Bread of Life... and Crazy.

Bread, or a type there of, has be a staple food in the diet of the west for over a millennia. As we know bread today there are only a few ingredients… flour, sugar, salt, yeast, butter and water. The recipe can change here or there but for the most part that is how bread is made. Yet, when you go into a grocery store today the bread ingredients read a little like this: Enriched Bleached Flour [Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid], Water, Whole Grain [Whole Wheat Flour, Brown Rice Flour (Rice Flour, Rice Bran)], Wheat Gluten, Skim Milk, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Yeast, Butter (Cream, Salt), Contains 2% or Less of Each of the Following: Calcium Sulfate, Salt, Dough Conditioners (May Contain One or More of the Following: Mono- and Diglycerides, Ethoxylated Mono- and Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Calcium Peroxide, Datem, Ascorbic Acid, Azodicarbonamide, Enzymes), Guar Gum, Calcium Propionate (Preservative), Distilled Vinegar, Yeast Nutrients (Monocalcium Phosphate, Calcium Sulfate, Ammonium Sulfate and /or Calcium Carbonate), Corn Starch, Vitamin D3, Soy Lecithin, Soy Flour. Holy mother of God. That is all I have to say.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not a huge raw, non-processed food junkie or anything. But there is something quite polarized about 5 ingredients next 25. I mean, what the hell is ethoxylated Mono- and Diglycerides?! My word processer doesn’t even recognize those words!! Anyway, the point is that bread, in this country, is slightly skewed from its simple counterpart. Three of the ingredients in that bread cause me insanity. Both Soy Lecithin and Soy Flour but also vitamin B2 is grown (yes grown) on soy based products. So, as stated in an earlier blog I don’t know if it makes me go nutty but I eat it as little as possible.

The sad state of affairs is that basic soy free bread (soy lecithin and soy flour and soy oil) let alone vitamin soy free bread (free of enriched flour containing B2) is impossible to find. There are a few out there that are basic soy free. The only bread I can find on a shelf at a grocery store that is basically soy free is sourdough bread. That’s it. There is no soy free alternative on the shelf unless it is sourdough and because most basic bread shelves don’t have sourdough I am left breadless. I love bread.

One of the few places that has loaves of bread in my area that are edible (though they still contain enriched flour) is at Publix. Not only do they have two different types of sourdough bread baked fresh daily, their staff has gone to great lengths too look at their oils, mixes and oats to ensure that the bread IS in fact soy free. They have never made me feel like I’m a problem. Jacob, who works at the bakery in Publix on Enota St. is my favorite. Good kid, hard worker and incredibly thorough. Anyway, the point is that they have a five grain sour dough (quite delightful) and a regular sour dough (equally as good though not as hearty) that are nice and inanity free.

The sad part about bread though is that I can no longer consume regular doughnuts, most pastries or a hamburger bun at a restaurant. There are two places where I can eat a regular meal. Big City Bread Company in Athens and the Nachoochie Grill near Helen are both restaurants that have an offering of fresh baked bread in-house that is edible. Both have staff that were knowledgeable and worked through my food issue. I recommend them both for their amazing breads.

I have tried my hand at making homemade doughnuts. It was a reasonable effort that ended in some lovely doughnut whole concoctions. Whole wheat biscuit mix and some oil and some butter and VOILA! You have a tasty treat. It ain’t no krispy kreme but it gets the job done. I shall be perfecting the recipe over time and will keep you all posted. Until then my friends, home make your bread or check out some good sour dough at your local grocer bakery. Happy Sunday!