Just a Simple White Bread Thread

[Lilgrnize]

I have a question about this bread that's kind of off the beaten path. Has this bread caused any gastric distress for anyone? I've made a few versions, have settled on bread #4, which is my favorite, and it is really causing some digestion issues for me. I don't have these same issues if I fall off the wagon and have real bread, and I've had every single ingredient in other things with no problems, but for some reason, this particular combination seems to be causing problems. Has anyone else run into this, or am I just a freak of nature? I'm not gorging myself on it...a loaf lasts me over a week, to the point I have to stick it in the freezer and toast it to avoid molding.

[Kevinpa]

Originally Posted by Lilgrnize

I have a question about this bread that's kind of off the beaten path. Has this bread caused any gastric distress for anyone? I've made a few versions, have settled on bread #4, which is my favorite, and it is really causing some digestion issues for me. I don't have these same issues if I fall off the wagon and have real bread, and I've had every single ingredient in other things with no problems, but for some reason, this particular combination seems to be causing problems. Has anyone else run into this, or am I just a freak of nature? I'm not gorging myself on it...a loaf lasts me over a week, to the point I have to stick it in the freezer and toast it to avoid molding.

Question Nikki? Is it just #4 or do all the versions of this bread have that effect on you?

[Lilgrnize]

I didn't notice it with #1 or the carbquik version, but I only made each of those once, then settled on #4 as my favorite, and have made it 3-4 times. It took me a few batches to realize that I'm having major problems every time I eat this bread. I will add I have some health issues that go along with it all...I have autoimmune/thyroid/adrenal concerns that already contribute to digestive problems, but this means I'm very in tune with which particular foods cause problems. I just can't figure out why I've been able to tolerate all the ingredients in other combinations, but have problems with this recipe. I do need to do a complete nutritional breakdown of the entire recipe, not just the carb count. I do sometimes have problems with fiber overload. Don't get me wrong...I love the recipe, but I'm sure popping a prilosec, gas-x and/or immodium each time I have it isn't a good thing!

[Kevinpa]

Nikki, The issue here I believe is the amount of fiber in #4. Carbalose is 3/5 fiber to begin with and I raised the amount of it in #4 by 3/8 cup. That plus the resistant wheat starch has more than likely pushed you past the amount of fiber your body will tolerate in 1 food.

It has been suggested that your body will adjust to your level of fiber....but I don't know how long that takes. I have tried to build up my resistance to polyd but to this point have never succeeded.

You might try backing down that extra 3/8 cup carbalose and sub somthing a bit less fiberous....like say carbquik or even half carbquik / half wheat protein isolate 5000.

[Lilgrnize]

Thanks for the feedback, Kevin. I suspected it was a fiber issue. I'll play around with it and see what I can come up with.

[Sassay]

Kevin...Can you subsitute Stevia for Sweetzfree??? Thank you

[Kevinpa]

Originally Posted by Sassay

Kevin...Can you subsitute Stevia for Sweetzfree??? Thank you

I have never tried it but I don't see why it would not work.
The whole idea of using it is to mask the off taste that most people complain about. Don't use too much though because the purpose is not to make the bread sweet.

For the most part though I have been using measured Splenda quick pack since I can just mix that in with the dry ingredients easily.

[Sassay]

Thank you...I think I love ya! (hope hubby isn't looking...)

[hirezmary]

I just got my brand new Cusiniart convection bread maker. I'm going to try Kevin's recipe and make it completely in the bread maker. I'm curious to see if I get a good rise and how it works out if done completely in this bread maker. I just started it a few mins ago so wish me luck!!
Also, I had to make one sub, so hopefully it wont effect the outcome. I did not have any resistant wheat starch, so I subbed VWG for it. I watched the dough start to knead in the machine and seems to have the good elastic qualify of a good bread, so so far so good.
Also, this machine has alot of settings including a low carb one which still does 2 rises unfortunatley, but the first one is only 15 mins and the 2nd is 75 mins. Cant wait to see how it comes along. I will have to peak towards the end of the first rise to see if it even rose any in that small amount of time, but most anxious for the 2nd of that 2nd rise period.

One thing Kevin, I forgot to ask, so I assumed it would be a 1.5 lb loaf. I hope that was accurate?

[Kevinpa]

Originally Posted by hirezmary

One thing Kevin, I forgot to ask, so I assumed it would be a 1.5 lb loaf. I hope that was accurate?

