Focaccia-Style Flax Bread ~ paleo with vegan option
This Focaccia Flax Bread Recipe is one of our favorite recipes of all time. It tastes great with a sweet or savory filling and freezes well too, plus it's easily adaptable for vegan diets.
If you're on either a gluten-free diet or a grain-free, low-carb, or paleo diet and you miss bread, this Flax Bread Recipe is just what you have been waiting for.
It's grain-free and even vegan (if need be) to boot and is one of our family's favorites. It's a very forgiving recipe that you won't even need my gluten-free baking tips for :).
And if you haven't heard about how healthy flax is, then read on.
Because this focaccia flax bread recipe is well--just great.
We've been eating flax seeds for years, but mainly in shakes and as a substitute for eggs in baking, but this bread is a great way to get the health benefits of flax into your family.
The Benefits of Flaxseed
Flax is high in:
- omega-3 essential fatty acids
- fiber
- antioxidants
Sounds like a good idea to get you and your family to eat more of this wonderfood, right? Well here's how!
I've shared this Focaccia Flax Bread with a number of folks, and everyone has asked for the recipe. It has a nice deep flavor and pleasing texture. And it's a great bread alternative for those on gluten-free diets.
Gluten-free folks need to take great care not to load up on refined starches for those who do damage to their already compromised digestive systems. Alternatives like this are pleasing both to the palate and also healthy for your body.
If you're not that familiar with flax seeds, there are two varieties--light and dark. The bread in the main photos here above was made with light seeds.
The light ones will (of course :-)) produce a lighter-colored bread, but from what I understand, there is no difference in nutritional value and we haven't found there to be a taste difference either.
The light (golden) flax seeds are more expensive, so save your money (unless, of course, you really need the lighter variety for some reason) and buy the dark variety. The resulting bread will look like what you can see pictured below.
Serving Ideas
You can top or serve this oh so delish flax bread with....
- Homemade Nut or Seed Butter (and jam if you like)
- Savory Hummus, Pizza Hummus, or Olive Hummus
- Homemade Egg-Free Mayo with cheese, veggies, shredded carrots, etc. Makes a great sandwich! (that's what is on the sandwich in the main photo)
- Fried Egg and Cheese
- This Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup
- This Easy Marinara Sauce. Great for dipping!
- Nothing! Just eat it plain! I seriously can barely keep my sons out of this, so plain is how it mainly gets eaten in our home.
Ingredients
- Flax Seed Meal
- Baking Powder
- Salt (I recommend Real Salt)
- Healthy Sweetener (optional: sucanat or coconut sugar would be goo options. I use xylitol or stevia extract for a candida-friendly option)
- Eggs (or equivalent alternative)
- Water (use filtered water please)
- Coconut Oil (other healthy fats may be substituted)
Notes on stevia:
You can use other sweeteners for this recipe, but in case you happen to use stevia, here are some tips for its use.
Stevia is super sweet so you only need a tad. I bought these (the links are affiliate links) scoops and use the 2nd smallest as “1 scoop”, or 1/32 of a teaspoon.
Yes, it’s THAT sweet!
Hope you love it as much as we do.
One more thing. If you need more information on stevia--like what it is and how to measure it, read this post here.
Recipe Notes
- Sweeteners: Use whatever sweetener you like. Stevia extract will work as well. If using stevia, use 1/32 teaspoon. Organic sucanat or organic coconut sugar are good options if you don't need low-carb or are AIP.
- Egg Options: You can use an egg substitute like Ener-G Egg Replacer or my Homemade Powdered Egg Replacer. For a low-carb egg substitute use a flax egg, chia egg, or gelatin egg.
- All five eggs might be a too many for someone who doesn't like eggs. You can try using 3-4 and substituting an egg alternative for the remaining eggs.
- Flax Meal Info: If grinding your own flax (which I recommend), 4 cups of flax seeds yield about 6 - 6 1/2 cups flax meal. If you have extra after grinding, just store it in the fridge or freezer for adding to smoothies, etc.
- Pan sizes and conversion info: One recipe will fit well in a 10x15 pan. To use 2 9x13 pans, make 1 1/2 recipes.
