Homemade bread high in calories?
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Ken Forkish, author of "Flour Water Salt Yeast" has recipes for 40% and 75% whole wheat bread. Neither use sugar or oil.
When I make bread, I've sometimes added a pinch of sugar. Even the recipe for brioche in the "Joy of Cooking" only has 1 T of sugar per loaf.
Here are the How-To videos for "Flour Water Salt Yeast":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0owQi_U44c 1 -
Part Of the reason store bread has lower calories=cellulose
This particular bread also has more added gluten than yeast—for extra rising=more air.
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RedheadHen wrote: »Well I guess I want to know how Nature's Own is making bread. What are they subbing for flour. I mean I can see the calories will be high since flour is around 100 cals per 1/4 cup. My recipe called for 6 cups! That's like 2,400 calories in just flour alone! ACK!
I will not cut out bread from my diet. My choice there. I have always stuck to the idea that I will not cut out a food or a food group to loose weight. I will increase my exercise though to have those high calorie treats. Haha!
It's just disappointing to me that making my own bread may save me money but cost me calories.
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Any bakers out there that could suggest ways to lower the calories in a bread recipe?
I've been baking over 90% of the family's bread for the last 3 years. I use a no-knead method. My basic breads are between 90-110 cals per slice per MFP recipe calculator. If I could reliably hand-slice a little thinner or the breads were the same low density as commercial loaves, the calories would be less. The basic method I got from "artisanbreadwithstev" YouTube channel - for instance, a white bread with King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour uses only flour, water, yeast and a dash of salt. You're using 1/4cup of oil? Wow! The only time I use any oil at all is a tablespoon or so in whole wheat bread. From the basic ingredients, I fortify, often, with whey, buttermilk powder, yogurt, fruit, nuts, molasses, honey, herbs, seeds for differing results. On a 20-22 slice loaf (hand slicing), these things only add a moderate amount of calories, while (for instance with whey), I can get a boost of protein. "artisanbreadwithstev" Steve is a retired bank IT manager somewhere in the Midwest, and frankly, a little dry. But he loves his bread and the approach works.
I love my bread too. And I'm following a lowered-gylcemic-index diet plan. So why I am eating white bread? Well, it's a treat; I make 4-5 whole wheat for every white loaf. Second, using published glycemic load figures on the ingredients, and my daily total glycemic load, I'm well within my dietary parameters for several slices per day. I don't go overboard. One thing that helps is ... no sugar. It's not needed generally, and honey or other sweeteners only for various effects.
1st picture is from who-knows when, and shows a whole wheat loaf on the left (actually, probably 40% whole wheat, 60% unbleached bread flour - whole whole wheat can be quite dense), and an aromatic sesame white on the right. 2nd pic shows the crumb of one of my white loaves from last year. Tips I got from "the Great British Baking Show" have allowed me to usually get rid of the slight compression at the bottom. Every loaf is a living thing, and an adventure - I'm no uniform-result factory although I pump out a few loaves per week.
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I guess I need to run my recipes through the nutrition calculator,too! Fresh ground grains,btw, have more nutrients, especially the b-vitamins, which are easily destroyed. And, they are so much sweeter than store-bought whole grain flour because the oils haven't had a chance to start spoiling.
@tracydr With the onset of the pandemic last year, and breaking of supply chains (no flour to be found in stores!), we ordered a mill to grind our own grain. It tooks months to come, then we were in the midst of a downsize/move, so we haven't unboxed it yet. It's on the agenda for this spring, now that we're settling in to the new place.
Any tips for grinding your own?0 -
RedheadHen wrote: »Well I guess I want to know how Nature's Own is making bread. ...
Any bakers out there that could suggest ways to lower the calories in a bread recipe?
I've been baking over 90% of the family's bread for the last 3 years. ...
Oops. I just saw the OP date on this thread. It's funny how these things turn into zombies and rise again from the land of old inactive threads. Just goes to show the internet hive mind is perpetual, LOL.2 -
There’s a lot of air in commercial bread. What is the weight of a store bought loaf vs homemade? I bet the homemade is heavier (denser).1
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There’s a lot of air in commercial bread. What is the weight of a store bought loaf vs homemade? I bet the homemade is heavier (denser).
Mine certainly is, lol. but usually has a good foamy crumb, so it's hearty. I try to slice it thinner so each slice is a reasonable portion. Pic below is a whole wheat bread, compared to the loaves in prev post. The odd large bubbles at the top came from refolding the dough after it overflowed the loaf pan in the 2nd rise. Sometimes, the yeast really takes off and goes wild; "every loaf is an individual living thing" I say to my daughter.
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I guess I need to run my recipes through the nutrition calculator,too! Fresh ground grains,btw, have more nutrients, especially the b-vitamins, which are easily destroyed. And, they are so much sweeter than store-bought whole grain flour because the oils haven't had a chance to start spoiling.
@tracydr With the onset of the pandemic last year, and breaking of supply chains (no flour to be found in stores!), we ordered a mill to grind our own grain. It tooks months to come, then we were in the midst of a downsize/move, so we haven't unboxed it yet. It's on the agenda for this spring, now that we're settling in to the new place.
Any tips for grinding your own?
Decades and decades ago, my mother and grandfather had hand crank mills. Lots of work! Hopefully, technology has improved since then and you are using something easier. Can you link to the model you bought?1 -
We don't grind ourselves, but we were very lucky to find a local grower that also mills their product right before we buy it. It's amazing how good it tastes! Their business has been going strong for a long time but they definitely gained some new customers during the pandemic. I've had fun experimenting with the different kinds of flours they offer.
