10 Reasons We Are Addicted To Bread-Plus 5 Of The Best Grain Free Bread Recipes
Looking at this list you may well wonder how do these ten points add up to us craving bread like a heroin addict going cold turkey. It is actually a simple chemical reaction, not unlike the effects heroin has, in the body and on the brain.
- Starch
- Fat
- Sugar
- Salt
- Yeast
- Texture
- Smell
- Convenience
- Affordability
- Filling
Around 85% of serotonin is produced in the stomach, biochemically derived from tryptophan (found in a combination of starches, fat and sugar). For those who haven’t heard of serotonin, it is the feel good drug that courses along our synapses and is up-taken by the brain to make us calm and feel great – here the similarity to Heroin. Take the first five points, mix them together, bake them and you have a concoction that produces serotonin cravings. The more we eat the more serotonin is produced and the more we crave as we hit an all too fast low.
Apparently dark leafy green veggies can produce the same effect, but here we have the two next vital points that no other combination of food has ever managed to emulate: texture and smell. Normally I would go into a hyperbole of adjectives to describe the heavenly crunchy, chewy and fragrant taste of bread, suffice to say it will have us all running to the nearest Bakery.
The internet is full of wonderful Paleo bread recipes and SCD bread recipes and what they all lack is texture. They all crumble instead of stretch and generally the crunchiness is not quite there either. Gluten Free bread also doesn’t quite cut it, especially since it is full of starches and sugar.
So what are we poor sods left with? Well, it isn’t as bad as it might seem. There is an abundance of Grain Free Bread recipes out there and if eaten with thick sticky homemade jam or a wedge of creamy cheese and salted slices of ruby red tomatoes we can almost fool ourselves into believing it is “real” bread.
And, I guess the last three points: convenience, affordability and filling are self-explanatory. It does cost a tonne more to make your own Paleo Sandwich Bread, it certainly isn’t going to be 2 bucks at the supermarket. The Paleo Breads in the stores cost around $8-$14, but if you make them yourself you can bring the cost down by more than half by buying bulk nut meals and coconut flour. Store them in the freezer in an airtight container. Also, unlike yeasty bread, nut meal bread does not need to rise and is a lot less labour intensive to make. Make a few loaves at once, why not make enough to feed the masses and freeze them. Nut breads are actually more filling than grain breads and take the stomach longer to process, so you will have much less craving for bread. Now that’s good for you!!
Here are 5 of the best Grain Free Bread recipes I have come up with:
SCD Pumpernickel Style Bread – chewy and dense, great with bacon and eggs or that wedge of cheese and tomato:
Grain Free Focaccia – light and savoury, great with dried herbs, olives and sundried tomatoes:
SCD Jaffles – works perfect in a jaffle iron with any filling you like:
Paleo Banana Bread – toasted or cold, either way Moorish:
Grain Free Crackers – add any kind of herb to these crackers to enhance the fragrance, these are crunchy and will last for months in an airtight container. So make heaps!