3 recipes covers 2 large circular baking stones.
If you really want to bake in bulk, make 4 1/2 recipes for 2 large size pizza stones and 2 9x13 pans (this is what I always do since we eat it up so quickly!) - Baking Stones: Baking stones really make clean up easy and there is no greasing necessary. No need to grease and clean up is a snap!
Special Diet Options
- THM: For those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this recipe fits in as an "S."
- Paleo: Use this homemade baking powder (or another appropriate version).
- Whole30: Use my homemade baking powder, or another appropriate alternative, and omit the sweetener to make this recipe friendly for Whole30.
How To Make This Bread in Bulk
Here are the ingredient measurements for 4 1/2 batches:
9 cups flax meal
4 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
22 eggs, or equivalent (use 11 heaping tablespoons and 1 heaping teaspoon of this powdered egg replacer)
4 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 tablespoons sweetener (using the lower measurement)
2 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups coconut oil
Focaccia Flax Bread Recipe (gluten and yeast-free with grain-free and vegan options)
Ingredients
- 2 cups flax seed meal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoons low carb sweetener (optional--See Recipe Notes for alternatives))
- 5 beaten eggs (see Recipe Notes for alternatives)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted - other healthy fats may be substituted)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease pans (coconut oil works great!). See below for pan selection information.
- Mix dry ingredients well -- a whisk works well.
- Add wets to dries and combine well. If using eggs, make sure there aren't obvious strings of egg in the batter.
- Let batter set for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken up some (leave it too long and it gets past the point where it's easy to spread.)
- Spoon batter into pan and spread out.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until it springs back when you touch the top and/or is visibly browned.
- Cool and cut into whatever size slices you want.
Notes
- Sweeteners: Use whatever sweetener you like. Stevia extract will work as well. If using stevia, use 1/32 teaspoon. Organic sucanat or organic coconut sugar are good options if you don't need low-carb or are AIP.
- Egg Alternatives: You can use an egg substitute like Ener-G Egg Replacer or my Homemade Powdered Egg Replacer. For a low-carb egg substitute use a flax egg, chia egg, or gelatin egg.
- All five eggs might be a too many for someone who doesn't like eggs. You can try using 3-4 and substituting an egg alternative for the remaining eggs.
- Flax Meal Info: If grinding your own flax meal, which I recommend, 4 cups of flax seeds yield about 6 - 6 1/2 cups flax meal. If you have extra after grinding, store it in the fridge or freezer for adding to smoothies, etc.
- Paleo: Use this homemade baking powder (or another appropriate version).
- Whole30: Use my homemade baking powder, or another appropriate alternative, and omit the sweetener to make this recipe friendly for Whole30.
- Pan sizes and conversion info: One recipe will fit well in a 10x15 pan. To use 2 9x13 pans, make 1 1/2 recipes.
3 recipes covers 2 large circular baking stones.
If you really want to bake in bulk, make 4 1/2 recipes for 2 large size pizza stones and 2 9x13 pans.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Note also that this post is one of the first ones that I put on my blog. I realize now that this recipe is on numerous sites around the internet--some with variations and some without. I do not recall where this Flax Bread Recipe came from, but obviously, there are a lot of people who love it as much as we do!
How about you?
What would you serve this bread with?
Source: Web Md
These are great. My sister and I love them for our grain free, dairy free and sugar free diet!!
Thank you so much, Carol! MUCH appreciated. We love it too and I have been meaning to make it again for awhile now!
Hi! I am not seeing any recipe notes for alternatives.
Hi there - I just made them easier to find -- let me know if that helps, please.
Could I substitute the liquid in this with mashed overripe bananas to make a sort of unconventional banana bread?
ooh that is an interesting thought! I would LOVE to hear how it turns out. Please do try it!
