The Fresh Loaf

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Diet friendly sandwich thins

JoeV's picture
JoeV

Diet friendly sandwich thins

At 63 my body doesn't shed calories as quickly as when I was younger (whose does??LOL), so after my recent visit to the doctor I was informed that I need to shed 30#. Why? Because was 45 pounds overweight and I'm pre-diabetic. Blood sugar was 146 and my blood pressure was iffy even with Lisinopril. The weight loss is supposed to help correct both of those issues.

So, under the guidance of the nutritionist & diabetes counselor in the office, I've been given a program of 1500-1700 calories per day to achieve this goal. Today is day 13, and I've already lost 14# by eating 6 times per day. I can eat anything I want, as long as it's "healthy" foods. Being a bread guy, I consider bread to be a "healthy" food the way I make it, but I also know that the carb's will kill a diet in a heartbeat. So for lunch every day I have a turkey sandwich on a 145-150 calorie sandwich thin (depending on the bread formula), with lettuce, tomato, mustard & zero calorie dill pickles. Very satisfying and only 255 of the 400 calorie lunch allocation. But I wanted to get out a few more calories from the sandwich and still enjoy the flavor of the bread.

Soooooo, I experimented yesterday and made a half recipe of my party rye bread, and instead of portioning out 2.3 oz. of dough per thin, I made them 1.75 oz....about a 25% reduction.This would also bring the calories down from 151 to 113 calories (about 64 calories per ounce of dough), and it also gave me 16 thins instead of 12 thins for the batch. But I wasn't sure how they would hold up being rolled to the customary 4" diameter, and I had to watch the bake time because they could get overdone easily. As it turned out, 12 minutes at 390F was perfect. Even better, when cooled I was able to slice them in half, and they have excellent structure to them. I just made a sandwich for lunch, and it all held together just fine from the first bite to the last. Now to figure how to eat up those extra 38 calories that are left over....

Here is what the original looks like, folowed by the thinner size.

 

 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Being type 2 diabetic, it was your original sandwich thins that really got me thinking small and portion control with bread.  When you realize that 1 slice of regular sandwich bread is like eating 1 tsp of sugar for a diabetic,  you either have to slice very thin and or make them:thin.  I cut my hamburger buns down to 100 g pre bake weight but, based on these, I'm cutting sandwich thins down to 50 g from now on.

Thanks for update and good luck with your weight loss program.  I lost 70 pounds walking 4 miles a day, doing portion control and eating right.  You never get rid of diabetes but  you can control it - while eating well - especially bread.  Well done and

Happy Thin Baking  

JoeV's picture
JoeV

The only thing you may want to do is extend the rise time after shaping the thins. I let them sit for 90 minutes before baking. By allowing them to rise longer, coupled with the oven spring, they will be easier to slice. The weight won't change, but it will give the illusion of being a larger thin as well. Nothing wrong with a little psychological boost. LOL

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

is at least 86 F in the summer ( I call it sunner)  so 90 minutes might well over proof them - a lot :-)

PaddyL's picture
PaddyL

Do you poke holes in them to keep them from rising?

JoeV's picture
JoeV

Yes, I use a docker that I also use for my pizza dough. Without docking they will come out more like a hamburger bun, which is fine if that's what you want. But I've found that without docking, there's a tendency to have air pockets under the cap of the thin. Try it both ways and see what works for you. They will still be very edible, regardless of the profile. :-)

mini_maggie's picture
mini_maggie

They look lovely!  Whole grains definitely make the bread you do consume more satisfying, not to mention the nutrition.

Good for you for realizing you need to replace the calories you've cut too.  One of the big reasons diets fail is that people cut back too much which slows metabolism and destroys willpower.  Paradoxically, you need to eat ENOUGH to lose...

I'd suggest maybe a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to replace your cut calories.  I don't know what fats are in your diet plan otherwise, but good fats are important and a little fat will add some satiation. 

Good luck!

 

JoeV's picture
JoeV

Thank you, MM.

fotomat1's picture
fotomat1

would you mind posting your Party Rye recipe for these....they look awesome. Thanks

JoeV's picture
JoeV

Party Rye Bread

From the kitchen of Joe Valencic

 

23oz.   Unbleached bread flour

9oz.     Dark rye flour

.6oz.    Salt

.35oz.  Instant yeast

10.5oz. Milk (warm)

9.5oz. Water (warm)

1ea.     Large egg

1.7oz.   Molasses

2T        Caraway seeds (optional, but adds to the flavor)

 

fotomat1's picture
fotomat1

I do appreciate it. Matt

PS Did you ever find a stainless bottom dough hook bowl for your Bosch??

JoeV's picture
JoeV

With my reduced baking volume due to my weight loss program, the SS bowl has not been on any of my priority lists. The plastic one works fine for now, and with my increased workload with my renovation business (Summer workload), I'm just doing subsistence baking. Thanks for asking.