Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Coat an 8" x 5" loaf pan with butter or non-stick spray. Dust the inside of the pan with additional flax meal or bran.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the molasses and stir in enough milk to give the batter a "moist but not sloppy" texture. Start with 2 cups and add more if needed. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and shake to level. Sprinkle a bit of bran on the top to make it pretty.

The loaf bakes in three stages: Begin by baking until the loaf has risen - somewhere between 6 to 20 minutes. When the loaf is nice and round, reduce the heat to 325 and continue to bake for another hour. At this point remove the bread from the oven. Carefully loosen the bread from its pan and ease it out.

Tap on the bottom of the loaf, if it sounds hollow, it is done. If your tap thuds, place the loaf back in the oven just on the rack without its pan. Continue baking until it passes the "hollow test", could be as many as 30 additional minutes.

Cool the loaf completely before using a sharp serrated knife to cut the loaf into 12 even slices.