Dock Seed Flour Soda Bread

I've always noticed these spindles of brown seeds on my walks but recently I was informed by a friend that they were edible and nutritious. The seeds are part of the dock plant, an invasive weed which grows yearly. Each Autumn the dock produces these brown seeds. This seed was made into flour during famine times. It is high in fibre and gluten free.

I collected a bag of the seeds by pulling them easily off the stem and brought them back to the house to grind and make into flour. Make sure you pick on a dry day.

First you need to let all the bugs walk out of the bag, which they did immediately. Place on a baking tray and pick out any leaves.

Roast the seeds first as this gives a nice nutty flavour. I placed them in an oven at approx 180c or 350f for about 5 to 10 minutes. I recommend you keep an eye on them as they can burn pretty easily.

Next you need to grind them up using some type of coffee or nut grinder.

Soda Bread Recipe:

2 cups spelt flour ( you can use plain or wholemeal)

1 cup dock seed flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp pink salt ( or salt of choice)

2 cups nut milk or liquid

1 tbsp maple syrup

Add all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Make a well in the middle and add the liquid and maple syrup.

Place in one standard bread loaf tin or two small. I use two small as I can use one loaf and slice and freeze the other to use at a later date.

I sprinkled some sesame seeds on top and placed in a preheated oven 180c or 350f for approx 30-35 minutes.

I think the bread looks like rye bread. The flavour is wholesome and actually rather nice. I will be using this flour as a staple in the bread over the coming months. They say you can make pancakes from the flour too so that will be my next experiment.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy foraging for the seeds and making some wholesome bread.