Recipe: Bread Alternative Made with Onions!
This “bread alternative” has become a staple in my house! It is a raw food, both gluten and grain free, and absolutely versatile and delicious. Look at all the benefits of onions! The cooking method is “dehydration,” but you can make this recipe even without owning a dehydrator.
What do I use it for?
- Avocado toast
- Almond butter delivery system
- Spread with cashew butter
- On top of burgers instead of “fried onions”
- Croutons in my salad
- Bits & Pieces sprinkled on salad and/or in a stir-fry
I’m sure once you try this, you will come up with your own combinations. This recipe for amazing bread alternative was adapted from The Raw Kitchen. Use it for just about anything!
Bread Alternative
Ingredients
3 Large Onions
¾ Cup Sunflower Seeds, ground
¾ Cup Flax Seeds, ground
¾ Cup Sesame Seeds
⅓ Cup Coconut Aminos
⅓ Cup Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste
About the Onions. You can use any type of onion with a skin or combination of onions. You can slice, dice, or puree the onions, depending on the texture you are after with the bread. I typically use sweet, white, or yellow and mostly puree in my food processor.
About the Seeds. Always purchase whole flax seed—never the ground flax! I do all of my spice and seed grinding in an old coffee bean grinder. Only grind what you need, because it doesn’t keep. You can use other seeds as you get familiar with the recipe. Use what you like. I’ll be using poppy seeds the next time I make this recipe. I’m going after the “Everything Bagel” flavor.
About the Spices. You can also add whatever spices sound good to you. I typically also add garlic granules.
Instructions
Place your processed onions into a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the seeds with the coconut aminos, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add this mixture to the onions and let sit for 30 minutes to wilt and soften.
Spread the combined mixture onto parchment paper or Teflex. You should have at least two trays full; I typically have three trays. Spread to a thickness of ⅛ to ¼ inch.
Dehydrate for 12 hours at 120 degrees or until the surface isn’t sticky. Flip bread, remove parchment or Teflex sheet, and continue to dehydrate until firm and dry—typically another 12 hours. My oven has a dehydrator setting, so I am able to set the oven temperature this low. Maybe you don’t have a dehydration setting in your oven, but you might have a bread proof setting for 100 degrees.
If not, then you can probably only go as low as 170 degrees. Set oven to 170 and put in trays then turn oven off or to Proofing temperature if available. Do this throughout the drying time. Do not let the temperature stay at 170 … just long enough to reach the temperature and turn down. Overnight, you’ll want to just leave the oven off or at proofing setting.
Of course, you can invest in a dehydrator. My lesson learned is go for the rectangular trays and not the circular trays! Easier to fill and empty.
Cool to room temperature and cut into the sized pieces you want. You can store for at least a month in a cool dry place, but trust me: They won’t last that long.
Do not throw away the crumbles, which I call the Bits & Pieces. Save them in a small container and use as a topping on salads, in stir-fries, atop zucchini noodles, etc.
ENJOY and tell me how you use them and what other seeds/spices you like to add. Spill the tea in the comments. You can also reach out to me from my contact page.