired
- Serve
The boys and I have been baking a lot and really enjoying summer. It is full of baseball, jumping on our trampoline, bowling, board games and walks down to the creek. We are having an amazing time.
They have also been fabulous sports in helping me get work done for the launch of my book. The countdown for my book is on (it hits retailers this Tuesday, July 28th), however, I have heard from a couple of folks that it is already on the shelves of some stores.
And today the book received this lovely review from Delicious Living.
Posted on July 22, 2009 in breads by Elana
other entries you may like: Dark “Rye” Bread
or Gluten-Free Bread 2.0
or Nutty Bread
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Before you leave a comment...
"Check out Elana's FAQ page for info on substitutions -- there are just too many possibilities so she can't answer all of these : ) But the Forums are an excellent resource and I highly recommend posting your substitution questions there; everyone is friendly and helpful." -Katie
Your creativity never fails to amaze me! I am making this for my husband tonight.
Warmly,
Daniela
I love flax, too. The flavor is so earthy and compliments so many different foods. I even sprinkle it on fruit & cottage cheese. My vet told me to add ground flax to my dog's food to help his dry skin & it worked beautifully.
What a beautiful presentation Elana! And it sounds soooo yummy!
Congratulations on your book launching so soon and the great review. Yay for having a fabulous summer too. All the fun activities, warm weather and delicious fresh food make me wish summer would never end. At least we get pumpkins in the winter, love pumpkin!
I'm sure this will be a busy and exciting week for you, enjoy every moment! xoxo
yum! it looks soooo good. and i love making bread. and using fresh herbs.
Elana, been baking and enjoying your creations for quite some time, but have never commented. Still...I wanted to let you know that I made this recipe from Laura Dolson a couple of days ago and tweaked it just as you did. I,however, used the golden flax. It was wonderful. I'll have to try it as a bruschetta next time. Since finding out that I am diabetic, I've had to cut out ALL my gluten free grains. This is just one of the reasons I love your recipes. Thanks for all you do. And congrats on your book. Can't wait to get it!
This may be my dream recipe! It uses flax (which I always have and rarely know what to do with), no yeast, "normal" ingredients, and easy insructions. My daughter hasn't had bread-like foods in ages and will be delighted with this! Thanks, Elana
Looks amazing! any suggestions of what i could use instead of eggs?
Thanks for another lovely recipe Elana, and just want to say Fantastic Luck with the book launch - it's already on my amazon wish list and as soon as it's available here in the UK I am on it! :o)
This sounds so wonderful. I think I might just whip this up this weekend.
I made the plain foccacia last night for my family. Unfortunately, it was not a big hit. I have made dozens of your recipes before and been delighted, but this one had a baking soda aftertaste. My husband and I ate it, but not the kids. Maybe as bruschetta, that taste would be overpowered. I might try it again with only 1t of baking soda. I have a lot of it left, so I'll be trying out the bruschetta step to see if that makes it more palatable.
update -
I made the bruschetta with dinner tonight. It was very tasty - the strong flavor of the fresh rosemary took away the baking soda taste of the foccacia. The kids liked the foccacia with jam. One warning though - eating this stuff will clean you out!
I also made the foccacia bread (and bran muffins) and found that the baking soda aftertaste was quite prominent in both which is unusual with Elana's recipes. Is it possible that there is a typo or has anyone experimented with half the amount of baking soda that is indicated?
I made this bread yesterday and having been eating it with some homemade dairy free pesto. Delicious!! Just one question - how do you store it? I let it cool and cut it in to squares and put it in a plastic freezer bag in the refrigerator. But today I noticed the inside of the bag is all wet. Should I wrap it in paper towel like you suggested for the Nutty gluten free bread?
Thank you! I love your recipes!
This looks absolutely delish! This could be a great side dish with really any main course. I love the addition of the flaxseed and those good Omega-3's! Can't wait to try this yummy side dish. Bon appetit :)
this foccacia is JUST lovely!.. u can easily freeze this too .. ( i need to since im the only one that eats this!) and microwave this for 20 seconds.. now i would like to know how much fiber is in 2 by 2 inch square.. it MUST be imPRESSive! this is a goooooood thing!
thanks elana for sharing!
Love your flax focaccia bread. You should submit it to the bread contest on my site. The winner gets a $179 Super Bread bread knife from New West Knifeworks. You can get more info here:
http://www.phamfatale.com/id_516/title_Pham-Fatale-Bread-Contest/
Let me know if you're interested. All I need is a photo of your bread (for voting) and the link to your recipe.
Have you tried freezing this bread? Wondered how it would survive the freezer.
Hello Elana
First of all, I want to thank you for your wonderful site and the recipes that I've been using for about a year now. They are healthy, simple, just impeccable.
I have a question about the flex focaccia : do you think it would be possible to substitute baking soda + cream of tartar with the baking powder. I am not a big fan of cream of tartar.
Thank you much.
Irina
[...] even has a video on the webpage showing how to make it. The recipe was then tweaked by Elana of http://www.elanaspantry.com. Both recipes work well are are a great starting point for your own [...]
Just ate my 3rd piece! So delicious! Definitely make it with the bruschetta. I also smeared avocado on top with a little salt. Love this recipe!
I also made this last night and was amazed at how good it tastes. I made the plain recipe from the original author. It is great in all sorts of variations and with peanut butter on top. Filling too. Next time I am going to reduce the oil and salt...Delicious!
Thank you! I just ate this bread with sliced tomatoes, olives, onions, garlic and rosemary on top. YUM. And for the first time in a long time, I don't feel sick! My whole family loved it too.
~Mars