For years now my everyday gluten-free breakfast food of choice has been fruit and yogurt scattered with birdseed.
No, not exactly proprietary birdseed, but I’d take a spoonful of LSA (ground linseed, sunflower seeds and almond meal) and mix it with whole sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and a few roasted almonds. Birds would love it. It’s light and fresh, rich in antioxidants and vitamins and, apparently, it’s good liver-cleansing stuff too.
But recently I’ve been diverted by chia. (It can happen.) And my new favourite breakfast alternative is a few pieces of seed-rich crispbread, with my fruit on the side.
Based on a various versions of Knackebrod, a crispbread traditionally made with rye in Northern Europe, I’ve been making a gluten-free version with polenta and cornflour, chia and flaxseed, which is even more nutritious than my birdseed and deliciously crunchy.
Particularly when I need fast food for breakfast, these crackers are ideal. They’re also great for lunch with cucumber and smoked salmon, and with blue cheese after dinner… actually they’re pretty popular at our house, just about any time.
Jan
KNACKEBROD
160 gm polenta
130 gm cornflour
75 gm flaxseed, ground
75 gm pumpkin seeds
75 gm sunflower seeds
75 gm chia seeds
60 gm sesame seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
125 ml olive oil
625 ml boiling water
Plus a handful of fennel seeds
Line two baking trays (approximately 38cm x 25cm) with baking paper or silicone. Preheat oven to 150°C.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the middle, pour in the boiling water and mix well. Add oil and mix again until it integrates. Divide the seedy dough in two and transfer to the baking trays. Gently push each the mixture downward and outward with a spatula, smoothing it as you go, until it reaches the edges of the trays and is not more than 5mm thick. When the dough is completely flattened bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the trays from the oven and cut the biscuit into squares. Turn the oven up to 200°C and bake for another 30 minutes until they’re crisp and dry. (Leave them in a low oven for a bit longer if they still have moisture in them.) Should make about 48 pieces.