Sun-Dried Tomato Flax Crackers or Bread

These living flax crackers (or soft bread, depending on drying time) get their savory depth from sun-dried tomatoes, thyme, and minced onion, all mixed into a hearty ground flax base. Dehydrated rather than baked, they're perfect alongside a salad for that satisfying "bread" mouth-feel, or dried longer into crisp, pantry-stable crackers.

Ingredients

• 2 cups ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup whole flax seeds
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 2 tsp dried minced onion
• 1/2 apple with peeling, no core
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 1/2 medium zucchini
• 2 stalks celery
• 1/2 small sweet onion
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes soaked with 2 tsp dried thyme leaves in 1 cup water for 1 hour (keep water)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tsp unrefined sea salt
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds soaked 1 hour in 2 tsp olive oil water (discard water)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Mix the ground flax seeds, whole flax seeds, thyme leaves, and dried minced onion together in a bowl.
2. Cut the apple, carrot, zucchini, celery, sweet onion, and soaked sun-dried tomatoes into large chunks and blend together in a blender with the reserved soaking water, 2/3 cup water, sea salt, soaked sunflower seeds, and lemon juice.
3. Pour the blender mixture into the flax seed mixture.
4. Mix all ingredients well together. Let stand for 1 hour for moisture absorption and for the minced onion to reconstitute.
5. Spread over parchment paper or teflex sheets. Flip to mesh sheets after around 4 hours.
6. Score with a dull pizza cutter or dull knife, like a butter knife, so they will break apart easily with straight edges when dry.
7. Dry to a buttery leather texture for bread, about 6 to 6-1/2 hours total. For crackers, dry until crispy.

Makes 12 pieces of bread approximately 5" x 6" (fills 3 Excalibur dehydrator sheets full). Flax is rich in Omega-3 fats, the king of fats — all the biochemically active organs of our bodies, like our brains, sex glands, and adrenal glands, depend on these fats for proper functioning and hormonal activity. Daily consumption of ground flax seeds can improve digestion and eliminate constipation.