We really don’t eat too many sandwiches, bread or any grain-free based products in our home, but the past few months, we checked out a few brands of gluten-free, egg-free bread and other gluten-free options. I’ve also been researching sourdough bread, something I’m very familiar with. Flour is still not going to be common in our house, but as I’ve mentioned in a few posts, I’ve been researching gluten-free flour and plan to experiment on the occasion I might want to make some type of bread, cookies (like the gluten-free chocolate chip cookies that we made recently) or other baked goods.
Today, I purchased this bread (Northern Bakehouse) from Mom’s Organic Market. As you can see, it’s gluten-free and egg-free. Results? I really loved the chewy texture. In fact, I’ll be trying to replicate the texture when I’m actively making gluten-free bread.
Regarding the sandwich, I kept the ingredients simple. There was spinach, red bell pepper and a delightful spicy tomato and miso sauce that I made yesterday. I created that specifically for the oven baked herb fries that I made from red potatoes and sweet potatoes. Well today, I slathered that onto the bread. The tomato sauce tasted even better today than yesterday.
To accompany the sandwich, I had kombucha! In our house, we don’t drink artificial sodas. We mainly drink water, herbal teas and freshly made juices (using my Breville or Green Star) or smoothies (love my Vita-MiX). If we want something fizzy, we will drink water kefir sodas or kombucha. They’re both high in probiotics and the resulting drink produces a nice and delightful fizz. I much prefer the taste of kombucha and when I used to make it religiously, my daughter didn’t like it as much as water kefir soda. But now? I kombucha has nudged ahead. Since I no longer have a SCOBY to make kombucha, I purchased a bottle of Health-Ade Kombucha when I was at Mom’s Organic today. This is my second time purchasing this brand. The first bottle got consumed before I could start my SCOBY, but this time around… that should not be an issue.
Also, since I want to create a large SCOBY, I decided to purchase a 2-gallon Anchor Hocking Heritage Hill Beverage Dispenser.
The spigot is plastic and so I ordered a stainless steel spigot to replace the original. Since this dispenser is much larger than the mason jars I was originally using, it will give me the opportunity to create a much larger SCOBY. I think it’s even larger than the glass pitcher, I ended up using.
About flour…
The past few months, my daughter and I’ve been talking about grains and how prevalent they are in so many peoples lives. We even discussed the health-related issues/diseases that can be contributed to being nutritionally deficient. Some people literally consume flour-based products at every meal. The variety of flour that’s available today, is nowhere near the same nutritional value of the bread made by our ancestors, sourdough was commonly used.
I first read about sourdough in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book, By The Shores of Silver Lake. I have the complete series. My parents bought me the complete paper backed set when I was seven years old. In my late thirties, I purchased a hardcover set.
But how do you make the sour dough?” Mrs. Boast asked. “You start it,” said Ma, “by putting some flour and warm water in a jar and letting it stand till it sours.” “Then when you use it, always leave a little,” said Laura. “And put in the scraps of biscuit dough, like this, and more warm water.” Laura put in the warm water, “and cover it,” she put a clean cloth and the plate on the jar, “and just set it in a warm place,” she set it in its place on the shelf by the stove. “And it’s always ready to use whenever you want it.”
By the Shores of Silver Lake
I’ve eaten sourdough bread several times and it does taste different than the typical bread available in the store today and it’s seemingly so much better for you. I will say, that I don’t experience the slight nasal congestion when consuming sourdough products, I do with regular gluten flour. Although I knew a fair amount of flour and the health issues it can cause, last month I purchased Wheat Belly and Grain Brain, I found them extremely informative and some of the symptoms discussed were symptoms that a few acquaintances experienced. I knew about the connection between flour based products and a variety of health-related symptoms, but it was nice to see it acknowledged by some medicaldoctors within the medical community. Interesting indeed. Those that know me, already realize that I don’t reach for over the counter remedies for minor ailments. If I do experience them (which is rare on our whole foods plant-based eating routine) I try to locate the source of the problem first.
