I found this at:<br><br><br><br><a href="http://www.barleans.com/literature/flax/71-flax-muffin-a-day.html" target="_blank">http://www.barleans.com/literature/f...fin-a-day.html</a><br><br><br><br><br><br>
Long Used for Baking<br><br>
Flaxseed was once a staple food source used by the ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, supplying ample amounts of valuable essential fatty acids, amino acids, protein, dietary fiber and cancer preventing phytonutrients. Unfortunately, within the last 100 years, modern methods of food processing, combined with preferences for wheat and other less nutritious enriched grain products, have removed many of these essential and vital nutrients from our food chain.<br><br><br><br>
Nutrition research on flaxseed has confirmed it's potential as a new (actually ancient) ingredient for breads, buns, and other bakery products. Ground flaxseed (flaxseed flour) can be added to almost any baked product and adds a nutty flavor to bread, waffles, pancakes, and other products if it composes a minimum of six to eight percent of the dry ingredient of the recipe or formula. Some other food uses for ground flaxseed include, but are not limited to, fiber and nutrition bars, protein powders, pastries, pastas, bagels, muffins, crackers, cookies, and cereals, as well as soup and bakery mixes. When partially defatted flaxseed flour is used in baked products, the oil in the recipe can be reduced by the amount of the oil in the added flaxseed (which is usually approximately 10 percent). Gluten content should be balanced in yeast-leavened products. Flaxseed is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for inclusion in foods.<br><br><br><br>
Flaxseed can be used to reduce the oil or shortening specified in a recipe because of its high oil content. If a recipe calls for 1/3 cup of oil, replace with 1 cup of ground flaxseed a 3:1 substitution ratio. As an alternative, the flour specified in a recipe can be reduced by 25 percent and replaced with ground flaxseed.<br><br><br><br>
Baked goods tend to brown more quickly if flaxseed is substituted in the recipe. Whole flaxseed can be used to add crunch and taste to a bread dough, pancake, muffin or cookie mix. In any form, you're always adding to the nutritional value of your diet!<br><br><br><br>
Flax can be used in baking (e.g., muffins and bread), salad dressings and in smoothies as well as many other tasty dishes. Although many persons believe that flax is too fragile to be used as a cooking oil, this may not be true, reports flax expert Clara Felix.<br><br><br><br>
"The recorded use of flaxseed oil as a cooking oil goes as far back as nine thousand years in area of the Near East," she says. "Soldiers of the Roman Empire marched with rations of bread baked with flaxseed. China, the third largest flax grower in the world, has used flaxseed as a food oil for at least five thousand years. Germany uses 66,000 tons of flaxseed a year in baked breads and buns. Recent studies show little or no loss of [alpha-linolenic acid] when milled flaxseed is baked as an ingredient in muffins or breads. Cooking also doesn't cause [alpha-linolenic acid] or other fatty acids to oxidize (break down). Baking and cooking seldom expose fats and oils to temperature above the boiling point (212ºF or 100ºC)." Felix adds that in one study, stir-frying with flaxseed oil seemed to be okay if the oil temperature was kept below 300ºF but that at higher temperatures, a fishy odor was detected, and significant levels of oxidation appeared.<br><br><br><br>
"I've been recommending flax seeds and flax seed oil for years," says Christiane Northrup, M.D., one of America's leading experts on women's health. "Flax seed is the highest known source of anti-cancer and phytoestrogenic compounds known as lignans, a concentration more than 100 times greater than other lignan-containing foods such as grains, fruits, and vegetables. Lignans are plant substances that get broken down by intestinal bacteria into two main mammalian lignans, senterodiol and enteolactone. These lignans then circulate through the liver and are later excreted in the urine. There are a number of reasons why we all should be interested in incorporating more lignans into our diet. The following are some of the most compelling. Lignans have potent anti-cancer effects. An impressive number of studies have shown that flax seed lignans are very potent anti-cancer agents for both breast and colon cancer because of their ability to modulate the production, availability, and action of hormones produced in our bodies. Lignans are potent phytoestrogens. In women who consume flax seed oil, studies have shown significant hormonal changes and decreased estradiol levels alterations similar to those seen with soy isoflavones. This makes flax seed oil or meal a great choice for women who can't use soy or who simply want another source of phytohormones."
