The flax that I ground and put into the bread was the golden flax, but I put both types on top of the loaf, with half covered with the lighter and half covered with the darker. I figured that would let me taste them individually and see if I liked one more than the other.
To be honest, I didn't taste a big difference between the two, but I like the color options. The darker brown would be great on a golden crust, and the light ones would be pretty on a dark crust. Of course, a mix of the two would also be great.
Semolina-Flax-Honey Bread
5 ounces semolina flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey crystals
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons ground flax
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup cold water
Egg wash or Quick Shine*
Flax seeds, for topping
Put the bread flour, semolina, salt, honey crystals, yeast, and ground flax into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse several times to combine the ingredients. With the processor running, add the water as fast as the flour can absorb it, then continue processing until the dough forms a ball, and then another 30 seconds.
Drizzle some olive oil into a zip-top bag. Form the dough into a ball and place it in the bag, turning to coat it completely with the oil. Refrigerate the dough overnight.
The next day, take the dough out of the refrigerator, and massage it briefly, still the the bag, to knock the air out of it. Let it sit on the counter for 2-3 hours, until it has come up to room temperature.
Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Flour your work surface and turn the dough out. Knead the dough briefly, then form it into your desired loaf shape. Place it on your prepared sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.
Brush the loaf with the egg wash or spray with the Quick Shine. Sprinkle with the flax seeds, then slash, as desired. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 40 minutes.
* Quick Shine is a spray product that helps seeds adhere to the top of a loaf, and makes it shiny. Egg wash (1 egg beaten with a tablespoon of water) will do the same thing. The egg is the more natural item, but it might also be a bit wasteful, if you don't have another use for the rest of it - you don't use much on one loaf of bread.
This has been submitted to Yeastspotting.
