It was an honor to be one of the judges at a chef’s cookoff in Saskatoon on May 23. The event was organized as part of the Association of Saskatchewan Home Economists’ 40th anniversary celebrations. Commodity groups and other sponsors contributed prize money for the best recipes. Chefs throughout the province were encouraged to enter the competition, creating recipes that featured Saskatchewan products.
The Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission was one of the sponsors and flax its category. Liz Delahey in the June 18 Western Producer, outlined the prize-winning recipes, including Farmland Flax Cookies. The following recipes for Harvest Bread and Cheddar-Flax Scones placed second and third respectively, in the flax category. I have adapted these recipes for home kitchens.
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Harvest bread
by Kevin Soloski
1Ú2 cup flaxseed 125 mL
1 teaspoon salt 5 mL
2Ú3 cup water 150 mL
2 tablespoons 30 mL
vegetable oil
1Ú2 cups warm water 375 mL
11Ú2 tbsp. molasses 22 mL
1 tbsp. brown sugar 15 mL
6 cups whole 1.5 L
wheat flour
11Ú2 tsp. dry yeast 8 mL
1Ú2 tsp. white sugar 2 mL
1Ú4 cup water 50 mL
Combine flaxseed, salt and water. Set aside for half an hour. Next combine oil, water, molasses and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in flaxseed mixture. Add 11Ú2 cups (375 mL) flour and stir. Let stand 10 minutes.
Mix 11Ú2 teaspoons (eight mL) yeast, 1Ú2 teaspoon (two mL) sugar and 1Ú4 cup (50 mL) water. Set aside for 10 minutes, then stir into flaxseed mixture. Mix in three to four cups (750 mL-1 L) flour until the dough becomes smooth and slightly sticky. Knead on a floured countertop, then place in a buttered bowl. Cover and let rise for 40 minutes. Punch down and shape into loaves. Place in buttered loaf pans and cover. Let rise until double in size. Place in a 350 F (180 C) preheated oven for 40-45 minutes.
Yield: Two loaves.
Cheddar-flax scones
by Peter Phillips
41Ú2 cups all- 1.12 L
purpose flour
2Ú3 cup butter or 150 mL
margarine
1 teaspoon sugar 5 mL
2 tbsp. baking powder 30 mL
1 cup milk or cream 250 mL
3 eggs 3
1Ú2 cup grated 125 mL
old cheddar cheese
11Ú2 tbsp. flaxseed 22 mL
1 tsp. salt 5 mL
Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, grated cheddar cheese and flaxseed. Crumble in the butter or margarine until mixture resembles a meal.
Whisk egg with milk or cream. Incorporate into dry mixture until it forms a ball. Do not overmix. Roll out on a floured board. Cut into squares or cut with a cookie cutter.
Bake on a parchment-lined or well greased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown at 350 F (180 C).
Note: Extra flax can be added to the recipe if you like the additional crunchy texture and flax flavor. Also, extra cheese can be sprinkled on scones prior to baking.
Flaxseed and baking
Adding flaxseed to baking adds a nutty taste, texture and good nutrition. It can be used as whole seed or a milled form.
Whole flaxseed: A scoop of small, reddish-brown flaxseed can be added to bread doughs, pancakes, muffins or cookies. When sprinkled on top of any of these before baking, the seeds add crunch, taste and eye appeal.
Milled flaxseed: Milling or grinding up the flaxseed breaks down the seed coat, allowing our bodies to absorb the food value of the inner part of the seed. Mill to a granular, free-flowing meal in a coffee bean grinder or other home grinder. Food processors and blenders do not work. Milled seeds will soon become rancid so use at once, freeze, or store in the refrigerator for up to 30 days in an airtight, opaque container. Prepackaged milled flaxseed can be purchased. However, to ensure freshness, you might like to mill your own.
Flax Focus, a publication of the Flax Council of Canada, says whole flaxseed, which is clean, dry and of good quality, can be stored at room temperature for up to a year.
Flaxseed crackers
(from Flax Focus, Spring 1998)
1Ú2 cup flaxseed 125 mL
11Ú2 cups flour 375 mL
1Ú2 tsp. baking 2 mL
powder
1Ú2 tsp. salt 2 mL
4 tsp. margarine 20 mL
or butter, softened
1Ú2 cup milk 125 mL
Combine the flaxseed, flour, baking powder, salt and margarine or butter. Mix until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in milk and mix until mixture forms a soft dough. Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and chill for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough in quarters. Turn out onto a lightly floured board. Roll out very thin to a rectangle about 1Ú16 inch (two millimetres) thick. Cut into rounds or squares. Transfer to an ungreased flat baking pan or cookie sheet. Bake at 325 F (160 C) until crisp and golden, about 20 minutes. Repeat with the remainder of dough.
Onion variation: Add one tablespoon (15 mL) Lipton onion soup mix and/or one cup (250 mL) grated cheddar cheese to dry ingredients.
Zesty Italian variation: Add one tablespoon (15 mL) oregano leaves and one cup (250 mL) grated mozzarella cheese to dry ingredients.
Rickety uncle
A recipe for Rickety Uncle has been requested. It is a quick and easy sweet that children might like to make. It is a recipe that brings back memories of my mother’s baking.
Melt 1Ú2 cup (125 mL) butter or margarine. Add 2 cups (500 mL) rolled oats, 1 cup (250 mL) brown sugar, 1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking powder and 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla.
Press into a greased 9 x 13 inch (22 x 33 cm) cake pan. Bake in 350 F (180 C) oven for 15 minutes.
Optional: For a chocolate icing, sprinkle chocolate chips on the cake while it is warm. Return to the oven to soften the chips and then spread with a spatula. Cut into squares while still warm.
Note: Some recipes do not call for baking powder. However, I found that the recipe with baking powder was less apt to stick to the pan and has a slightly lighter texture.
Emmie Oddie fund
When Emmie Oddie retired from writing her column in The Western Producer, a fund was set up to collect donations in her honor. This fund now has a specific purpose.
Contributions received to date and in the future will be used to develop and maintain an internet website. The website will contain current home economics information of interest to consumers on the Prairies. It will continue her lifelong work of informing others.
The fund is administered by the Canadian Home Economics Association Foundation and the website is managed by a committee of Association of Saskatchewan Home Economics members.
Cheques for the Emmie Oddie Recognition Fund can be made payable to the Canadian Home Economics Association Foundation and sent to: Treasurer, Canadian Home Economics Association Foundation, 3807 Vialoux Drive, Winnipeg, Man., R3R 0A5.
