12 days into the Sugar Detox and I already have so many thoughts… which… I will share at a later date. Today, I want to talk about bread. If you know me a little bit, then you know that bread is very dear to my heart. If I had to choose one thing to eat for the rest of my life, it would be bread.
While I do enjoy a fresh slice of sourdough or some sweet Challah, my real love is dark, grainy bread. J calls it “brick”, because it’s dense, heavy and usually comes in brick-shape. My Mom has been baking whole grain bread since I was a kid and I love her recipe, but I have a hard time finding cracked rye and wheat (point me into the right direction if you know where to get that! Actually, I just googled it and found it on Amazon, but there must be a local store that sells it, right?) to replicate the bread.
My Mom’s recipe calls for yeast, sugar beet syrup (for sweetening and color) and buttermilk in the recipe, besides cracked rye, cracked wheat and wheat flour. It is a pretty healthy recipe to begin with.
I’ve really been enjoying the conversations in our Facebook group about things we eat on a regular basis, things we crave and things we can easily do without. Like I said, I can’t do without bread, so you can imagine my excitement when I came across the link that Laura posted for recipe for the “The Life Changing Loaf of Bread“. When I saw the picture, I knew I had to try this no-yeast, no-flour bread that looks so much like my Mom’s whole grain bread, but even healthier.
When I looked through the ingredient list, I was excited about the sunflower seeds and the flax seeds and the rolled oats, because yeah, I like grains and seeds. This is going to be delicious! Then I stumbled over an ingredient that I didn’t know and had to ask my English-German dictionary what the hell psyllium seed husks were. And then my eyes widened… because, wait, isn’t this something you need when you have problems going to the bathroom? And I am supposed to put this in my bread?
Yes indeed. That’s exactly what it is. A laxative. And also a perfect binding agent to hold all the grains and seeds together.
So what? This bread is going to have healthy digestive side effects! It could be a hell of a lot worse, I guess. Healthy bread and good poop – double win, right? Right.
So, I ventured to the local Co-op last Saturday with an ingredient list.
The instructions for this bread sounded easy enough: mix all the dry ingredients in your (preferably silicon) loaf pan. Whisk together the ‘wet’ ingredients, pour into the loaf pan, mix very well and let soak for at least two hours before baking. Done.
My silicon loaf pan turned out to be a little bit on the big side for the amount of ingredients, so my loaf measured only about an inch in height, but I didn’t mind it actually. The slices are perfect fingerfood-size and I had one just with butter as soon as the loaf had cooled down. The bread tasted wonderful… rich, hearty, nutty. Just how I like it.
Last night, I made a very easy dinner (I actually love just having bread for dinner!) and topped a couple of slices with light cream cheese, grape tomatoes, salt, pepper, and fresh basil. The bread is really filling and will definitely also make a nice light lunch substitute. I haven’t tried to toast it yet, but I could imagine it would taste wonderful with sliced cheese or some jam.
While this post has nothing to do with sugar per se, I like the idea of eating and baking with whole grain ingredients and very little added sweetness. I’ll be on the lookout for more whole grain recipes and healthier versions of bread and baked goods. My New Roots, where this bread recipe was originally posted, will be a good source for sure.
Katrin
June 12, 2013 at 6:22 amIt looks delicious! I guess all Germans love bread! :)
Mikael
June 12, 2013 at 8:17 amProps to you on trying something new in the sugar detox! That does sound really good, but I don’t think my cooking skills are quite that up to scratch yet. I’m glad it was such a success for ya! Sugar detoxers unite!
Nora
June 12, 2013 at 9:15 amI can definitely see why it’s called brick =) My food allergies are so severe that I wouldn’t be able to eat this but it does look delicious.
(BTW- the title of this post had me laughing out loud at my desk.)
Holly
June 12, 2013 at 4:11 pmI am totally making this bread this weekend. I saw your dinner last night on instagram & instantly wanted that bread, ha!
Megan
June 12, 2013 at 8:59 pmGlad you tried it! I am more of a simple whole wheat kind of girl (pumpernickel weirds me out, but I love traditional Irish brown bread) so I am a little hesitant. Think I might give it a shot anyways.
Steffi
June 12, 2013 at 10:54 pmHi San,
could you maybe send me the recipe? I cant open it for some reason,…
Thanks. :-)
JenBetweenDots
June 13, 2013 at 7:03 amYes – I had the exact same reaction!! Great idea with the fresh basil and tomatoes looks delicious! I put avocado on mine this morning and that was super yummy too :)
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
June 15, 2013 at 3:27 pmWow, that is one dense loaf of bread! But it sounds really yummy! I had never heard of that laxative ingredient! Very interesting!
Travel Spot
June 16, 2013 at 9:16 pmYum! I love a good hearty bread like that with a bit of goat cheese!
Maegan
June 16, 2013 at 10:26 pmThis looks yummy, I think I’ll have to give it a try. I had no idea you were on a sugar detox – hows it going? I gave up sugar just about a month ago, those first couple weeks were hard, but now it’s just the way it its. I’m feeling so much better, and losing weight. Who woulda thunk it? ;)
lauryn
June 26, 2013 at 6:35 pmYum! I love this idea, thanks for sharing the recipe! I’ve been buying Ezekial bread and trying to make the occasional loaf at home in our bread maker instead of buying any from the store. It’s crazy when you start to learn about all of the added ingredients in that stuff. I think homemade always tastes better, hands down!
caryn
June 27, 2013 at 8:37 pmhahahaha. healthy bread and a good poop. YOU CRACK ME UP. oh i love you and that you are talking about poop. That bread and the caprese on it looks delicious!