Dough spread out and ready to be topped with cheese and herbs

Dough has been topped with cheese, herbs & spices

Carefully roll it up, jelly roll style

Dough has been rolled into a baguette loaf and topped with cheese

Fresh out of the oven!

Freshly sliced -- notice the texture of the bread

Take a closer look...

Easy Cheesy Herbed Baguette Bread (Grain Free)



INGREDIENTS:





Dry Ingredients:

1/2 cup golden flax seed meal (organic golden flax has a milder taste than brown)

2/3 teaspoon baking powder (aluminum free)

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon sea s alt, more or less to taste (*use less salt if using a saltier cheese filling)

Few grinds of freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated





Wet Ingredients :

1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute such as Egg Beaters)

1 tablespoon olive oil (a little more, if desired)

2 tablespoons PLUS 2 teaspoons water



Cheesy Herb Filling :

1/2 - 3/4 cup "favorite" shredded cheese (Italian blend, mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan, etc.)

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Pinch red pepper flakes, optional





DIRECTIONS:





Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix dry ingredients together; make a well in the center of the bowl and add wet ingredients; mix well until a dough forms.

Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes to thicken (if the dough is still too wet or sticky after sitting to handle, add a little additional flax meal or grated Parmesan to stiffen it up a bit). Spread dough on a lightly oiled pan or cookie sheet with greased parchment paper or foil (I used Reynolds non-stick foil, lightly brushed with olive oil).

Press the dough out with a rubber spatula (to keep it from sticking) into a rectangular shape (approximately 12" x 8"). Sprinkle shredded cheese of your choice evenly on top of the dough; sprinkle with seasoning, black pepper and red pepper flakes, if desired. Using your hands or a rubber spatula, begin gently rolling the dough lengthwise, jelly roll fashion, until it is rolled into a tube shaped baguette. Make sure the seam side is down and gently press the ends closed so cheese doesn't melt out while baking. Lightly sprinkle top of baguette with additional shredded cheese, if desired.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until baguette looks and feels done. Remove from oven and let cool about 5 minutes on a rack. Slice, spread with butter...and enjoy!





Note : This would also be good with some crumbled, cooked Italian sausage or pepperoni scattered on top of the cheese before rolling. You can substitute the seasonings, cheeses, etc. for those that are your favorite. The possibilities are endless!

Grain free bread...it's a beautiful thing!

This evening we had plenty of leftover chicken and Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole left from last night's dinner, so I didn't have to cook tonight. However, I did decide to experiment a bit with an idea I've had rolling around in my head for a while now. I always wondered if the low carb flax and Parmesan pizza crust I make could also make a decent low carb bread as well. In my previous "wheat eating days", I used to take a ball of fresh pizza dough and spread it out into a rectangular shape, scatter it with shredded cheeses, herbs and spices and then roll it up into a tube like shape and bake it -- I called it my Easy Cheesy Bread (you can see it on my blog) and it honestly was better than any loaf of bread you could buy and so very simple to make. It also looked beautiful sliced.So tonight, I doctored up my low carb pizza dough recipe, made a few changes and tried to recreate a loaf of bread somewhat similar to the one I used to make except this one uses golden flax meal instead of flour. I added more herbs and cheese to the dough and a bit more salt to flavor and season it well. I spread it out onto a pan (into a rectangular shape approximately 12" x 8") and rolled more cheese, herbs and spices up into it and baked it. It actually turned out awesome! I am so excited to share it with you!!! Now, if you don't like flax...then you might as well stop reading here (unless of course you just want to take a little peek and see what it looks like)! ;-) At another time, I may give this recipe a try using a mixture of almond flour and flax to see what that does to the taste and texture of it as well. But...for the first go round...this one turned out awesome. I also suggest using stronger tasting cheeses than plain mozzarella so you can really taste the cheese flavor and it isn't overpowered by the flax. I used a 6 Italian blend cheese as well as some Parmigiano Reggiano sprinkled on top so I got a really nice strong cheese flavor (I also put lots of black pepper and red pepper flakes in it to give it a little zing). It is really tasty spread with a little butter. P.S. -- hubby, who is by no means a "flax man", really liked it -- he said "now, THAT is bread"! It has the texture of more traditional bread -- not the denser texture like most grain free breads. I posted a few step-by-step pictures below so you could get an idea of what it looks like at the various stages. If you'd like a quick and easy bread to serve with your meals -- this is a really quick and easy one to put together and the flavors can easily be changed to suit your taste. The recipe is posted underneath the pictures below. Enjoy!