Having Diabetes, some of life's little pleasures pass us by. One of those is the joy of sinking one's teeth into warm bread, smothered in butter, and topped off with honey. Life was good.
The Introduction
One of my passions is making bread. Before being diagnosed with Stage 2 Diabetes our home had the waft of fresh-made bread permeating the spaces. No matter where we went in our home, the scrumptious delight of freshly-baked bread was not far away.
I took a last taste of fresh bread, my glucose shot through the roof and that was it. Then it hit, DamnDiabetes. Right in the face, hard and fast. I quit eating bread cold turkey.
Months went by, no bread, no baking, no delight. Then it came to me there must be something that will work, and I began my diabetes research.
There had to be bread that I could bake that would allow me to enjoy one of my life’s pleasures while also allowing me to lower my blood sugar.
At first, my diabetes research gave some alarming results. The bread turned out flat, the taste was off, or the flour made my glucose spike. Not giving up, though, I continued to try different mixes to see what bread would lower blood sugar or at best, not make it spike.
Bread Success
Finally, success. But a note of caution is required – the recipe I have developed works for me. Each person’s blood sugar may react differently and thank goodness if you have a blood sugar monitor. More on this a little bit further.
The Ingredients
Following is my secret recipe.
This bread does not take much work – more time than work. It is best to start the mix the night before you want the bread. It works best if put into the fridge for up to 18 hours.
Mix together in a large bowl
Milk 500 ml (warm)
Sweetener. 2 tsp honey (Note below)
Quick Rising Yeast. 30 grams
Let the mix stand for 10 – 15 minutes until there is a foam covering the liquid. This is a good sign that your yeast culture is working.
Then Add:
Eggs 2
Spelt Flour 500 grams
Unbleached White Flour 200 grams
Whole Wheat Flour 200 grams
Gluten Flour 100 grams
Bread Enhancer 8 tsps
Olive Oil 150 ML
Salt 15 - 30 grams (what you are comfortable with)
Mix well with a spatula or large spoon until well mixed, and then knead in the bowl for 3-4 minutes. Do not knead to beat it to death; just use medium pressure until the dough starts to become smooth. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and put into the fridge overnight for 12 – 18 hours. Remove from the fridge and let rise in a warm location until triple in size. If you do not have a proofing oven, a good option is to turn the light on in the oven and put the bread dough in – the light will work as your proofing heat source. Let rise until the whole mix is at least triple in size. Patience is a virtue as your dough has to warm up from being in the fridge overnight.
This is the minimum size you want after the first rise. When ready, you have 3 options for cooking.
1. Cooking in round form – Dutch Oven
• Push the dough down and fold it over 4 times. Make into a ball, put parchment paper in a proofing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and let rise until double in size.
• Use the parchment paper to transfer the dough to the dutch oven.
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• 20 minutes before the dough is ready, preheat the Dutch Oven and lid to 450 degrees. After 20 minutes, place the dough in the Dutch Oven, score the top of the dough with
a knife or razor blade, cover it with the lid and put it in the hot oven. Cook covered for
20 minutes, then uncovered for 15 minutes.
2. Cooking in two small bread pans
• Divide the dough in half when double in size.
• Flatten out the dough to 1 inch thick and roll it into a loaf.
• Crimp the seam and fold the ends under.
• Place the loaf in the bread pans that have been well-greased.
• Cover and let rise until at least 3 x original size.
• While the bread dough is rising, put a pan with water in the oven at the bottom. Heat the oven and water to create a steam chamber at 350 deg F.
• When the bread dough is ready, place it in the oven for about 30 minutes. A nice brown coloured crust will tell you the bread is ready.
3. Large Bread Pan
• Cook the same way as in Number 2 above, except make only one loaf.
For my large pan, I have an Emile Henry clay bread baker. It comes with a lid to keep the moisture in. If you have a bread pan like this, you do not need water in the oven.
For sweetener, I use honey – 2 tsp or alternatively 1 tsp of sugar. This is to feed the yeast.
The Finish
I can eat two pieces of toast with this recipe. Please remember that each person is different, and I recommend some diabetes research while you try to eat bread.
Testing for Glucose Reaction using either a blood sugar monitor or a finger prick test, take a reading just before eating any bread.
Start small with possibly ½ slice. If using a finger prick, I recommend taking a test each 15 minutes. If using a blood sugar monitor with sensor, you can wait up to two hours before testing again. The sensor takes and stores the test readings between the sensor testing, which makes your diabetes research that much easier. If there is no serious spike in your glucose reading, it may be safe for you to add a ½ slice.
As mentioned above, I am up to 2 slices of bread. Each has to determine how far you want to push your bread limit. This bread has a nice nutty flavour, it lasts reasonably well and I wish each who tries it, good luck.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at wayne@damndiabetes.ca and I will do my best to help.
Best wishes…… from Wayne Drury
Wayne Drury has been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. He was frustrated with the lack of usable information on the treatment of diabetes and how to lower blood sugar effectively. His passion now, using all that he has found with diabetes research, is helping others on a path to a better quality of life living with diabetes.
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