I haven’t tried that yet, but I have made the recipe above twice now and it takes much longer to get done in my oven for some reason. I’m neither high elevation nor at sea level. I followed the recipe as exactly as I could except I did use less oil than called for. But it still has taken at least 40 minutes to cook both times I’ve made it. The first time I used Ener-G egg replacer and the second time I used chia eggs. I made 1.5 flax bread recipes both times on a 10x15 baking stone, but only used the recommended number of eggs for 1 recipe. Seems that I’m using less liquid than called for so I can’t figure out why it’s taking so long to bake. Still tastes great, don’t get me wrong, I just can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. ?????
How much less oil did you use?
If I remember correctly, I used 1 heaping tablespoon.
I'm so so sorry for not getting back sooner. I have been inundated and all this stuff going on in the world. Just hired more help so I could get to things more quickly. Is the temp of your oven OK? I just baked a new cookie recipe last night and they took forever so I'm wondering if that is my problem. Sorry again and thanks for your patience!
How much is a serving?
Hi there! Sorry for the delay--we had a lot going on here. The recipe information has been updated with serving sizes and nutritional information. Hope that helps!
Hi there - sorry for the delay--we had a lot going on. The recipe has been updated with serving and nutritional information. Hope that helps!
Made this again without baking powder. 2 teaspoon sea salt,3 eggs nd grape seed oil. Taste really good . Thank you
Great! So glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent bread. Flavorful, nourishing, and easy to make.
Glad to hear it - thank you for coming back to comment!
Absolutely love - I just skip the sweetener and thinks it’s delicious, especially toasted. I’ve made it dozens of times now and I’m grateful to you for the recipe.
So glad you like it! I have actually never toasted it. Great idea!
I can't find the sour dough recipe.
Hi there - this is a recipe for sourdough starter--there are a number of sourdough recipes in the post. Please let me know if you don't see them. Thanks for reading!
Oops I just realized that you were commenting on the Flax Bread post--I'm confused. Were you expecting a sourdough recipe here? Please let me know!
I don’t see nutritional information carbs,fiber etc.
Hi there - sorry for the delay. It is all there now :). Hope you like it!
Just found this receipt. My 4 year old loves this. Used 3 eggs and some olives. Turned out great. Will try with golden seeds next time. Thank you so much all the way from Australia
The olives sound great! You are so welcome! I would LOVE to visit your country some day.
I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. This happens to varying degrees every time I use flax. First batch, I made half the recipe. Used a gelatin egg (agar agar). Spread it out fairly thin, but it still took an hour to cook, didn't rise. Turned out delicious, but more like a cracker than bread. Second time, made the whole recipe with the same (agar agar) eggs. Spread it out a little less thinly (this time on parchment paper). Didn't rise, didn't cook through, even after an hour - still very wet in the middle. I'm at 30' sea level, so that can't be the problem. I used 2 t cream of tartar and 1 t baking soda, which is a perfect substitute for baking powder. I'm so sad because the flaxseed was expensive, and I wasted 2/3 of it. I really love the nutritional value of this recipe, the low saturated fat content (I used algae oil) and the zero carb load. I want this to work!
Hmmm...it didn't rise at all? I'm confused--are you saying that you let it sit to rise? Thanks!
No, I thought it would rise a bit because of the leaveners. Yours looks thicker than my first batch. I didn't either batch sit either time, even to set, because after mixing it, the dough was pretty thick. However, it took some time to spread anyway, so I figured that was enough "sitting." Regardless, after 20 minutes all I got was the very "greasy mess" your friend predicted, even at 30' above sea level. So I tried cooking them longer. Next time, I'll try actual baking powder and see if that makes any difference at all. I don't know what else it could be otherwise. When I prep the agar egg, it's the consistency of actual egg, and binds the ingredients beautifully. But perhaps that ingredient's also a factor? I really need to stay away from saturated fat, hence avoiding eggs. Thanks for your reply, by the way - I know this is a very late conversation after your original post. I did love the cracker that the first batch turned into after an hour!
Hi there. My recipe does best for me w/ eggs or the powdered replacer. I haven't tried it w/ agar. With chia eggs, it is more flat. Any success since?
I haven't made a 3rd batch yet. The reason I don't eat eggs is that I'm pescatarian. If I decide to try again, I'll use the same agar egg and either eliminate most of the oil and use actual baking powder (aluminum free) instead of the cream of tartar and baking soda, or go back to what I did with my first batch, which turned into a giant cracker, rather than focaccia of any kind - but I loved it!