Sorry Mary I never weighed it.....that is most likely a good guess though.

[hirezmary]

I compared the amounts of the flours and it looks like more like a 1 lb loaf, so I will just set the timer and not cook beyond 35-40 mins or so.
Kevin, if I remember correctly, a good test is to tap on the loaf and hear a hollow sound? thanks for your help!

[hirezmary]

Kevin, many kudos to you. I have tried several low carb recipes and rarely got then to rise most. Based on the amounts of flours in your recipe, I compared in my bread machine book and it had the same amounts for a 1 lb loaf. I just pulled mine from the bread machine. First during the rise, it rose to the size of a 1.5 loaf and when it started baking it finished almost at the top of the 2 lb pan!
Very exicting that this this is so light and rose the way it did. Many LC recipes seem to turn out too much like CQ biscuits.
So if it taste half as great as it looks, I'll be thrilled. It's still cooling, but I'll report back soon. Also, mine was a tiny bit lopsided on one side as yours was Kevin. The good news is that it works in a bread machine! Also, I only let it bake 40 mins. My machine wanted to cook it for 75 mins for some reason, based ont he low carb setting. That would have ruined it. Crust is lightly browned. I would have liked a browner crust, but I worried about over cooking in the bread machine.
If the taste turns out good, I will definitely make rolls next.

[jackieba]

Mary,
Does this bread machine have an option for just one rise? I've never seen that before but then my machine is very old. Just asking for future reference when mine quits working. Sounds ike you can adjust baking time also--nice (mine doesn't allow any adjustments).

Jackie

[stephdray]

Originally Posted by RVcook

Oh Ginny...that reminds me of my first foray into the world of LC pizza crust recipes. Coming from a rather traditional Italian family, I learned to make pizza from my mom who learned how to make it from her mom and so on.

Hey, paisan! Your story could be mine. But the pastas were even worse than the faux pizza crusts. And while I give a thumbs up to Dreamfields, it's not _really_ lowcarb and the serving size is laughable, so it makes an Italian girl cry.

[hirezmary]

Hi Jackie. Actually when I pulled it from the machine, I meant after baking. I had to stop the machine after 40 mins of baking since it looked done. Good thing I did as it was just perfect. As for the taste, I was a little disapointed only because I didnt have resitant wheat starch and used vital wheat gluten in place of that 1 oz. I had used VWG before and didnt recall the taste overpowering it, but this time it tasted a bit too much like VWG. I made french toast with the bread this morning and it lessen that flavor, but I definitely wont use VGW with this recipe again. I'll wait till my order arrives and use the resistant wheat starch. That said though, the absolute best looking low carb bread I've even seen and good consistency and very light!
Just a couple notes on the other small changes I made.
I didnt have the LC mllk, so I used heavy cream with a little water in place of it. I have done so many times before with very good results. I also proofed the yeast, but adding it and the 1 t sugar to the warmed water to make sure I was working with good yeast. I add all liquids except the yeast mixture first into the machine, then all the dry ingredients, and then finally the yeast mixture. When I get the resistant wheat starch, I use the bread machine just for the kneading and 1st rise, then I will remove from the machine, form into rolls and let rise 75 mins like I did in my machine. I think that extra rise time makes for a really good bread.

[RVcook]

Originally Posted by stephdray

Hey, paisan! Your story could be mine. But the pastas were even worse than the faux pizza crusts. And while I give a thumbs up to Dreamfields, it's not _really_ lowcarb and the serving size is laughable, so it makes an Italian girl cry.

It took me a while to "get over" my obsession with pasta. You're right about the serving size...so tiny it's almost laughable. But when DH and I DO want pasta, I make sure to measure out exactly that so I don't go into a binge. Pasta is SUCH a trigger food for me! I tell everyone who will listen that I was born with a fistfull of spaghetti in one hand and a loaf of bread in the other...mangia.. .

[theislandgirl]

I was just reading somewhere today that the Italians (those in Italy I presume ) generally and usually have pasta as an appetizer, not a full size entree...

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[RVcook]

Well that's interesting...but definitely didn't apply in MY house! My grandmother, an immigrant from Potenza was 4'11, didn't speak a word of english and cranked out homemade ravioli like she was feeding 200 people at each meal! Salad was always served at the end of the meal and butter was rarely used. She also cooked with a LOT of olive oil, favored Peccorino Romano instead of Parmesan and crushed red pepper instead of black

I think a lot of preferences are determined by region and considering that my ancestors were actually Arbresh, that would probably explain a lot!

