Nut and Seed Bread (no sugar, no flour)

This comes out looking and tasting like a very dense, protein-rich bread. It is held together by the emulsion power of the ground flax seeds and eggs in the dough. With a food processor and seed grinder, this "bread" is really easy to prepare. You don't even need a special seed grinder to mill the flax into a flour, just use an electric coffee bean grinder. A decent one will run you about $15.

This recipe ratio comes from a Croatian food blog called Istine i laži o hrani (Google translates this as "The truth and lies about food"), which I found referenced to three generation links from its original source. I don't know what oat bran does for this recipe, but seeing how it only called for 2 tablespoons of it, I didn't see the need to make a special trip to the grocery store for it. Also, while all the seeds and nuts should be raw to start with, this batch used roasted sunflower seeds that were leftover from another meal, and sweetened shredded coconut because that's all I could find at the store.

Ingredients

1 c raw or roasted sunflower seeds
1 c raw almonds
1/2 c flax seeds, ground
1/2 c shredded unsweetened or sweetened coconut
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggs, lightly beaten
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 340 degrees F.

1. In a food processor, combine sunflower seeds, flax seeds, coconut, almonds, salt and cinnamon. Pulse until fine crumbs form. It's okay if the almonds don't grind all the way.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine mix wet ingredients together, then add dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

3. On a baking tray lined with a Silpat or lightly buttered parchment paper, pour out batter onto tray and gently form into a boule or oblong shape with your hands.

4. Bake for 45 minutes. When done, let cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Almond-Flax Pizza Crust (wheat-free)

This nut/seed crust came out better tasting than the yeast-free, gluten-free pizza crust. Made this version for a pizza night dinner. It is a pre-baked crust where toppings and fresh cheese are added later and then briefly baked again. It might have helped to have these ready beforehand on a pie plate lined with parchment paper. The crust stuck to the bottom of the pie plates that I had cooked them in, making the pizzas hard to remove. This recipe ratio comes from A Gourmet Girl Cooks blog.

Crusts came out darker using brown flax seeds

Also, all I had on hand were brown flax seeds. This made the dough come out dark colored. Golden flax seeds can be substituted. I doubt there is much difference in taste.

Makes: two 10-inch round pizzas

Ingredients

1/2 c almond flour (can also grind raw almonds into flour with a food processor)
1/2 c flax seeds, ground
1 1/3 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 tsp each: dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried oregano, and dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
pinch of cayenne powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 c Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients together, then add wet ingredients and mix well. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes to thicken.

2. Spread dough onto an oiled cookie sheet or oiled pie plates. Place a ball of dough in the center and press the dough outward with an oiled spatula. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through and it feels dry to the touch.

If there are other pizzas in the oven and the temperature is already set to 450 degrees F, reduce the cook time so the crust does not burn. For two crusts on pie plates, I let these bake for 10-12 minutes.

3. Remove from the oven and add pizza sauce, cheese and other toppings. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.