Omega-3 are to hormones what Dolce is to Gabbana. Indispensable.
Our bodies cannot make omega-3 itself, so we need to regularly include them in our diet. As always, food sources are preferable to supplements. You’ll find a truckload of omega-3 fatty acids in this bread.
Here’s the vid …
Flaxseeds are also said to be one of nature’s highest sources of cancer-protective plant lignans. These groovy compounds are linked to happy hormones, lower blood cholesterol and giddy antioxidant behaviour. Quite the hat trick for a tiny seed.
If you know someone who is gluten-intolerant, please email them this recipe or cookery vid. They’ll go bonkers for you. It contains no flour or grains, making it perfect for Paleo disciples too. But you don’t have to be a Paleo geek to appreciate this bread – it’s incredibly good for you and seriously tasty.
Sun Dried Tomato & Olive Focaccia – a paleo bread
This recipe is from my first cookbook, The Extra Virgin Kitchen (erm, my second cookbook is almost here, talk about a publicity whore!)
Next week, I’ll be posting the rosemary and lemon version we make at demos and talks. We’re also toying around with a beer and seaweed version too. Stay tuned.
2 cups milled flaxseed / linseed (approximately 220g)
3 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 eggs
½ cup regular or plant milk (125ml)
2 tablespoons of black strap molasses or honey, warmed until runny
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive or macadamia oil (60ml)
Handful of black olives, stones removed
10-12 small sun-dried or sun-blushed tomatoes
Preheat conventional ovens to 180 degrees, gas mark 4, fan assisted 160. Lightly oil a small baking tray, a few inches smaller in height than an A4 page. a 10×8 inch is poifect (but an 8×8 square brownie tin will also do. Just leave some mixture behind in the bowl).
Combine the ground flax, oregano and baking powder together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk, molasses and oil until thoroughly united. I prefer to use black strap molasses instead of honey for three reasons. Firstly, it gives the best baking results. Secondly, it’s super rich in iron and B vitamins for energy. And thirdly, it’s much cheaper.
Chop up the olives and sun-dried tomatoes, adding them to the wet ingredients. Now add wet to dry, and immediately pour into your pre-greased baking tray. Spread evenly, and sprinkle a little more dried oregano on top if you fancy. Bake for about 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and its tin. Allow to cool for 25 minutes on a wire rack. Tickle with black olive tapenade, some super-garlicky hummus, or serve alongside your favourite bowl of soup. This bread freezes exceptionally well, ready to grill when there’s nothing in the cupboard. Nifty, huh?
60 Comments
Hi Susan, was wondering if i could substitute the eggs with chia eggs as have an egg allergy?
Great question Cathy. In theory, yes. In practice, only one way to find out! Linseed & water also makes a good egg replacement, and given that there is so much linseed in this bread, I question whether more seeds (ie chia) would work. Instincts tell me no, but I’d love to be proved wrong. In any case, I imagine the result would still be edible. Hope this helps? Wishing you luck in your continued wizardry. SJ
What about duck eggs? Would you lessen the amount if I was to use them instead. Also, I\’ve been reading about cases where people with an egg intolerance can tolerate duck eggs.
Hi David. Duck eggs work beautifully, but I have no idea whether they are more tolerable than hen’s eggs if you are sensitive to eggs 😉 Good luck! It’s gorgeous!
Hi Susan,
My bread was very wet still after 25 mins in the oven. Would you recommend a longer baking time or hotter oven? Put in back in for 15 mins 3 times as it still wasn’t cooked. Tastes amazing though!!!
Thanks
Oh! Not sure what may have happened I’m afraid. The seeds need to be bought ground / milled and not whole. Do you think this was the problem? x SJ
Oh! A very important tip – do you have an oven thermometer? They are worth every cent. Our ovens can misbehave, unknowingly. An oven thermometer is one of your best allies in the kitchen!
Hallelujah ring the bells! I am folling a paleo type diet to try and keep my cancer under contol and have tried 5 bread recipes in the hope of finding something I would wish to eat out of choice. I made myself eat the first 3 loaves but pushed them round my plate like my 4 year old, then had to to put last in the bin as eating it was too purgatorial and I decided life is challenging enough! However your bread is FAB – thankyou thankyou! I shall be making batches with gay abandon!
I just made it this morning too – and highfived my toddler. We were synchronizing with you, unknowingly! It makes me so incredibly happy to hear that my recipes are useful to you, especially arming you for your fight against cancer.
