Healthy Bread of the world

[Cookwithlove]

Good morning,

Could bread lover or enthusiast point me to the variety of breads regardless of nationality that you know of? A few types I knew of are Turkey bread, ciabatta, forcassia and that is about all.... those that are free off improver, enhancer and others raising agent but using olive oil.

Thanks you and hope to hear and learn from you.

Take care and cheers!

[andiesenji]

According to some dietary gurus, one of the healthiest breads anywhere, is the Ethiopian bread Injera made with a significant portion of teff flour.

Injera recipe

and another recipe here.

Teff is a tiny, round tan-colored grain crammed full of nutrition. It's the smallest grain in the world, measuring only 1/32 of an inch and taking 150 grains to weigh as much as one grain of wheat.

Although small in size, this miniscule whole grain provides enormous nutrition. Teff is an excellent source of amino acids, most notably lysine, which is usually lacking in other grain foods. This petite grain is also noted for its superior fiber, iron and calcium content. Teff has gained popularity in the whole foods and health foods industries as an alternative grain for persons with gluten sensitivity.

Historically limited to an Ethiopian flatbread or porridge, teff's culinary use is expanding. When baking, teff flour can replace a portion of the wheat flour, nuts or seeds called for in recipes. Teff can also be used as a thickener for soups, stews and gravies and can even be added to stir-fry and casseroles. The grain is sometimes germinated and the sprouts used in salads and on sandwiches.

Teff provides tough nutrition in a small package.

From the registered dietitians at Bloomington Hospital Community Health Education

[dougal]

Could bread lover or enthusiast point me to the variety of breads regardless of nationality that you know of? A few types I knew of are Turkey bread, ciabatta, forcassia and that is about all.... those that are free off improver, enhancer and others raising agent but using olive oil.

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Hi , cookwithlove.

There are many, many different types of bread.

Most "types" can either be made 'well' or faked with additives.

I don't know your location, but if you are in the USA, I'd advise that it is likely to prove healthier to follow the FDA advice and avoid Bromated flour, and any bread containing it. This stuff is banned on health grounds in Canada, Europe (inc here in the UK), Japan and elsewhere, but there's a legal barrier to banning it in the USA. I think labelling requirements vary from state to state.

Compared to Bromate, most other bread additives aren't as bad.

Not necessarily good, but not as potentially harmful.

Learning how to make bread yourself, manually, isn't difficult.

That way, you should know exactly what has gone into it.

Unless you have specific medical problems confirmed, don't worry about yeast.

But regard TIME as an important ingredient. Use less yeast and allow it more time and you'll get better (ie more) flavour in your bread. Commercially, the pressure is to do things quickly. And that's unnatural for bread - hence all the additives! At home, you can give your bread all the time you like. (Allowing dough to rise overnight in the fridge is a good trick!)

White (wheat) flour has had much of its nutritional goodness removed. True whole grain flour, with nothing removed (as with real 100% stoneground wholegrain), provides a wider spread of nutrients - which is generally thought 'better'. (But the flour has a shorter shelf-life.)

Similarly, breads with other added seeds (and/or grains) can add yet more good stuff.

And then we can have the discussion as to what might be the very best of the 'good stuff'. But, if you want light, well-risen bread, then best to stick (mainly) to wheat flour. Its very hard to replicate the magic of wheat's gluten without resorting to technological trickery.

And even from white flour, one can make good tasty and wholesome bread.

A breadmaking machine has process limitations, needing rather a lot of yeast for example. Do it by hand, and you could soon be making better bread than a machine.

It is harder to reliably make light, tasty whole grain bread. Not impossible, but develop your skill with white dough before moving on.

For now, the best beginners' book on breadmaking that I know of is Reinhart's "Bread Baker's Apprentice". Bertinet's "Dough" is lighter on explanation, and easier going. However, for a really varied collection of diverse breads (including many using wild yeast - 'sourdough") I'd steer people towards Dan Lepard's Handmade Loaf ("Art of Handmade Bread" for the US market) which is now available quite cheaply in paperback, but I think it'd be better to start with something more basic.

You don't need much equipment. But I'd strongly advise a cheap digital scale (estimate less than $20) for measurements, and using a pizza stone (rather than starting with a loaf tin).