Could you use this instead? https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/energ-egg-substitute-egg-replacer-without-eggs/ It works great!
No, I'm also Keto. The carbs, and starch, in the potato starch alone would kill me dead!
Gotcha--I have made it w/ arrowroot only I think b/c I have read about health benefits of that but I understand! Hope it works out for you! I like meeting another flexible cook :)!
2 stars because I followed the recipe exactly but used vegetable oil instead (only oil I had in the house), same amount, and it was WAYYYY too oily I couldn’t even eat the bread. Will make it again tomorrow using just 1/2 tbs instead of 1/3 cup. Besides that I will stick to recipe. I’m gluten free and liked the flavor of the bread overall, though I will add more salt next time. Love the nutritional content of flaxseed so hoping it turns out alright next time!
Hello Juliet - I am sorry for the delay in responding to you--I wanted to do some research into your results so I consulted with some allergy-free bakers and here is the response that I got:
"Because eggs and flax are the only binders - and eggs can need emulsification, I would say there's a good chance she is baking at higher altitude (3000 ft or above). Recipes like this are much more finicky as the rise quicker and separate. The type of oil shouldn't matter mush (it's possible that the saturated fat behaves a smidge differently in baking, but I haven't found this), but I typically reduce the oil and add either more binder or just a touch more liquid. I don't know that I would reduce the leavener though as you don't use a lot. As a heads up, if someone tried to make this at higher altitude with the egg-free option (I read it), they would probably end up with a greasy mess that wouldn't set up. So like people in the mountain states."
Otherwise they thought perhaps there was an error on your end that you weren't aware of. Can you tell me your thoughts? Thanks for reading!
I made this yesterday. It had a very strong taste. Because of that I didn’t particularly like it. Could my flax seed have been old enough to cause that. If not what could I add to knock down the huge flax taste? Thank you.
You have no idea how much I am using your site. Thank you.
Yes, old flax tastes icky - please try freshly ground flax that isn't old seeds. Thanks for the kind words! Glad to have you here. I have a new Healthy Living Community on FB that you might want to join :). https://www.facebook.com/groups/171490083677560/
Well, this recipe just increased my family's quality of life. All joking aside, we've been really tired of our numerous dietary restrictions and this bread made us very happy. I was grateful when I tried your buckwheat galette recipe, but having both at my disposal just brings it to a new level. Thank you from my entire family. Just ate the second batch of bread, which turned out even better than the first, probably because I accidentally added more oil. The first one was also very good. I also had a zeroth try, which went in the garbage, because I dumped all of the ingredients into a blender, expecting to have a hard time mixing the ingredients, and wanting to save some of my energy. Only later I realized that as I dumped the ground flax seeds, the desiccant pack fell into the blender as well. Unfortunately all of those high quality organic ingredients went in the garbage as a result. I am wondering how much flax is healthy for adults and children, not wanting to overdose from this bread, LOL!
Hi Lily! So glad you like it as much as we do!
So flax and health is something that people have a lot of varying opinions on. You would have to do your own research. Maybe I can do a post on it at some point. I think it depends on the person, just as with almost everything! So sorry about the dessicant! We've had that kind of thing happen to us as well!
Thank you I will definitely try this as soon as I get the flax meal. I am curious that I have not seen you mention Sweetleaf Stevia. That is what I have been using for several years.
I hope you like it! I think I have linked to Sweetleaf in places. I like them as well!
Thank you so much for this recipe! We battle Candida at my house and bread is our favorite thing- finding an exceptable recipe has been challenging( and expensive ) this is really good- totally satisfies our bread craving! One of the few gluten free recipes that turned out perfect the first time I made it.i went from preheating my oven to almond butter sandwich in an hour!
So glad you like it! It's a big fave in our house as well!!
I really prefer a bread that is not sweet so assuming that not adding a sweetener will still render me texture and quality without sweetness? Has anyone made this without sweetner?
I do it all the time. The sweetener is very light and it's great either way. Enjoy!