Onwards ye of admirable tenacity!
Wonderful book and amazing presentation, even recipes I am not so sure I will like look so appetizing. Thanks for above recipe, Just made it and its great, but not so sure my toddlers love it, could I substitute one of the cups of Flaxseed with Spelt flour to make it a bit meatier? See you again in todays Times Supplement, delighted to see hard work, originality and passion paying off!
Thanks so much for such a generous message ! Not sure about the spelt quantities, but you could try 1/2 cup maximum, in place of 1/2 cup flax? Working on a special children’s recipe book with fail proof recipes so will keep you posted 😉
Hi Susan,
Just wondering if you have metric/ imperial measurements for the flaxseed & almond milk? Really looking forward to making this!!
Thanks,
Sylvia
Hi Slyvia. I’ll update that now. Good luck! SJ
Wonderful!!!
Yaah!! Will get cracking on this,
Thanks!
There we are! Hope it helps!
Many thanks!
Can you use water instead of the milks suggested ?
Go for it!
Hi Susan, Made this bread, love it! I just wanted to ask what brand of Almond Milk and Coconut milk too, do you recommend, love your granola from the book with a splash coconut milk!
Just want to be sure Im using the healthiest brand.
Thank you!
Hi Nicola,
I make my own nutmilk now (sounds a little hocus pocus I understand, but it is way cheaper than buying it and even buying dairy!) Search “nutmilk” in the search box to the left. I bought a “cheese cloth” online from amazon, or a “nut milk bag” for 5 quid, and use it every day. It’s AMAAAAZING. Otherwise, I think if the milk is certified organic, then it shouldn’t use pasteurised or gassed nuts 😉
Thanks Susan! 🙂
Just made this yummy bread to have with a big bowl of homemade soup. My 4 year old called it “divine” but then wasnt convinced on the olives and tomato combo when she hit on it…just wondering had you any other ideas to replace these?
Yes – same with my toddlers so we use rosemary and lemon instead. You could leave the toms and olives out entirely, and just add extra bit of molasses which makes it plain for kiddlies. Let me know!
Will definitely give that a go! What qtys of rosemary and lemon do you use? Also, do you still use oregano with this combo? Thanks for your reply.
I take the oregano out, and replace with the same quantity as oregano. Not sure what I did with the lemon, but if you just omit the tomatoes and olives, you could add juice of 1 small lemon and a few raisins to balance it . Good luck!
Hi Susan, I want to give this a go, but I want to try it without the black olives, oregano and sundries tomatoes, would that be too bland?
You could add extra honey or raisins instead? Or dried rosemary and lemon zest? But yes – it will still work. Good luck!
Would this work in a standard bread loaf tin?
I’m afraid it doesn’t
Susan, thank you! I made it without olives, and I only had a 23cm square pan, worked out great.
Hi Susan, this is a bit cheeky because it’s question about your wheat free bread recipe in the cookbook! I’ve made it a couple of times, tastes amazing, I love it but when I’ve baked it, it’s all cracked on the top which makes it fall apart a bit! Am I using too much baking poweder maybe? Any thoughts appreciated. Thank you!
Hi Dal. Can’t seem to think of why it’s falling apart. Someone else wrote to me a few months back about the same problem, but proportionately, it’s a small percentage so I’m thinking it might be the tin size? What a shame! Do you think the tin you are using is as stated in the recipe? I know that if smaller ones are used (e.g. an 8×8 brownie tin) it becomes too fat and crumbles. Does this help? Otherwise, maybe raise the temperature a little so that it forms an immediate crust, top and bottom. This should help it hold together.
Gah! Fingers crossed for you!
Hi Sarah Jane! Thanks for this advice. I initially used a 10 x 8 inch tin and then a 8 x 6’ish inch tin (cannot find it right now to measure exactly!). Both cracked on top. Still ate it all though! So when I make my next batch maybe in a week or so I’ll up the temperature like you suggested and see what happens! Going to get an oven thermometer too. My besty mate and I are finding your cookbook a real lifechanger – thank you!
Hi Susan, I have made the wheat free bread from the Extra Virgin Cookbook twice now (yum!) but the bottom of it always sticks to the grease proof paper! I end up peeling it off in little strips and chewing the bread off the paper coz it’s so tasty! Should I grease the paper first? Ps I love the badass breakfast bars, office bombs and banana bread!
