Yeast-Free, Sugar-Free Bread: A SAFE Treat for the Holidays
By Alice Osborne
Let's talk yeast. Ever wondered, or needed to know, how to test the vitality of your yeast? This is a good question because lots of people are storing yeast now as part of their preparedness efforts. So after you've had it for several months to a year, it's normal to wonder if it will still do its job. And this time of year - what with all the holiday baking we like to do - it's a good question as well. It's a waste of time and ingredients if the yeast is dead.
There's a simple trick to determining how good your yeast is: Just before using the yeast, mix some into 1/4 cup of lukewarm water that has been enriched with 1/4 teaspoon of sugar (the food for the yeast). If the yeast mixture does not start to bubble within 5 to 10 minutes, your microorganisms are dead or enervated and will not leaven your dough or batter. Toss this yeast and invest in some new and fresh product.
And going forward, be sure you store your new yeast either in the fridge or freezer. I use SAF yeast (instant) and it comes in vacuumed packed blocks. Once I open a block, I transfer it to a quart canning jar and keep a tight lid on it. My yeast has kept well in the freezer for up to a year.
But let's go back to the holiday baking topic. Statistics say there's more baking going on now than at any other time of year. I can't get that excited about it though, because like the several million people in the U.S. who suffer from Candida Albicans (yeast infection), I need to avoid yeast and sugar like the plague.
If you aren't familiar with this immune-suppressing, overall health-sapping condition, here's a Cliff Notes version of its symptoms:
• Overwhelming fatigue, even after enough rest
• Poor memory; feeling like your brain is in a fog
• Painful abdominal bloating, cramping, and gas
• Frequent cravings for sweets that are incredibly hard to ignore
• Feeling much much older than you are
So since I've been struggling with yeast infection the last few years (yes, years - this stuff isn't easy to get rid of), I've been immersed in looking for good recipes for yeast-free, sugar-free breads and in learning how to make them. I want something good to nibble when my hubby is enjoying that loaf of frosted raisin bread our sweet neighbor brings us every Christmas.
It's not that easy to make good yeast-free bread. It is possible, though, with lots of practice and the right recipe. The recipe below might just be the right one. It uses spelt flour. Here's what's said about this flour from the website (www.purityfoods.com) where I purchase it. (It's also a common brand in most whole foods stores.)
Vita-Spelt is Purity's premier line of products made from a grain called Spelt. Spelt has been grown for thousands of years in Europe. In this country, Spelt used to be grown by the hundreds of thousands of acres. Eventually, increased mechanization made it an impractical crop, and gradually it was replaced by its less desirable, but more economically produced cousin, wheat. Now Spelt is making a big comeback in the United States. It has a rich, nutty flavor and a smoother texture, containing a "balanced" protein made up of all eight of the essential amino acids your body requires. Finally, Vita-Spelt products are more easily digested than wheat and most other grains, and consequently place less stress on the body.
Now if you don't have yeast problems (you're so darn lucky!), then make sure your yeast still has lots of life in it and carry on with your holiday baking. But if you too are fighting yeast infection, then give this bread recipe a try. A few slices toasted, spread with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon, and we might just make it through this holiday with minimal temptation or indulgence!
Yeast-Free, Sugar-Free Bread
(A yeast, sugar, and dairy free recipe especially for sufferers of Candida Albicans, heartburn, digestive upsets, nausea, indigestion, or other food allergies.)3 cups whole grain flour - preferably organic (i.e. whole wheat, barley, rye, oat, spelt, kamut, and etc.). Spelt flour is the recommended flour.
2 1/2 cups distilled/purified water
1 Tbsp baking powder (Featherweight or Rumford)
1 Tbsp extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. sea salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix liquids and dry ingredients separately; then combine and mix well. Place in greased and floured 9" x 5" loaf pan or 9" x 9" cake pan or completely line pan with unbleached parchment paper. Bake on middle rack of oven for 50 - 55 minutes. When top is light to medium brown, bread is ready to cool on rack. Let cool in pan for at least 1/2 hour. Do not cut until bread has completely cooled.
NOTES: If using non-glutenous flours (rice, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, corn, potato and etc.), they will not hold together well unless mixed with glutenous flour(s) or a binding agent such as egg. For a lighter weight bread, use 3 cups unbleached white VitaSpelt flour or use 1 1/2 cups unbleached white VitaSpelt flour mixed with 1 1/2 cups whole grain flour.
