April 20, 2009 - 7:54am
Healthy Bread
I have been making breads for the last couple of months for my family. They have been coming out great so far, bagels, kaiser rolls and Italian bread. This is becomming weekly thing we alll love. I really want to start making some healthier breads that my family would like, trying to wean us all off the white flour and sugar content. Would you suggest some whole weat recipies or should I just bite the bullet and get into sourdough. Which is probably healthier and tastier and not such a shock to our palate for people trying to come off the white flour and sugar rushes.
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Oatmeal bread is a delicious bread with which to start your family on the road to healthier grains, and it's very easy. There are recipes here, or I could post one, if you'd like.
One very easy start is to subsitute something else for the sugar. I mostly use honey in our bread. I don't buy the kind at the supermarket but rather from the local market (fruit stands, farmers market etc). We have some really good honey in our area. I can't really tell the difference in the flavor - it just gives the bread that little bit of sweetness it needs. Of course you couldn't do this with cinnamon buns! There are also other natural sweeteners out ther but I don't have much experience with these. Maybe someone else can enlighten us both!
I also try to incorporate some whole wheat flour into my recipes. I usually try to go at least half and half regardless of what the recipe calls for. If you want to do all or mostly all whole wheat but the flavor is too strong for your taste try a long slow rise in the refrigerator - this will help mellow the flavor of the whole wheat a bit. The slow rise also suposedly increases the nutritional value of the bread but I don't have any evidence to back up this claim, it is just something that I have heard and read. I have one honey whole wheat sandwich loaf recipe that I love. The difference between it and the others I have tried is that this one uses an egg which seems to make the bread more moist and light. I could send it to you if you want but since it is straight out of a book I probably shouldn't post it. I haven't changed anything except I do a pre ferment when I have the time which greatly improves the tenderness of the final loaf and helps keep it fresh longer.
Jennifer