[Cookwithlove]

Hi Andiesenji,

Thanks for sharing the recipe. What is the othe name for Teff. Names known in other nationality?

According to some dietary gurus, one of the healthiest breads anywhere, is the Ethiopian bread  Injera made with a significant portion of teff flour.

Injera recipe

and another recipe here.

Teff is a tiny, round tan-colored grain crammed full of nutrition. It's the smallest grain in the world, measuring only 1/32 of an inch and taking 150 grains to weigh as much as one grain of wheat.

Although small in size, this miniscule whole grain provides enormous nutrition. Teff is an excellent source of amino acids, most notably lysine, which is usually lacking in other grain foods. This petite grain is also noted for its superior fiber, iron and calcium content. Teff has gained popularity in the whole foods and health foods industries as an alternative grain for persons with gluten sensitivity.

Historically limited to an Ethiopian flatbread or porridge, teff's culinary use is expanding. When baking, teff flour can replace a portion of the wheat flour, nuts or seeds called for in recipes. Teff can also be used as a thickener for soups, stews and gravies and can even be added to stir-fry and casseroles. The grain is sometimes germinated and the sprouts used in salads and on sandwiches.

Teff provides tough nutrition in a small package.

From the registered dietitians at Bloomington Hospital Community Health Education

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[Cookwithlove]

Hi Dougal,

Good morning and greeting to you from Singapore. Thanks for your passion and precious time taken by you in educating me on healthy bread, a basic food in our diet first to eat in the morning so it has to be healthy and economical. With the current financial turmoil and the drastic price increases in today's highly impermance world. Food vendor increases their price randomly without regard for the man in the street.

Sourdough is one of my favourite bread. Perhaps you teach me how to make wild yeast and I am also on the look-out looking for a reliable oven for kneading bread as well as fo pizza and cooking and a wok table for bread, any suggestion?

Thanks you very much

[rooftop1000]

Hope you have lots of time to read....

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...8entry1467798

I dont worry too much about what kind of surface I work my dough on, just remember you may get flour everywhere

happy baking

tracey

[Jenni]

Probably not quite what you are looking for, but I'll share with you my daily healthy bread: Chapati

They're thin (easy to digest), wholewheat (much healthier than white), don't need any oil added and are really easy to cook, once you know how. The trick is to cook them on the tawa (a flat pan for cooking breads) till cooked through but not to brown, and then hold them over the burner (I use a coat hanger (!), but you could use tongs) till they puff up.

[andiesenji]

Hi Andiesenji,

Thanks for sharing the recipe. What is the othe name for Teff. Names known in other nationality?

According to some dietary gurus, one of the healthiest breads anywhere, is the Ethiopian bread  Injera made with a significant portion of teff flour.

Injera recipe

and another recipe here.

Teff is a tiny, round tan-colored grain crammed full of nutrition. It's the smallest grain in the world, measuring only 1/32 of an inch and taking 150 grains to weigh as much as one grain of wheat.

Although small in size, this miniscule whole grain provides enormous nutrition. Teff is an excellent source of amino acids, most notably lysine, which is usually lacking in other grain foods. This petite grain is also noted for its superior fiber, iron and calcium content. Teff has gained popularity in the whole foods and health foods industries as an alternative grain for persons with gluten sensitivity.

Historically limited to an Ethiopian flatbread or porridge, teff's culinary use is expanding. When baking, teff flour can replace a portion of the wheat flour, nuts or seeds called for in recipes. Teff can also be used as a thickener for soups, stews and gravies and can even be added to stir-fry and casseroles. The grain is sometimes germinated and the sprouts used in salads and on sandwiches.

Teff provides tough nutrition in a small package.

From the registered dietitians at Bloomington Hospital Community Health Education

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I don't know of any other name for teff. I buy teff flour at my local health food store. There are numerous places online that sell it.

I often make flat breads with a combination of "healthy" flours, combining amaranth, teff, quinoa and oat flours.

These won't rise using yeast because of the lack of gluten but work great for flatbreads and in flapjacks, waffles, and etc., using other leaveners.

I have used similar combos with wheat flour in sourdough breads too.

Bob's Red Mill teff flour