I love homemade bread!
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You do NOT need sugar in homemade bread: As they consume sugars, either added or in the flour itself, yeast cells expel ethanol and carbon dioxide bubbles. These same bubbles make bread rise. ... Active dry yeast will proof just fine without sugar, albeit a little more slowly.
If you want your bread to be a little lighter and fluffier then you need to use "dough conditioner"1 -
How about using Splenda instead of sugar!
Sugar is needed to activate the yeast. Splenda won't do that.
An alternative is to make sourdough bread using an established starter. With that the yeast is already active. I bought a young starter yeast online and used King Arthur's soursough recipe until the starter double foamed on it's own in the fridge (1 or 2 loaves at time for about 6 weeks, feeding 8 hours before making each loaf). Once it looks good and ready I switched to a regular sourdough recipe that does not use sugar. It has a longer rising cycle.0 -
I must sound like a broken record when I talk about the keto bread. But yeah it all depends on the recipe.
I make a full size Keto bread (9" x 5" pan) and it is only 95 calories a slice (17 slices per loaf) and 1.7 net carbs. Which is exactly the same calories as a standard slice of wonder bread. Except this one has almost 10 grams of protein and 4+ grams of fiber.3 -
ekenney1962 wrote: »You do NOT need sugar in homemade bread: As they consume sugars, either added or in the flour itself, yeast cells expel ethanol and carbon dioxide bubbles. These same bubbles make bread rise. ... Active dry yeast will proof just fine without sugar, albeit a little more slowly.
Yeah, this is my experience. I never added sugar and it was fine.1 -
As others have said, there's a couple of things to unpack.
Most standard commercial sliced bread (like Wonder Bread) is fluffier than homemade bread. You can get commercial breads that are 100 calories or less per serving. It has therefore fewer calories. (It's also more profitable for the companies who save on ingredients.) The trade off is that there's pretty much no nutrition or taste in such bread, either.
Bread in general is high in both calories and carbs, so approach with awareness. There is also likewise a whole range of homemade breads that you can make so look around. Be aware cutting out sugar (or honey) will affect the yeast and typically the amount isn't large per serving. Also honey has different properties than sugar (due to type of sugars and moisture content) so they aren't direct substitutes for each other.
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kshama2001 wrote: »I guess I need to run my recipes through the nutrition calculator,too! Fresh ground grains,btw, have more nutrients, especially the b-vitamins, which are easily destroyed. And, they are so much sweeter than store-bought whole grain flour because the oils haven't had a chance to start spoiling.
@tracydr With the onset of the pandemic last year, and breaking of supply chains (no flour to be found in stores!), we ordered a mill to grind our own grain. It tooks months to come, then we were in the midst of a downsize/move, so we haven't unboxed it yet. It's on the agenda for this spring, now that we're settling in to the new place.
Any tips for grinding your own?
Decades and decades ago, my mother and grandfather had hand crank mills. Lots of work! Hopefully, technology has improved since then and you are using something easier. Can you link to the model you bought?
@kshama2001 Pic below. Sorry, I thought I had provided an actual link previously. This is Amazon, today.
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kshama2001 wrote: »I guess I need to run my recipes through the nutrition calculator,too! Fresh ground grains,btw, have more nutrients, especially the b-vitamins, which are easily destroyed. And, they are so much sweeter than store-bought whole grain flour because the oils haven't had a chance to start spoiling.
@tracydr With the onset of the pandemic last year, and breaking of supply chains (no flour to be found in stores!), we ordered a mill to grind our own grain. It tooks months to come, then we were in the midst of a downsize/move, so we haven't unboxed it yet. It's on the agenda for this spring, now that we're settling in to the new place.
Any tips for grinding your own?
Decades and decades ago, my mother and grandfather had hand crank mills. Lots of work! Hopefully, technology has improved since then and you are using something easier. Can you link to the model you bought?
@kshama2001 Pic below. Sorry, I thought I had provided an actual link previously. This is Amazon, today.
Oh that's cheating
We had this kind:
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kshama2001 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »I guess I need to run my recipes through the nutrition calculator,too! Fresh ground grains,btw, have more nutrients, especially the b-vitamins, which are easily destroyed. And, they are so much sweeter than store-bought whole grain flour because the oils haven't had a chance to start spoiling.
@tracydr With the onset of the pandemic last year, and breaking of supply chains (no flour to be found in stores!), we ordered a mill to grind our own grain. It tooks months to come, then we were in the midst of a downsize/move, so we haven't unboxed it yet. It's on the agenda for this spring, now that we're settling in to the new place.
Any tips for grinding your own?
Decades and decades ago, my mother and grandfather had hand crank mills. Lots of work! Hopefully, technology has improved since then and you are using something easier. Can you link to the model you bought?
@kshama2001 Pic below. Sorry, I thought I had provided an actual link previously. This is Amazon, today.
Oh that's cheating
We had this kind:
As did my grands' generation, LOL. We actually discussed the possibility of a hand-cranked mill when we selected this one. If you remember, at the start of the pandemic, there was talk - maybe wild, maybe prudent - about the potential for unstaffed "essential worker" positions at locales such as power plants, etc., which, combined with concerns about supply chains fracturing, had folks wondering if we'd be eating scraps by candlelight by midsummer. We decided to get an electric; speculation is one thing, but the flour shortage was real. I have a couple of memories of hand grinding corn for cornmeal with my great aunt, but not any flour.0
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