LOW SODIUM BREADS

GRAIN BREAD

DAVE'S EASY LOAF

DAVE'S OAT LOAF 

MUESLI LOAF

Link to Hot Cross Buns 

There is no problem that I can see to making no added salt bread.To prove the point I decided to make a very simple loaf and it turned out really well.

For this loaf I used Anchor Lighthouse Bread & Pizza Plain Flour from Woolworths. It is described as strong flour and has a protein level of 11.0g/100g. Normal plain flour for cakes has around 9g/100g.
In the breadmaker I placed (No breadmaker—see method on the flour packet)
330ml water direct from the refrigerator
500g bread flour

2 teaspoons  Lowan bread improver
1 sachet of granulated yeast (you may find a 7g sachet is a little too much see below)
Note I FIND I MUST STIR THE MIX ABOUT IN THE PAN BEFORE I START THE MACHINE OR THE PADDLE MAY END UP WASTING ITS KNEADING TIME JUST STIRRING THE WATER BELOW THE FLOATING FLOUR.
I set the machine for white bread, medium crust. The loaf above demonstrates that salt free bread is not rocket science. Try the "proper" (the recipe above was just to prove a point) recipes that came with your bread maker leaving out the salt and using chilled water. Without salt there is more chance of the bread rising too much and falling back to give a hollow top than the reverse. If that happens cut back on the yeast. Bread making requires a little practice—salt or no salt.

I have to reduce my salt intake so I have started reading the nutrition labels on packaged food. It did not take me long to realise just how much salt is added to processed foods. I was happy to find that some almost sodium free products (click here)  were available  but I could not find grain bread with with less than about 450 mg per 100g. 

So I bought a bread machine and started to experiment.

See also my efforts at a MUESLI LOAF Below.

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All measures are leveled.

T = Tablespoon (20ml not 15ml)

t = teaspoon 5ml

a cup = 250ml

The flour and the water are weighed and you will need a set of digital scales to get accurate results. If you use the reset function of your scales it is more accurate if you add the lightest ingredients first.

**************************************************************************

285ml(g) Water

1T White vinegar

1T Canola or olive oil

270g Bread flour

135g Wholemeal bread flour This is hard to get see below.

1T Gluten flour (This sort of flour has about 83 gm per 100gm protein)

2T Instant skim milk powder

** 2T LSA mix -- optional

** 2T 5 Seed mix -- can be increased  considerably if you like seeds.

1 T  Wheat germ or Oat bran

2 t Bread improver (Use the amount recommended for 500gm of flour). 

1 ½ to 2t Granulated yeast of a type suitable for use in bread machines

NOTE    Experiment with the amount of yeast. 1/8 of a teaspon can make a difference.  Start off with 1½ t.

Set the machine for whole-wheat light crust and follow any specific instructions for a 750gm loaf.

NOTE Sometimes the dry ingredients just float on top and never mix so I give them a bit of a stir when I first put them in. This may be just a characteristic of my machine or something to do with the lack of salt.

**Note
The highlighted ingredients will depend on just what you can get locally but you need to substitute something with similar absorbency for each item. You should be able to find LSA mix, if not use almond meal. You can make up a 5 seed mix or a 2 seed mix from the seeds shown in the pictures below.  The recipe is very forgiving and in my daily bread I tend to use up whatever odds and ends I have in small quantitys. Bread flour has more protein than plain flour and it is available in some supermarkets. Wallaby Bakers Flour in 5kg packs I have found in some Coles and 10kg bags of other brands I have found in all sorts of shops that cater to ethnic shoppers.  After hearing that a reader in SA used plain flour I made a loaf using it as an experiment. The plain flour loaf did not raise as high and the bread lacked strength and elasticity. There is another good reason to use bread flour—it is fortified with thiamin while plain flour may not be. Whole meal bread flour is harder to find. However in a pinch you can replace it with the more readily available and lower protein wholemeal plain flour in this recipe.  A  visit to your local Indian grocery could pay dividends as they have ATTA flour which is a fine wholemeal wheat flour and they usually have bulk bags of other flours. Soland gluten flour is available in some health food stores.  

