I usually eat a lot of bread and wanted to replace it with a non-wheat alternative with lower carbohydrate content. Out of all the nut and seed-based flours, flaxseed seemed to have the least number of calories. I found some recipes on the web, but they were quite varied and I wanted to try a couple of variants, especially because I was using a quicker cooking method.
Because I was only using baking powder as a leavening agent, I just used a microwave instead of waiting for an oven to heat up. This way, I could iterate quickly and do all of these in just under 2 hours. It’s possible to make all kinds of small and quick mug cakes in a microwave, this is commonly referred to as the “3-minute cake”.
2-ingredient recipe (eggless)
- 26g flaxseed flour – finely ground flour, not flaxseed meal
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 32ml water
- pinch of salt
Tip: the batter will be dry, so mix the water with baking powder first to get an even spread of baking powder
Result
Tastes OK, but firm and dry. Really hard after being left to sit for 30min
Calories: 339 kcal / 100g
2-ingredient recipe, more water and baking powder
- 26g flaxseed flour – finely ground flour, not flaxseed meal
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 40ml water
- pinch of salt
Result
It has risen a bit more, but needs more time to cook on the bottom. Still dry and firm, not much difference in taste and texture compared to previous test.
Custom mix with egg & oil
This was originally based on a recipe that uses peanut flour, i just switched it out for flaxseed flour.
- 15g butter or oil
- 1 egg
- 26g ground flaxseed
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
Cooking time: ~3 minutes
Result
Firm, but crumbly, much nicer than the 2-ingredient versions. Still quite dry though.
Calories: ~310 kcal / 100g
Update: using a silicone form
The previous breads were made in a thick mug, which probably took a lot of the heat away and I needed to run the microwave for the full 3 minutes or more for the bottom to cook. I decided to try the same mix, but in a silicone bread pan, with doubled ingredient amounts. This allowed me to lower the cooking time to 2 minute, but the bread was still done all the way through.
Result
There’s a big difference! This time, it has kept its moistness and i;ts much more squishy, like wheat bread. This is the best so far. It also responds well to toasting, although there’s no visible browning on the surface.
Protein boost
- 10g oil (or butter)
- 1 egg
- 28g ground flax
- 15g protein powder (whey)
- 10ml water
The batter it sticky and harder to work with.
Result
The protein powder adds a bit of creaminess and now it is closer to cake texture-wise than to bread.
Calories: ~299 kcal / 100g
No need to experiment anymore
Even before trying to make my own bread, I knew that there was an existing product. The problem was lack of availability though. It was only sold in a certain grocery chain and was only on the shelves a couple of days a week because it sold out quickly.
By the time I started doing by own experiments, another chain caught up with the demand and rolled out their own (or at least I discovered it). It’s well stocked so there’s no need to hunt for it. Pricing is obviously higher than regular bread, but it’s still worth it considering the time savings. Having a carbohydrate content similar to flaxseed – 9.5% by mass, it’s perfect. Calories: 301kcal per 100g.
I guess there’s an analogy with software development – if you have a need or want that is not completely unique, it’s worth shopping around instead of jumping straight into spending time and money building your own version. There’s bound to be a company that already invested more resources into getting it right.
