Just want to know HOW on earth there are thin bread bakers? Being serious here. I have weight issues, mostly under control for a long time but I did have some dark times. Now that I’m becoming very proficient and baking some really great tasting bread, I’m starting to pack on the pounds. I workout with regularity, but still.
I’ve noticed a few things. I like to make a lot of bread at once. Sourdough is enough of a process to want to do more work up front and less work over time. So I go for a double or triple batch a lot of times. I try to share to help mitigate my issues, but man this bread is good! I mean, can they possibly appreciate it as much as I do? Finally starting to make an honest cut back in how often and how much to make, as well as just not eating it every chance I get to snack. It feels very healthy, loads of whole grain loaves. But it adds up!
Just wondering if anyone else has similar experiences or how you might go about reducing the caboose and still enjoying honest homemade bread.
I mean, I can’t be the only one that can go through a loaf in a day or two, right?
<< mean, I can’t be the only one that can go through a loaf in a day or two, right?>>
I certainly could but I don’t because I can’t if I want to maintain. So … portion control is the name of the game for me :). Not just bread, everything. And I do NOT make a lot of bread at once usually … I’ve been in a baking frenzy the last 3 days because it got very cool here in NW Montana so I’ve been baking and freezing. I freeze slices like many others. So, a slice or 2 needs to be unwrapped, defrosted/toasted … at least I think a bit and it is not always “in my face”. But usually, I make a small loaf fairly often. Partly, I find the process relaxing and enjoyable.
Also. I have a dog and we walk and play a LOT. We both have activity trackers: his is a Whistle GPS with Activity tracking. Mine is AppleWatch. Snow, sleet, hail, rain or shine … we get outside and move. But as in bread making techniques, we each have to find what works for us!
Those are great notes! I think I like the way that works out for baking small more often. It is therapeutic for me as well. I find myself wanting to get up and check my levain on non bake days
I’ll have to work on reducing my % levain in the mix so I can leave it out overnight, or the day, longer with no attention. Starting school soon. Maybe with the smaller percent, I can get longer bulk times to where I get a good sour, lactic build up.
I feed a refrigerated mother, my Minion, once a week. If I’m using it 2-3 times a week I’ll have to see how it wants to live with the feeds and such. Maybe I’ll be pulling off a small amount to where I don’t have to feed at every use. Like 25-50 grams or something.
I just need to eat less. This new found natural levain fervor is hitting my waistline too much
My weight has been an issue for me for YEARS! A few years ago I managed to lose about 40 pounds, which was a God-send. Since November 2018 I’ve gained back ten pounds! Trust me, that does NOT make me happy AND it doesn’t seem to be going away. So I completely understand the frustration as I’m still quite “fluffy.” For me, it’s all about portion-control and making healthier choices. I adore the sourdough bread I bake. Since I keep it sliced in the freezer, I’ll enjoy a slice with breakfast if I’m making eggs or having a slice with some almond butter or peanut butter. If I’m making a sandwich for lunch, I’ll keep it open-faced so that I only have one slice. I typically don’t serve bread at dinner. So my bread consumption at home may be 1-2 slices per day, if that. On the days I make steel-cut oats for breakfast I don’t toast any bread. I need to be much more vigilant at portion control and not go back for “seconds.” As I get older, putting that weight back on means it doesn’t want to come off. I simply have to eat less. I’m convinced it’s simple in theory only, LOL!
At least we know what’s in our bread because we bake it! LOL! I just realized that I haven’t bought bread in a store since I started baking my own sourdough April 2018! I tend to keep a few different breads in my freezer at all times. My hubby, my sweet Stanley, loves the cinnamon bread I developed for him when his diet was severely restricted a year ago. He isn’t as restricted now, but he loves that bread so I continue to make it for him so there’s always some in the freezer for him. I don’t eat that one. I just make it for him. Currently, I have the following loaves of sourdough bread in my freezer, sliced and “ready to toast” – cinnamon for Stan, pecan-cranberry, lemon-rosemary, and rye. OK, four different loaves of home-baked sourdough bread in my freezer and I’m contemplating what bread I want to bake next…maybe the cinnamon-raisin for me! LOL! Portion-control, right?
Portion control! Well, being that you both have stated you know many that go by the “slice(s)” per day route, I’ll adopt that as well. It sounds like a great plan.
Already started my first slow rise attempt. 10% levain. It is slow. So I can start levain overnight, mix in the morning and even shape. Then leave to rise all day until eve.
Fluffy looks good on females, imo. A work of art. Not so much for us on the other side. Some extra isn’t bad unless there are health issues. Esteem counts as well, if it just makes you feel bad about yourself. I know I feel I look bad heavy LOL
My loaves are proofing, hoping for a late evening bake and place in the freezer in the morning.
I’m also looking to get some fresh milled flour here, anyone have any likes in particular?
@cafecorazon I love the name of your sourdough, Minion! That name would certainly put a smile on our younger grandson.
My sourdough’s name is Cyril. I was gifted some sourdough by a sweet friend of mine over a year ago. She called her sourdough Cyril and out of thanks to her generosity, I decided to call my sourdough Cyril too.
You inspired me on Instagram to try sprouted lentils in my sourdough bread (that was so tasty) so I know I’m preaching to the converted when I say “lots of fiber.”
I do believe that eating a lot of plants and whole grains can help with weight management, and
here’s a neat article @anon66425146 sent me, maybe prompted by my black bean pressure cooking on Instagram yesterday morning :-), that supports this theory.
