The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Use olive oil or flaxseed to balance or remove the omega 6 problem?

AncientMystery's picture
AncientMystery

Use olive oil or flaxseed to balance or remove the omega 6 problem?

I've made a few loaves of bread before. I personally don't like making whole grain bread because it's too hard to make (much tougher to knead, harder to rise, more ingredients to add, etc), so I usually just make white bread. Anyway,  one thing that has come to my attention is the issue with vegetable oil. While there are some general health problems with it, one major thing is that it contains a lot of omegas 6s (if you don't know much about it, your need more omega 3s then omega 6s or the omegas will turn on you). So there's two options: 1. use olive oil instead of vegetable oil or 2. add flaxseed. Both of which will effect flavor of the final product (the bread, of course). *sigh* So, what is the best choice here? Which ingredient will yield a less noticeable effect on my bread? I, personally, can't remember what each loaf tastes like by the time I make another, so I'd like to know if someone who has made either of these, or worked with these ingredients, can explain this.

grind's picture
grind

Grape seed oil is nice, neutral and not terrible for your health.  Olive oil too.

 

I don't think the flax seed addition will do much as an omega offset.

mini_maggie's picture
mini_maggie

I use extra light olive oil in place of veg oil, with no discernable change in taste or texture.  It has a much lighter taste than virgin olive oil. 

Flax needs to be fresh ground or cracked to release its nutrients and will have much more of an effect on taste and hydration of your loaves.  I love flax in bread personally but the OO substitution is easy and not noticeable.