It started with a quest. A quest for bread. A quest for bread that’s vegan, gluten-free, corn- and quinoa-free (thanks to some sensitivities in the belly of our youngest), and isn’t made from an amalgamation of strange ingredients with questionable nutritional value. We realized we’d have to make our own.

Now, I’m no stranger to making bread from scratch—I grew up doing it. Except there were two additional challenges at play: My limited time, and our high-altitude status (we live around 7,500 feet, so it’s much harder getting yeast breads to rise).

Enter Richa Hingle, aka Vegan Richa. We found a recipe for Chia Flatbreads in her Indian-style cookbook and modified it into a quick, easy flatbread recipe that’s super versatile and super nutritious. For breakfast, we’ll warm them up for avocado-and-sprout toast. For dessert, we’ll slather them with Sunbutter and add some bananas and fig syrup. (Okay, I’m the only one who does that.) You can also use them to make individual pizzas, toss in some falafel and tahini for a sandwich, or slice them up and toast them extra crispy for pita-like chips. The possibilities are endless.

This recipe makes a batch that will last us a few days. We refrigerate them in a glass or plastic container.

4 T. ground flax seeds
3 T. ground psyllium husk
2 C. sorghum or amaranth flour, with extra flour for rolling out the flatbreads
1/2 C. tapioca starch
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder

In a small bowl, mix the flax seeds and psyllium husk. Add about 1.5 C warm water and let sit about 5 minutes until the mixture gels.

In a larger bowl, mix the flour, tapioca, salt, and baking powder. Then add the gel mixture and mix thoroughly. (You can use the dough attachment on a KitchenAid, but I prefer my hands.) Knead into a ball. It should be somewhat moist. You can adjust water or flour if it’s too dry or too wet.

Heat a large pan on the stovetop to medium or medium-high (but you don’t want to burn them); we like a big cast iron pan. Pinch off a small ball of dough, about 1-2 inches, and pat flat on your floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll to desired thickness; we usually go around 1/8 inch, but it’s up to you. Roll out 2-3 flaxbreads at a time, depending on the size of your pan.

Add the flaxbreads to the pan and toast lightly, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Be aware that if there’s excessive flour on the flaxbreads, it may start to smoke in the pan, so you can just brush it off.

The flaxbreads will brown slightly and may bubble—that’s fine. When they’re done, put on a cooling rack and make your next batch. Once you get the hang of it, you can knock these out quickly. When the flaxbreads are cool, add them to your container (if you do it while they’re still warm, they’ll get damp and chewy). Enjoy!