EINKORN BREAD AND FOOD SENSITIVITIES

I've been experimenting. Many times my experiments leave me a bit depressed at the results. This time I'm very pleased with my results!  I discovered I was allergic/sensitive to wheat a few years back, which I talked about in this post. Ever since then, I've been doing my best to come up with gluten free breads that can somehow resemble wheat bread, but as much as I like many of my creations and those of others, I can't say they resembled wheat.  I've been doing fine without wheat, to tell you the truth.  I have some really good sandwich breads I like, my Cheese and Wine Bread being my favorite I think, for sandwiches, although I make it more often with buttermilk now than wine.  I also made that recipe into a Cheesy Loaf Of Bread.  In fact this bread started out from that bread as a base recipe, which I made several adjustments to, until it is not recognizable anymore as that recipe at all, but an entirely different recipe.

I do have to say, one thing I missed from my wheat days was toast.  You cannot get good toast, that is toasted all the way through with low carb flours.  You just can't. I've come close to something acceptable, in the sense that you can toast it, but it just isn't the same.

So about my experiment.  I have been reading about Einkorn flour, how that it is an ancient wheat, different in the amount of chromosomes and the type of gluten than modern wheat.  Peggy of Buttoni's Low Carb Recipes is the one who has brought my attention to this flour, as she has been recently experimenting with it. Check out her recipes if you haven't already!

I got to thinking, that maybe whatever I have been sensitive to in wheat, perhaps Einkorn doesn't have. Maybe it's something in modern wheat that affects me. I don't know that it's gluten or what.  I have no idea.  So the only way I'm going to find out is to try some.  I bought a 5 lb. bag of it and decided to experiment.  Yesterday I made my Breakfast Long John using it. I used 1 tbsp of Einkorn in it and 1 hr. my blood sugar was 122. Not bad. It usually takes me from an hour up to 3 hours to get a reaction of sinus pressure and inflammation after ingesting wheat, and handling it and getting it airborne, I get an immediate reaction.  I waited and waited and did not get the usual reaction.  So today I made the bread.  I was disappointed that when I took it out of the oven it did sink in the middle a bit but it really didn't matter when I cut into it.  It was the texture, smell, and feel of bread.  AND... it made wonderful toast!!!

How about some Corned Beef Hash, (made with turnips, not jicama-I've scrapped the jicama idea), with a cheese and bacon omelet, and a couple pieces of toast for a hearty brunch!

DISCLAIMER: I want to make sure to EMPHASIZE that your mileage may vary!  Please don't think if you have a serious allergy/sensitivity to gluten or wheat that your experience will be the same as mine.  I don't have Celiac, and I don't have serious anaphylactic responses to wheat, so I could afford to experiment on myself.  I so far, have found I'm ok with it, but I may yet find I can't tolerate it and I'll have created a bread for someone who can but I won't be able to enjoy it.  I made the loaf and will be eating it this week. We'll see.  So far so good.

I used 1/2 cup of Einkorn in this recipe, and it was just enough.  It's a yeast bread, and does not rise as much as a regular yeast bread, but it does rise.  Mine rose just over the top of the pan when finished.  I used an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan. If you use a different size pan you won't get the same results.  Pan size makes a difference in bread.  I plan to still experiment and tweak this bread some more and maybe end up with a product that will rise more and not sink in the middle at all.

I do think this bread I will keep handy for toast mostly.  I will continue to use my Cheese and Wine Bread in my GT Xpress for sandwiches, I believe.  But I am happy to once again have toast in my life!

EINKORN BREAD - LC 

(not gluten free)                      

2 1/4 teaspoons  active baker's yeast (Quick Rise)
1/4 cup  warm water
1 tablespoon  honey -- (will be used by the yeast)
1/2 cup  parmesan cheese
1/2 cup  Einkorn flour
1/2 cup  almond flour - Honeyville
1/4 cup  psyllium husk powder (I buy whole psyllium husks at my healthfood store and grind in my coffee grinder)
1/4 cup  golden flaxseed meal
 2 teaspoons  baking powder
1/2 teaspoon  salt
1/2 cup  club soda -- at room temperature
4 eggs -- at room temperature
1/4 cup  extra virgin olive oil

In small bowl, combine yeast, warm water, and honey. Let sit while mixing dry ingredients, until very bubbly and yeasty.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, Einkorn flour, almond flour, psyllium powder, golden flaxseed meal, baking powder, and salt. Mix together well with an electric mixer, until well sifted with no lumps. Add yeast mixture, club soda, eggs, and oil. Beat with electric mixer for about 1 minute.  Batter should be very thick and elastic, but not a dough that you can handle.

Scrape into well greased 8 x 4-inch loaf pan, let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until it rises just to the top of the pan in the middle.  Place in oven and turn oven to 350F, and bake 30 minutes. Cover with an aluminum foil tent, loosely, and bake 30 minutes longer.

Remove from oven and let pan sit out on a wire rack for about 15 minutes.  Remove from pan, butter top of loaf, if desired, and cool completely on wire rack before cutting.  Don't cut into it while hot! Let it cool completely.


Copyright:
  "© Ginny Larsen, 7/23/2014"
                                    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

16 Servings/Per Serving: 113 Calories; 8g Fat (59.8% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber

NOTES : 
3g net carbs per slice with 16 slices: Cool completely before slicing.  For best results, use an electric knife if you have one. Cut in half. Cut halves in half again, and then cut each quarter in half again, and then each 8th in half, until you have 16 slices. For best freshness keep on counter for a couple days as you use it, then refrigerate what is left.  Or freeze slices and take out how many slices you will use daily.

CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM BAR

This is actually not a new recipe but one I posted not too long ago.  It is simply the filling for my Chocolate Ricotta Pie Recipe here

I just made up the filling and filled some icecream bar containers and froze.  Very yummy treat! I love this stuff frozen, and it makes a great icecream bar. Just thought I'd share that little bit of info with you today.  If you don't want to make the pie, this is a really nice way to use it.

TURTLE NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE

This was a nice cool and pretty simple treat we had last night.  I like cool and simple both, together, especially on a hot day.  Didn't have to bake this, except for the crust. That was quickly baked for about 10 minutes, not too bad.  The filling was simply the recipe for no-bake cheesecake from the side of the Knox Gelatin box using my sweetener in place of sugar and I used more vanilla. Most cheesecakes are pretty simple to low-carb. Ingredients are already low-carb except the sugar, so normally that's all that needs to be changed in any cheesecake recipe. They are mostly pretty basic.

I'm not a good decorator, nor am I that great of a photographer, but this didn't fail at all in taste! I have to say the longer the whole thing chills together, the better the flavors. It tasted even better this morning for breakfast. Yes, I eat pie for breakfast sometimes.  Why not? I'ts a healthy one. I would love to do this with quark if I had any or kefir cheese for a probiotic boost. If you count calories AND carbs, this will be a treat for another day, as it is a bit higher in calories for a dessert added onto a meal.  But something great for a special treat. Most low-carbers do not count calories but only carbs.  It has 7g net carbs, lots of fiber in the crust which is the kind of fiber I feel free to subtract because it's flaxseed, which, for me anyway, actually lowers my blood sugar when I use it, so truly for me I never count the carbs in flax at all.  I did not add carb or calorie count for the xylitol I used in the nutrition info, because many will use a different sweetener, so I just left out any carb count the sweeteners would have.  Truvia has none, but xylitol has some, if you use that, you have to take that into consideration.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

TURTLE NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE                    

Filling:                        
1 envelope  Knox Gelatine, unflavored
1/2 cup  sweetener of choice -- (I used 1/4 cup xylitol, and 6 packets of Truvia, or 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp.)
1 cup  boiling water
16 ounces  Neufchatel cheese -- softened, (or you can use regular cream cheese)
1 tablespoon  vanilla -- (or less if you like. I like lots of vanilla flavor)

Crust:
1 cup  golden flaxseed meal
1/3 cup  whey protein, Pure Protein, Vanilla Creme -- (brand I used, nutrition info is according to this)
1/4 cup  almond flour - Honeyville
2 1/2 teaspoons  truvia -- or 2 tbsp equivalent
1/4 cup  coconut oil -- melted, (OR butter)

Caramel Topping:
1/4 cup  butter
1/4 cup  granulated sweetener of choice -- (I used half xylitol and half Truvia)
1/4 teaspoon  blackstrap molasses
1/4 cup  half and half -- (OR heavy cream)

Chocolate Topping:
7 5/8 ounces  Nestle Media Crema (Table Cream) -- 1 can, (available in the Mexican food section at Walmart)
1/4 cup  sweetener of your choice, powdered -- (I used 6 packets or 1 tbsp + 2 tsp Truvia)
1/4 teaspoon  liquid sweetener -- (such as Stevia or Sucralose) - optional, if you like to add more sweetness.
2 tablespoons  coconut oil
8 squares  Lindt 85% Cocoa Bar -- chopped into small pieces
1 teaspoon  vanilla

Filling: In a small bowl combine gelatin, sweetener, and boiling water. Stir until completely melted. Set aside

In a large bowl, combine Neufchatel OR regular cream cheese and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy. Slowly, add a little at a time of the gelatin mixture while beating.  Continue beating until smooth. Pour into prepared cooled crust (below) and chill for 3 hours. Add cooled Caramel and Chocolate toppings (below), by first spreading the cooled caramel onto top of pie, then Place chocolate in a decorator tube or in a ziploc bag with a small hole cut in the corner and squeeze lines across the caramel topping criss-crossing if you wish, or decorate how you like. Chill another hour before serving.

Crust: In a 9 or 10-inch pie plate, add flaxseed meal, whey protein, almond flour, and Truvia.  Mix together with a fork.  Add melted coconut oil OR butter.  Mix with fork and press into bottom and up the sides of the pie plate.

Bake in preheated 350F oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes or more.

Caramel Topping: In heavy medium saucepan, add butter, granulated sweeteners, and blackstrap molasses. Stir, over high heat, until butter is melted and mixture is very bubbly.  Turn down heat to medium and very very slowly, just a little at a time, add the half and half, OR cream, while whisking vigorously.  When all cream is added, keep whisking and cooking for about 2 more minutes.  Pour into another container and cool to room temp and then chill.

Chocolate Topping: In a small saucepan, combine Nestle Table Cream, sweeteners, and coconut oil. Bring just to a slight boil, and add Lindt bar.  Add vanilla and stir with a wire whisk until smooth, creamy, and thickened. Let cool and use to decorate.  You may not use all of this but the nutrition info uses the entire amount of chocolate. So the actual count may be less than what I have here according to how much you use.

Copyright:
  "© Ginny Larsen, 7/10/2014"
                                    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (8 servings): 532 Calories; 48g Fat (79.3% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber
NOTES : 7g net carbs

Helpful hints: Make the caramel and chocolate toppings ahead and let them completely cool before adding to pie.  Caramel thickens as it cools. Double the caramel recipe if you want a thicker caramel layer.