Always check to see if a smooth dough ball forms soon after kneading commences. It should be just tacky like a post-it note. If it is not make small adjustments by adding teaspoons of flour or water and adjust the recipe next time.

All photos taken at the same size using . A low cost close-up system

LSA mix is a grind of Linseed, Sunflower Kernels and Almonds.

5 Seed mix is a combination of Sesame Seeds, Pipitas, Sunflower Kernels, Poppy seeds , Linseeds.

I live in Sydney Australia and it is hard to believe but I have not found it easy to buy Wholemeal bread flour locally so I am buying it and most of the above ingredients from www.basicingredients.com.au . If you cannot get wholemeal bread flour at least try an organic wholemeal flour. Contaminants tend to collect on the outside of the wheat. This is discarded when manufacturing white flour but kept for wholemeal. Using "Organic" for the wholemeal flour avoids possible residues and will not add much to the cost of a loaf.

RESULTS. (for an older recipe but sodium should not vary)

The above was my first effort at a spread sheet using Open Office, do not rely on the results. You can see that the sodium level is about 21mg/100g. Most of the sodium comes from the skim milk about 73 to 88mg and from the commercial bread improver 51mg (check this with your particular brands of ingredients). The total comes to around 157mg for a 773g loaf ie. 20mg per 100g which compares well with the usual 450mg per 100g for my store bought grain bread.

The texture was light and flexible with some holes but none completely through any slices.  The crust was great when using the light crust setting. This is now our standard sandwich bread and it is also good toasted especially the lower end which is denser. 

EQUIPMENT.

The picture shows some helpful tools. I gave up using a tea towel and bought some gloves. I could not cut straight so bought a guide. The tray is vital to catch crumbs as is a brush to clean the crumbs from the guide. I bought a cheap bread knife and threw it away then  spent 1/2 a hour to get the old but high quality knife sharp and I found it then worked better than my cheap electric knife which also went in the bin. If you are about to buy a bread maker and use it for your daily bread consider one that can produce a square slice that is suitable for toasting and sandwiches. Generally these use a single paddle and make a vertical loaf.  I use a Breville BB290 (see Choice for a review). I have updated to the BB290 successor click here for review. I lay the bread on its side to cut it in the guide but bread from a horizontal type of machine may rise above the guide. You may like to try a bow type knife that gives some giudence. A digital scale is vital. Look for 1g resolution and a fast display that does not blank off for some seconds while it recalculates the new weight. When you use a postal scale you just dump a letter on and check the weight but for cooking you will be adding small amounts to get the correct measure and blanking off is a pain. See this short video for an example of what to aim for. KITCHEN SCALE DISPLAY

After some experimenting I found that the recipe is flexible and that so far I have been able to eat all the results. 

This grain bread makes wonderful hamburger buns and dinner rolls. I  use the machine dough setting then divide the dough in half and knead to form 4 hamburger buns. The other half I knead into 8 dinner rolls. I place them on baking paper and after covering with cling film and resting in a warm but turned off oven for 1/2 hour to double in size I bake on the top shelf for 15 minutes at 200ºC.

• Flour floats for around an hour on top of  water and the machine paddle will be wasting its time if it can not get to the flour. Before you start the machine stir the mixture around with a nonmetallic utensil until the mass is wet and down near the paddle. This only takes 5 seconds and ensures that your machine starts mixing immediately. Picture shows flour and water after 30 minutes. If your machine has a collapsable paddle put it in the upright position before adding the ingredients.
• Yeast sachets are an expensive way to make bread. I buy my yeast in 500g packs at about a fifth the price per loaf.
  
