Onion bread bitter?

[joyce09]

I tried doing onion bread twice this week. I used the following recipe but I used coconut oil instead of olive oil:

Onion Bread

2 1/2 lbs sweet onions, peeled
1 cup ground sunflower seeds
1 cup ground golden flax seeds
1/2 cup olive oil
3 oz. Nama Shoyu

The first time I used organic yellow onions. The bread came out really bitter, not edible. The second time I used sweet onions purchased at Sam's club. The bread was very tasty though still a little bitter. What is wrong? I did not have a food processor so I placed all ingredients in my Vita-mix to blend them all up. Is that the problem? What other onions might not be bitter?

[lovenlife]

As I understand it, there is a fine line between the recipe and using a lil too much flax. Too much causes the bitterness. Use enough to stick it together but not too much.

[joyce09]

The bitterness does not appear to come from flax seeds but from onions. I made the bread the third time with a lot more sweet onions than the recipe says. It came out quite bitter.

[RawKnitster]

I think you are right. It isn't the onions, it is the Vita-Mix.

I usually cut the onions in the food processor with the slicing disc and get a good result. Then put the sliced onions in a bowl, add the other ingredients and stir by hand until mixed.

Twice now I have used the S-blade of the food processor to chop the onions up finer, and the result was bitterness. It seems to me the finer the onions are chopped, the more onion juice is released which causes the strong, bitter flavor.

You don't need a food processor to slice the onions, you could do with a knife. Keep a tissue handy. ;)

[RawKnitster]

I use a slight variation of RAWvolution's Famous Onion Bread, very similiar to your recipe.

3 large yellow onions, sliced
3/4 cup flax seed, measured, then ground
3/4 cup sunflower seeds, measured, then ground
1/4 cup Nama Shoyu
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup Olive oil

Mix all by hand and spread on out on Teflex sheets. Makes enough batter to cover 2 sheets.

[spicyfull]

You can use Less Onions. And you can use Sea Salt or less Nama Shoyu if its too salty. Also Taste as you go before you Dehydrate, at which case you can adjust and make changes.

[T-Bird]

You don't need a food processor to slice the onions, you could do with a knife. Keep a tissue handy.

slap chop!

[joyce09]

Thanks for all the responses. I guess I need to start researching about a good processor. Anyone has a suggestion for a best food processor? I won't worry about a few dollars of price difference but I want to get one that is really versatile and will last for years.

[Mary Kay]

I agree with RawKnitster....When blended too much, the bitterness seems to come out.

MK

[DebB]

Thanks for all the responses. I guess I need to start researching about a good processor. Anyone has a suggestion for a best food processor? I won't worry about a few dollars of price difference but I want to get one that is really versatile and will last for years.

I really love my Cuisinart. If I needed to get a new one - I would be checking out another Cuisinart or even a Kitchen Aid. Both have wide foot chutes which I love. *Ü*

[smiley]

I find that when I soak the onions for 1 hour in cold water, that it gets rid of the bitterness. :)

[RawKnitster]

Cuisinart, for sure. I decided on that after doing a banana search here and reading all about them. Cuisinart comes with the different processing and all are metal. Don't get a brand that has a plastic S-blade.

[joyce09]

Smiley, do you mean you soaked the whole onions in cold water or the chopped-up onions?

I went to Sam's club and saw a Cuisinart processor there for $100. Is that the one you ladies are recommending?

[smiley]

I soak my onions after I cut them up. Sometimes, I will add a dash of salt or a dash of lemon/lime. It's not necessary though...what's most important is that the water is cold and that they soak for a minimum of 1 hour. I found that when I was in a hurry and tried to soak the onions for 1/2 hour, that it didn't work. :)

[joyce09]

Thank you very much Smiley. I like onion bread so much except for the bitterness. I actually already experimented with soaking onions in cold water last night and it did work!:D

[T-Bird]

My latest 2 batches came out bitter, I was very careful 2nd time to not over process the onions - in fact - if anything they were a little to large of chuncks - still bitter to point the bread is a huge fail.:mad:

I've made onion bread LOADS of time, never bitter - now this!:eek:

[joyce09]

I now always soak chopped onions in my fridge for at least one day and also change the soaking water twice. It helps with bitterness a lot but never entirely gets rid of the bitterness. I don't quite understand how that other ladies don't seem to have this bitterness problem at all. Maybe the difference in the onions used? I usually buy the pesticide-free (not organic) sweet onions at Sam's. Maybe I should try onoins sold at other chain stores.

[appifanie]

it was a tough lesson for me, but i learned that i don't like the onion bread and it doesn't like me :)

[mommyliz]

Hi guys. I use the Vidalia Onion Chopper (with the smaller sized dicing blade). It evenly dices the onions, and works beautifully. When I've tried using the food processor (or magic bullet, or blender), there's always some liquidy part produced, which creates bitterness in the onion bread. I know there are different brands that make this type of manual chopper. I bought it for 20 dollars, and it's awesome. I use it for any time I want uniformly diced vegetables/fruits. It would be great for making salsa. There are two different sizes of dicing you can do with it. Anywhoo...it works great for chopping lots of onion for non bitter onion bread!

[GoneGreen]

I use a small ceramic Japanese Mandolin set at 1.3mm to slice my onions.

The first time I made Onion Bread I used regular yellow onions. The bread tasted fine (not bitter) but the onion taste was very strong (which is okay because I love onions).

For my second batch (currently in the dehydrator) I used Vidalia onions. Same recipe and sliced the same way. I'll let you know in a few hours how it tastes compared to the first batch.

Mark

[GlimR]

I slice them very thinly on my mandolin....works like a charm every time~

[GoneGreen]

Second batch is done. Not that much difference, although the bread made using vidalia onions did not have quite as strong a flavour as the bread made with yellow onions. No bitterness though.

[levamssg]

Don't bother spending lots of $$ on a food processor ... go to target, kmart, walmart and get one there. I've had cuisinarts, GE, Black n Decker ... they all last about the same amount of time and do the same job.

[Gossy]

I was very excited to find this thread, as I'm currently having cravings for onion and garlic, and this bread recipe sounds like it'd certainly curb my onion cravings at least!

I, however, lack a dehydrator. Is there anyway to make these using an oven or other appliance? I'd hoped to get a dehydrator some day . . . but honestly I have very little counter space and funds right now . . . so it might not be possible for quite some time.