Hi Fidelma. Wow- you have nailed the top two trickiest recipes in the book. The bread and the breakfast bars! I use a special brand of baking parhcment called “if you care” which never ever sticks. There are loads of crappy versions that supermarkets like to stock, because the profit margins are much bigger. When you come across the “if you care brand”, stock up!! It’s worth every cent. Good luck!
Hi Susan, I’m having really trouble figuring out what the baking tray should look like! Is it more a roasting tin shape that loaf tin? Also have all ingredients except oregano – will it be severely lacking without it? Many thanks!
You can use dried rosemary instead of you have it. It does need flavour (oregano can be found in any supermarket). The bread tin is not a loaf tin. It’s just bigger than an 8×8 standard brownie tin. 8×12 is exactly the size. Hope this helps! The bread is The Snazz!
I am so pleased to have found your blog recently, after a long and fruitless effort to find a good recipe with flaxseed. After so many flops, this flaxseed focaccia recipe was the first to work for me it allowed me to start enjoying this ingredient, which I was very nearly ready to discard.
Oh good! Play around with the flavours – dried rosemary and lemon is gorgeous too. Mulberry and rooibos. Go wild!
I am working my way through your AMAZING recipes. Discovered you through Donal’s Youtube and bought your book! Thank you for your wonderful recipes. Your fudge has also made me sweet queen with family and friends! I love that you add character to your videos, writing and recipes!
Peace, love and omega-3’s!
(ps. it’s PMT brownies tonight. hope it works magic!)
Hello Shaz! So kind of you to say so! Glad we found your kitchen 😉 Here’s wishing your pots and pans infinite amounts of giddiness xxx
I have mislaid your yummy recipe for coconut bread with sweet potatoe, maple syrup, flaxseed, brown rice flour etc – just need the proportions?
Regards,
Sheila.
I have mislaid your yummy recipe for coconut bread with sweet potatoe, maple syrup, flaxseed, brown rice flour etc – just need the proportions?
Regards,
Sheila.
Oh gosh! I’ll have to resurrect it – not sure where it is. Leave it with me. Published in The SUnday Indo though so likely online 😉
Just made the black bread based on Flaxseeds. It is seriously good thank you. I did not have the oregano and only had sundried tomatoes to hand and it still tastes wonderful. I am a Coeliac so trust me,good bread is hard to find !
You are a natural on video and I love your relaxed attitude.Too many folk are put off cooking / baking as it all seems to formal and difficult. I love that you banish that myth.
Thanks Kay! That’s wonderful feedback to get. I’ll save up to do some more videos of my other favourite dishes 😉 Glad the bread found your kitchen!
[…] you fancy giving a Paleo bread a go, here’s a video showing how to make a slightly different version of this bread (with olives and sundried tomato […]
Hi Susan! Really excited to try this bread, I’m mixing it all up right now. As a Canadian gal, I’m well familiar with molasses and LOVE it. I’ve looked in 5 different grocery stores here in Dublin though and haven’t been able to find it. Where did you get yours?
Oh darn! How frustrating. I get mine in any health food store. If you are city centre, there’ 2 on Grafton Street, 2 on Wicklow St, 1 on Georges St. ALl stock molasses and milled linseed. Hope it finds you soon! G’luck 😉
Hi Susan love your bread and all your recipies are fab But I see a change in your recipes. you have written glowingly about CUP MEASUREMENTS which I love but now I see LBS and OUNCES MLS and GRAMS creeping in Dont like them
I agree Maura! But sadly I have no choice (my newspaper rejected cups so I’m not permitted to write in cups anymore). Don’t worry – next book still in cups 😉
Thanks Susan Jane now I understand reasoning behind change. I collect all your Sunday paper recipies keep up good work looking forward to new book regards
Thanks so much for dropping by and sharing your thoughts!
We are a sugar free home (all forms of sugar)… Are the molasses or honey absolutely necessary to the recipe? Would the recipe hold together without them? Thanks!
Recipe will work no problem with the molasses or honey 😉 Good on you!
Hi Sarah Jane! Mega fan of this recipe! I want to make a version for a friend without any sweetener as in the above comment…by “recipe will work no problem with the molassesor honey”, do you mean “withOUT”? Gruß, Ellie
Oh golly! Yes! I meant without (silly me). Sorry!
Any ideas how this bread can be made with any eggs?
Not yet, but working on it! #highfive