There is nothing more enjoyable than baking your own bread.
Not only do you get the enjoyment of eating something that you have made, but you have total control of what goes into it. This to me is important. As a diabetic I want total control over my diet and this means what I eat. You are what you eat and not only do you feel better but as a result but you can remove things that make you feel ill.
I use a bread maker to make my bread. I know the purist will say that this is not the way to make real bread but let’s face it we all do not have the time to make real bread so we have to deal with what we can afford to make in time and effort.
If you want to make real bread than go ahead and good luck. in fact in my earlier days when we lived on a farm some distance from town and life seemed to be easier and slower we made real bread.
Somehow now that I have retired and become time rich I no longer have the time or the resources to make real bread. So bread from the bread maker will have to do.
The purist will tell you that my bread is ropey, and if you look at it you can see a twist in the finished products which will not win first price at any show, but I think the taste is the same if not better. I also think that my recipes have demonstrated a benefit when it comes to my sugar levels.
Getting started
Purchasing your Bread Maker.
I love buying things on E-bay and bread makers can be purchased easily on E-bay.
I bought mine on E-bay, it was second hand, an item no longer required or used by the seller, I bought it for $23. I think you will agree this is very cheap and it has worked well for me over the last five years.
I recently bought one that had never been used at a garage sale for $5,
They can be purchased from large department stores if you live in a capital centre or from their websites as mail order.
Once you have acquired your bread maker read the instructions carefully as this will give you a valuable guide on how to use your machine. The instructions below are based on my machine which is a Black & Decker.
As with all new foods you will need to check your blood sugar after you have eaten your bread to ensure that you are tolerant and that you do not have a spike in your sugar. If you find that you are not tolerant than do not make that bread again.
If you are gluten intolerant than you may need to use a more suitable flour in your bread. These can be purchased through health food shops or over the internet. However I have found it rather expensive and you may consider not making bread.
First Loaf
The easiest loaf to make is a multigrain bread mix from you super market. All you need to do is to add water and yeast (which is provided in the bag).
Recipe
To make a large loaf:-
In your bread maker’s pan mix the following
1 cups of water
4 cups of á multigrain bread mix
2 teaspoons yeast
Set bread maker to bake 3, start and 3 hours and 40 minutes later you have hot bread.
Remove bread from pan and wrap in a tea towel.
Let it cool on a cooling rack for at least 1 hour and it should be ready to eat.
Try it on its own, but if you need a topping try with left over boiled or steamed pumpkin. I like mine hot, either cooked with the main meal or reheated in a microwave. Sweet potato also goes well instead of jam etc.
Other Variations If you find the above to your liking and does not affect your sugar levels than try the following.
1. In your bread makers pan mix the following
1 cups of water
4 cups of á multigrain bread mix
1 serve of boiled or steamed pumpkin
2 teaspoons yeast
2. In your bread makers pan mix the following
1 cups of water
4 cups of multigrain bread mix
1/2 cup of boiled basmati rice
2 teaspoons yeast
3. In your bread makers pan mix the following
1 cups of water
4 cups of á multigrain bread mix
1 cup of rolled oats soaked in water over night.
2 teaspoons yeast
4. In your bread makers pan mix the following
1 ¢ cups of water
4 cups of á multigrain bread mix
1/3 cup of oat meal
2 teaspoons yeast
5. In your bread makers pan mix the following
1 cups of water
4 cups of á multigrain bread mix
1 serve of boiled or steamed pumpkin
1/3 cup of boiled basmati rice
1 cup of rolled oats soaked overnight
1/3 cup of oat meal
2 teaspoons yeast
More advanced breads
If you can find a bread wholesaler or a friendly baker you may be able to purchase a bag of Farmer Grain Mix. This contains a mixture of grains including oats and I have found it suitable. You will also need to purchase a bag of Bakers Flour.
Instructions
The night before you make your bread take a cup of the Farmer Grain Mix and cover with water to soak overnight.
1 cups of water
4 cups of Bakers Flour
1 cup of Farmer Grain Mix soaked overnight
1 served of boiled pumpkin or sweet potato
2 teaspoons yeast
Other Variations
1. cups of water
4 cups of Bakers Flour
1 cup of Farmer Grain Mix soaked overnight
1 serve of boiled or steamed pumpkin
1 serve of boiled basmati Rice
2 teaspoons yeast
NB there is no sugar in this bread as I have found that there is enough sugar in the pumpkin to produce a good bread
Bake on setting 3 on your bread maker.