[crazywoman-n-wy]

[COLOR=red]When I went to Rome, I actually steered away from the "Italian" food as much as possible. Didn't want to eat the pasta, and have found I'm not really fond of "Italian" food in general. They didn't eat much of it around where I grew up. No or at least not many Italians in that area (at least then). [/COLOR]
[COLOR=red]But we did take a day tour down to Pompeii. During that tour, we stopped at a restaurant for dinner. The tour had reservations, and the meal was included in the tour, so the menu was pretty much set. We did have a choice of pasta or soup (so the pasta wasn't the main course), and main course was meat or fish. Don't ask what kine of meat, cause that is what I got, and I haven't a clue! I got the soup, and DH got the pasta. He could barely eat it, it was really bland! Almost everyone I talked to on that trip said they were very disappointed in the food. Some had really been looking forward to "real" Italian food, but as I said, very disappointed. They all said it was really blah/bland. Some of them had been to several different places in Italy. I was only in Rome & then down to Pompeii. We stopped somewhere for the dinner, don't really know where it was.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000]I'm sure the food really is a regional thing. Just as it tends to be here in the US, and I'm sure Canada.[/COLOR]

[theislandgirl]

Regional AND ancestral! For me, it's a bizarre mix of West Coast/Pacific Rim Fusion and Dutch Traditional

[RVcook]

My Sicilian friends all cook WAY differently than I do. Their food is much less 'complex'...and more simple.

As far as what meat you ate, hopefully it wasn't chicken. Italy has TERRIBLE chicken, but fabulous pork. And if you were in a seaside community, the seafood would have been your best choice to be sure.

The "Americanization" of different cuisines leads most tourists to believe that REAL (in this case) Italian food will somehow taste like it does in the USA...except better. Most Italian cuisine has developed from a 'peasant' base and is quite simple in both taste and presentation.

My grandmother's pizza is a far cry from what mine has become after adding my own embellishments and after my mom's embellishments. But in its simplicity, the taste of my grandmother's pizza is what I remember with its fresh romano, basil leaves and a homemade sauce that became her signature.

OK...I must now go to the freezer now and take out the fixin's for a pizza...

[RVcook]

Originally Posted by theislandgirl

Regional AND ancestral! For me, it's a bizarre mix of West Coast/Pacific Rim Fusion and Dutch Traditional

WOW ...I'll bet the holidays at your house are a trip!

[theislandgirl]

Originally Posted by RVcook

WOW ...I'll bet the holidays at your house are a trip!

Matter of fact, they are!

But lately all anyone in the family ever wants is my Roast Garlic Cauliflower Casserole thingie... but hey, that's not a bad thing.

[crazywoman-n-wy]

Originally Posted by RVcook

..............As far as what meat you ate, hopefully it wasn't chicken. Italy has TERRIBLE chicken, but fabulous pork. And if you were in a seaside community, the seafood would have been your best choice to be sure.
...

[COLOR=red]No, I don't think it was chicken. Almost sure of that. But we couldn't figure out if it was beef, pork, or what. Very flat meat! Some at my table did get the fish, and I don't think they fared much better. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000]I'm not much of a fish fan. Now had they said some types of seafood, then I might have gone for that.[/COLOR]

[Kevinpa]

Probably about time to make this thread a sticky since the last 10 post have had nothing to do with bread. Looks like an Italian bread heist to me.......

[crazywoman-n-wy]

[COLOR=red]Sorry about that! I was just thinking we had high jacked this thread, and needed to get back to the real subject!!![/COLOR]

[Yummy's_Girl]

Sticky! Sticky Sticky! I vote for making a sticky!

[eshlemania]

Me too!! I 'm surprised it hasn't happened before now. But we don't want to lose this one!!

Bev

Oh, when you make a sticky, can one post to it? Maybe that's why it hasn't happened before. I have enjoyed this thread.

[LoveMyGSDs]

Originally Posted by Kevinpa

Probably about time to make this thread a sticky since the last 10 post have had nothing to do with bread. Looks like an Italian bread heist to me.......

Maybe you could finish that soft pretzel experiment before making it a sticky.

[That Girl]

Originally Posted by SAGlaze

Maybe you could finish that soft pretzel experiment before making it a sticky.

soft pretzels sounds delish! somebody has to come up w/one...: