Rosemary Flax Baguette

Slices of fresh bread

I admit that not all of our meals are perfectly healthy. We love our bacon, and our beef, and our butter and our cheese. But we also love our health and our hearts and so we do try to incorporate whole grains into our diet whenever possible.

So now that we have our copy of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, I’m pretty sure the majority of our bread baking will be of the healthier variety from now on. Jeff and Zoe’s secret method for producing fast and delicious bread has won me over.

Today’s recipe uses two very healthy ingredients: Rosemary and Flax. Rosemary has a variety of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It can help stimulate digestion and circulation. Not to mention the fact that it is incredibly easy to grow. Our rosemary plant even survived last year’s snowstorms.

Flax is a very rich source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids (the same fatty acids that are in salmon). Omega 3’s can help lower cholesterol and improve heart health. Ground flax meal can be found in the baking section of most supermarkets and we obtained ours from Bob’s Red Mill (which is actually a relatively local company from Oregon, though I doubt the flax is actually obtained locally). A bag of flax meal will last you a while if you’re only using it for bread baking, but you can also mix it in with your breakfast cereals or yogurt for an added nutritional boost. Store your opened bag of flax meal in the fridge and it should last about 6 months.

The other ingredient that you’ll need for this bread is Vital Wheat Gluten. This is also readily available these days in most major supermarkets from Bob’s Red Mill. Many supermarkets with a large bulk section will have it available in bulk as well. Vital Wheat Gluten should last about 6 months as well.

Rosemary Flax Baguette from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Recipe makes approximately 8 small baguettes and can be halved.

1/2 cup ground flax seed
3 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1.5 Tbsp yeast (or 2 packets)
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
3.5 cups warm water
1/2 cup olive oil
Rosemary Flax Baguette
3 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 egg white (for the egg wash, only needed when baking)

First, mix the dough. In a 5 qt bowl or dough bucket, mix the flaxseed, flours, wheat germ, yeast, salt, and gluten.
Next mix in the warm water, olive oil, and rosemary.
Mix using a wooden spoon or a stand mixer. According to Zoe, you can’t actually overmix this dough.
Cover the dough and let it rise for 2 hours on the counter or in a warm, not drafty place.
Refrigerate the dough for up to 2 weeks.

Baking the bread

When you’re ready to bake, use the following steps.

Remove the container from the fridge and dust a little flour on the top of the dough.
Pinch off a ball about the size of an orange and form the dough ball by stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn on each side.
Form the ball into a baguette shape. See the notes for an easy technique.
Let the dough rise on a flour dusted surface for 40 minutes.
After 10 minutes, turn the oven to 450, place one rack in the middle of the oven, and place a metal broiler pan on the bottom shelf.
Place a pizza stone on the middle oven rack to heat.
Using a serrated knife, cut diagonal slits in the dough.
Whisk an egg white in a bowl and brush it carefully over the top of the bread.
When the oven is hot and the bread has risen, slide the dough onto the pizza stone and pour 8 oz of water into the broiler pan underneath the dough.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Cool the bread for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Let me cut you a slice...

Notes: Jeff and Zoe have a neat method for shaping your dough into a baguette shape. Once you’ve got your dough a ball, use your hands to shape it into an oval. Now fold it like you’d fold a letter by bringing one side to the center and then the other. By doing this, the ends are tapered and thinner than the middle. When we baked the third loaf of this bread, we actually formed the oval, sprinkled the whole thing with Secret Stash Salt’s Lavender Rosemary salt, and then folded it over. I think this enhanced the rosemary flavor and made the bread better.

We loved this bread with a touch of butter and a sprinkling of the Secret Stash Salt, but it also made a great conveyance for cheese, and apple butter. This is a soft bread, so it won’t hold up all that well to a thick soup if you want something for dipping. The original recipe makes enough for about 8 small baguettes, but we halved it and had enough for the two of us for about 10 days.