Baking Obsession

Yes, I know, they look like crackers, but these things are quite pliable and the texture is soft, so they are referred as bread in the raw foodists world.

I dried the bread in a dehydrator, but you can achieve similar results in an oven on a very low setting, although I do recommend a dehydrator as the healthiest “baking” device. We’ve got our Excalibur Food Dehydrator basically to replace the traditional popcorn with healthier alternatives, such as zucchini, kale, and apple chips for family movie nights. But it’s capable of so much more! The dehydrator is my favorite toy now. There are different model and sizes available to suit different needs and budgets.

Makes 32

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flax seeds
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 zucchini, coarsely grated
• 1 large carrot, coarsely grated
• 1 small onion, coarsely grated
• 1/3 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 20 minutes in 1 cup of warm water and drained, reserve the water
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped olives
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• about ½ tsp Himalayan pink salt (or coarse sea salt)

Preparation:

Grind the flax seeds in the food processor until most of them are finely ground, but don’t worry if there are some coarser-ground seeds present, we are not making French macarons here. Add the sunflower seeds and grind them as well (this will take less time than to grind the flax). Add the grated vegetables and pulse several times to combine. Add the rehydrated tomatoes, olives, basil, olive oil, and ½ cup of reserved tomato-flavored water, and pulse to combine. The consistency of the mixture should be similar to thick cake batter – thick but spreadable. Add more water if needed. Give the mixture a taste first, then add the salt if needed (olives are salty already, so it’s better be careful not to oversalt the mixture).

Divide the mixture between two dehydrator trays lined with non-stick mats (or use silicone mats if planning to dry the bread in the oven). Using an offset spatula spread the mixture to about 6-8 mm thickness creating a square shape. There’s no need to spend much time creating perfectly straight edges, you can always trim them later.

Dehydrate at 104F for 8 hours, then flip the bread onto unlined dehydrator trays and peel off the non-stick mats. Dehydrate for another 8 hours. Slide the bread onto a cutting board, trim the edges and cut into squares or rectangles. Store the bread in the refrigerator, covered, for up to a week, but cool it completely before packing the bread into a storage container.

Note: it’s fabulous with goat cheese or authentic Greek sheep feta, so if you eat dairy, I encourage you to try this combo.