1 cups of water
4 cups of Bakers Flour
1 cup ofôFarmer Grain Mix soaked overnight
1/2 cup of boiled basmati rice
2 teaspoons yeast
4 cups of Bakers Flour
1 cup of Farmer Grain Mix soaked overnight
1 cup of rolled oats soaked overnight
2 teaspoons yeast
1 cups of water
4 cups of Bakers Flour
1 cup of Farmer Grain Mix soaked overnight
1/3 cup of oat meal
2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup of water
1 cup of water
4 cups of Bakers Flour
1 cup of Farmer Grain Mix soaked overnight
1 serve of boiled or steamed pumpkin
1/2 cup of boiled basmati rice
1 cup of rolled oats soaked overnight
1/3 cup of oat meal
2 teaspoons yeast
NB there is no sugar in this bread as I have found that there is enough sugar in the pumpkin to produce a good bread
If you grow your vegetables you will know that occasionally you have an excess of vegetables.
Using this excess in your bread can be a useful way to utilise these vegetables.
I have used the following instead of pumpkin in my bread:-
Sweet corn
Sweet potato
Peas
Beans
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Silver beat
Cabbage
Jerusalem artichoke (I have read an article that adding these to bread may be the go for diabetics.)
Herbs
Apples
Pears
Apricots
You can also use:-
Dried Herbs and spices
Almond nuts
Cheese: – (Watch your sugar/fat levels if you use cheese but it does make lovely bread in small amounts.)
Cottage Cheese
Extra light Ricotta
Philadelphia
Mushrooms
Honey
Instead of sugar try substituting 1 teaspoon on low GI honey in the above recipes. (Read my chapter on low GI honey. Please note that not all honeys are low GI)
I found dissolving the honey in water helps the yeast.
I also found that too much honey affected my sugar levels so be prepared for some experimentation or if you are sensitive it may be advisable not to use honey.
Honey does however make a very nice bread.
When eating your bread try using boiled pumpkin or sweet potato as a spread instead of jam. If it is warm it will also be surprisingly sweet and should not affect your sugar.
Try it anyway and test your blood sugar afterwards, if it works for you than you will have an enjoyable alternative to jam.
You may note that I use steamed pumpkin instead of sugar in my bread, why not also use it instead of jam!!!!????
Trouble shooting.
If your bread does not turn out well it may be due to the following:-
- Turns out like a brick;
- Not enough sugar
- Not enough yeast
- Turn out too moist;
- Too many moist additive like pumpkin rice etc
- Too much water
- Bread dry and falls apart;
- Too many additives like pumpkin, rice, oat, brand etc
Fig and Raisin Sourdough Two Ways
Sourdough has a low GI, this is well worth a look.
https://breadbarnone.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/fig-and-raisin-sourdough-two-ways/
A lot of adverts in this but some interesting thoughts, some are full of fat, I do like the breads with sweet potato
http://authoritynutrition.com/10-ways-to-replace-bread/
FATHEAD DOUGH
INGREDIENTS
- 170g grated mozzarella
- 95g almond meal
- 45g Cottage cheese
- 1 egg
INSTRUCTIONS
- Put mozzarella and almond meal in a bowl and mix well.
- Top with the cottage cheese microwave for 1 minute.
- Mix briefly then microwave another 30 seconds. Alternatively, for those that don’t own or like to use a microwave, you can do this on the stove.
- Add the egg, this might seem hard to mix in but try and mix just until the egg is mostly incorporated.
- Then finish it off by kneading the rest in with your hand. It’s faster than mixing and you will get an even dough.
- To roll it out form it into a ball, place on a sheet of baking paper, top with another sheet of baking paper and roll it out with a rolling pin in your desired shape. This will make sure it doesn’t stick to your rolling pin or make a mess.
- Then just pull off the top sheet of baking paper and your Fathead is ready to use! Cooking times will depend on the recipe you’re making.
Adapted from https://lowcarbnikki.com/2018/02/25/fathead-dough/
PUMPKIN SUNFLOWER SEED PSYLLIUM BREAD
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup (60g) psyllium husks, finely ground
- 1/4 cup (40g) chia seeds
- 1/4 cup (40g) pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup (40g) sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons (15g) ground flax or sesame seed flour
- 1 teaspoon dried yeast
- 1 1/4 cup (300g) egg whites (I used pasteurized/ omega 3 eggs)
- 1/2 cup almond milk or water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place all ingredients in bread maker set on large loaf and start machine.
- Enjoy
Adapted from http://lowcarbyum.com/pumpkin-sunflower-seed-psyllium-bread/