Some tricks I have to make sure my family eats a lot of fruit and vegetables is to make them convenience foods just like chips (ok it’s not juuuust like chips ), but washed and cut vegetables out on the table when people are home.
At the moment, with teens in my house, I can bake a lot and not get to eat much of each project. But I’m not worried about bread even when I become an empty nester. It’s my love of baking cakes, cookies, pies, and other desserts that I’ll have to develop a plan for.
Some supermodel once said “I eat everything I want just not as much as I want” and I try to keep that in mind with the desserts lol
I’m going to have to reread that article a bit to uncoil some of the content. I’m not really into extremes, middle road almost always plays out for the best, for me. So Keto and Paleo have strong bases, IMO, but I think a bit too narrow visioned overall. Poking them in the eye and then
“avoiding legumes and other “heretical” sources of RS (like whole grains) can degrade the gut microbiome.” is kind of an extreme from stating that it degrades the gut. I’m betting a lot of Alaskan Natives don’t eat many legumes, I don’t know. Just a guess.
Still in line with that article though, since we’re sharing, a piece on calorie density. Stuff you alreday know but is nice to read summed up by someone every now and then. Mostly a nutrient and calorie density thing.
I went and sliced up my two fresh loaves and threw them in the freezer. I’m only reaching in there two times a day for bread. I’m sticking to that now.
Oh, I’m also on the hunt for good heirloom flour. I’d love to buy here but shipping is kind of killing it for me. I’m starting the search for local mills and such but it seems overall that not too many mills go much deeper than Hard Red, Spring, Winter, Emmer, Einkorn, for sourcing or history or varietal. Makes me really appreciate this site. I want some fresh wheat, why that so hard I’ll graduate to home milling someday, but I want to know fresh good stuff already, I think I’ve built up enough skill to use the good stuff now. Any hints tips or tricks out there? Maybe I should post this as a stand-alone post.
I thought I remembered that you posted links here on a thread about “lo carb” and also some articles referenced in your IG stories, relating to mitigating the effect of carbs with fiber. Plus I know you cook beans from dry often as do I via your Instagram. If you told me 10 years ago that I would eat and love the variety of beans I now do: Rancho Gordo beans via recipes on Heidi Swanson’s 101 Cookbooks blog, I would have said you were nuts! Anyway, Beans!!
And beans on toast!! Not the British convenience canned beans on toast (although I like that also), but any beans I’ve got, slightly mashed with some olive oil, garlic, sauteed greens or avocado or tomato … on my own good sourdough bread: YUM! And I think it is fairly difficult to overeat that combo as it fills you up fast. Good stuff on good toast is a favorite option of mine.
Based on @Fermentada IG posts and stories, I’ve been motivated to do the cut up veggies for myself. For me, the other trick to eating well is keeping only (mostly) good, whole food in the house and prepping things so that it is easier to eat well than to grab something not so good before I get hangry!
Just to clarify, although Vital Choice began with Alaskan Seafood as their primary product, they do not claim to represent Alaska or Alaskan Native diet. Additionally, they routinely post and/or re-post various nutritional articles, many having nothing to do with seafood nor Alaskan Native diet.
@cafecorazon i love that calorie density article - i had not thought of how light in weight all the packaged snacks are. I wonder if it started out as a shipping cost consideration for the snack food industry.
And that’s a natural segue to wheat shipping I find it makes the most sense to buy 3 or more bags of wheat at a time given the cost curve of shipping. What are you most interested in making? Loaf pan bread? 50% or 100% whole grain?
@anon66425146 My daughter has been making bean toast! (Hanger is a real thing - i try to fight it off with nuts but sometimes it still gets me lol)
Actually, I just pulled Alaskan off the top of my head as a place I’d suspect to lack legume availability. I didn’t know of any affiliation with seafood and such. Funny coincidence
I like the main take away being diversity. Or some might say, middle of the road
@Fermentada That’s what I’m planning on, have to wait for fundage The main thing I’m losing is variety of wheat, Turkey, Red Fife and so on. Those ties are very hard to find, even the farm information. As a coffee roaster, I always knew my farm information so I knew the family my money was going to. I try to make that connection in all my foods. This being such a large part of the entire food chain, I find the lack of information discouraging. Still gratefull for this site on that note. Makes a person spoiled at that point. I’m still trying to find that connection in California. They don’t give breed info but they do include a lot of other information that seems to lack in almost all places, malted, % gluten, high extraction and such. I’m think of doing the extraction myself on some of the local crappy wheat and see if it improves my crumb. Also gonna see about making my own malt powder from sprouted wheat berries.
@cafecorazon Interesting podcast. I’d heard the same thing recently in this Ted Talk, starting approx minute 7:04 about some people having more or less of a gut bacteria that can break down and extract calories from resistant starch.
Fingers crossed that you’ll be playing with different wheat varieties soon! I’d love to hear how the sprouting and extracting goes.
), but washed and cut vegetables out on the table when people are home.
I’ll graduate to home milling someday, but I want to know fresh good stuff already, I think I’ve built up enough skill to use the good stuff now. Any hints tips or tricks out there? Maybe I should post this as a stand-alone post.
via your Instagram. If you told me 10 years ago that I would eat and love the variety of beans I now do: 
I find it makes the most sense to buy 3 or more bags of wheat at a time given the cost curve of shipping. What are you most interested in making? Loaf pan bread? 50% or 100% whole grain?