Burdock Root Flat Bread

These little flat bread / crackers are based on a very old recipe from the Irish.  They use one of my favorite plant flours - Burdock Root.  You can read more about the original uses of this wonderfully nutritious plant here http://www.naturalherbsguide.com/burdock.html  and you can find the original Celtic recipe for biscuits here:  http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-burdock-root-flour-biscuits.

http://morechristlike.com/burdock-flower/
Burdock flowers are much more spectacular when they first bloom

The version I made has the same base but I changed up a few ingredients and actually fried the squares like a flat bread instead of baking them into biscuits.  So much flavor and even more importantly, so much protein and health benefits in Burdock Root they are almost guilt free bread!

Burdock Flour Flat Bread
1/2 Cup Burdock Root Flour
1 to 1 1/4 Cups Spelt Flour
1 Cup Flax Milk (or other non Dairy milk)
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cup of Sprouts
1/3 Cup Tamari Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Sea Salt
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 Tbs. Sesame Seeds
1/2 Cup Olive Oil

Mix all the dry and then all the wet ingredients and then fold both together to form a wet dough.
Turn the dough out onto a flat floured surface.  Add in more flour while you kneed the dough into a soft ball form to make it workable and more dry. 

Old dried Burdock Flower

                                                                                      

 Keep your hands well floured as well.

Separate small pieces of the dough out and form them into walnut size balls or larger. 



Flatten out the balls and shape to your desired size. 

Fry each piece in heated oil until just browned. Serve with jams or butters.  Store in a closed container in the fridge.

Burdock root health benefits

• Burdock roots, young shoots, peeled stalks, and dried seeds contain numerous compounds that are known to have anti-oxidant, disease preventing, and health promoting properties.
• The root is very low in calories; provides about 72 calories per 100 g. Burdock is very good source of many non-starch polysaccharides such as inulin, glucoside-lappin, mucilage...etc that help act as good laxative. In addition, inulinacts as prebiotic helps reduce blood sugar level, weight and cholesterol levels in the blood.
• Burdock root is especially containing good amounts of electrolyte potassium (308 mg or 6.5% of daily-required levels per 100 g root) and low in sodium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure.
• It also contains some valuable minerals such as iron, manganese, magnesium; and small amounts of zinc, calcium, selenium, and phosphorus.
• This herb root contains small quantities of many vital vitamins including folic acid, riboflavin, pyridoxine, niacin, vitamin-E, and vitamin-C that are essential for optimum health. Both vitamin C and E is powerful natural antioxidants help body stave off infections, cancer and neurologic conditions.