• If the loaf does not have a smooth round top try reducing the water by 5ml. Make sure you do not accidentally use warm water from a mixer tap ie. always start with the same temperature water (I now use water from the fridge).
• When you have settled on a bread recipe, making up a good few ready to go mixtures (no yeast) is a good idea as this reduces the time required to make an individual pre-mix to about 5 minutes. Keep track of how each loaf comes out and make small adjustments to the yeast or liquid as necessary and a little way into your pre-mixes you will have it down pat with perfect loaves each time. Note each mix is measured individually as opposed to making a bulk mix and dividing it. 
• If  the bread looks like rising too much or not enough and your machine has a bake only option you can usually stop your bread machine by holding down the stop button for an extended period. You can then start the bake only option before the bread over rises or delay until it rises correctly. On my machine the "Bake Only" option defaults to 5 minutes but you can enter in up to 55 minutes. The normal loaf will require around 50 minutes but this is something you will need to determine for yourself.
• The paddle spindle of my bread maker became stiff after a while and a lot of soaking and work was necessary to free it. I now put the oil in first and jiggle the paddle about to lubricate the bearing. It then soaks in the oil for a bit while I measure out the liquids. So far this has resulted in a perfectly free paddle after every baking. This may not agree with your bread machine instructions.
• After a lot of use the bread pan may lose some of its non stick ability. If the bread will not shake out give the sides of the tin a good thump.
• Yeast comes vacuum packed to help preserve it I divide it into two airtight jars, both are kept in the refrigerator and one is never opened until the other is all used. Do not leave the cold jar out of the fridge and open for long as water will condense in it. Plastic jars are less prone to condensation.
  
• Give your pre-made batches of ingredients a good mix up after you make them up or the milk powder may form lumps in  storage. 

10/09 Lowan no longer sells bread improver but Lotus brand is sold in health food stores. 9/10 Coles now stocks Healthy Choice bread improver and Wallaby brand can be purchased from www.onlyoz.com.au or some IGA. Although commercial bread improvers have superior performance they have a high sodium level of  around 1000mg/100g however they are used is such small amounts that they only add around 10mg/100g to the finished loaf.

This is a very simple recipe, and one that I now use all the time.

It uses 30% Lighthouse "Crusty Ancient Grains" Bread Mix and 70% plain white bakers' flour. This results in a very nice white bread with some grains and a little wholemeal in it.

It has more flavour than a loaf using only plain flour. It has the advantage of not needing gluten flour or bread improver.

The loaf weighs about 720g after baking. The bread has a sodium level of a little under 120mg/100g.

Here are the instructions:

Add 315 ml water (or 315g, if you weigh it) to your bread pan. Add 150g of bread mix. Add 350g of Lighthouse Bread & Pizza Flour (or any other strong plain baking flour). Add the contents of one of the sachets of yeast (included in the "Crusty Ancient Grains" bread mix packet).

I set the program on my bread machine for white bread and set the crust to "hard" & the loaf size to the maximum, so as to get a little extra baking time, which this loaf seems to need.

Check after it has been mixing a few minutes, in case it is too dry or too wet, which can be adjusted by adding quite a small amount of extra water or flour, respectively.

If you want a more wholemeal style, you can substitute some wholemeal flour for some of the Lighthouse Bread & Pizza Flour - I sometimes substitute wholemeal flour for 50 to 100g of the bakers flour. This will also make for a somewhat more dense loaf (less airy).

Notes:

· When you run out of the 6g sachets of yeast that come with the Crusty Ancient Grains mix, you can use 6g of your favourite brand of instant yeast instead.  6g of yeast is about 1.8 level teaspoons. If you use a teaspoon measure (5ml), you can use slightly less than two level teaspoons.

· You can use either yeast sealed in sachets or bulk instant yeast. If you use bulk yeast, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. If, after some months, it becomes less effective, either increase the quantity or simply buy a new pack of bulk yeast.

· Note that sachets of yeast often contain more than 6g (there are 7g and 8g sachets), so when you use a different yeast sachet to the one supplied with the Crusty Ancient Grains mix (which does contain exactly 6g), you should measure the yeast.

· As bread recipes perform differently in different bread machines, some small adjustments may be necessary to get the size of loaf you desire.

· If you have a small bread machine, you may want to reduce the quantities of water, flour and bread mix to make a smaller loaf. You could reduce all the quantities by 10%, for example.

· The size of the loaf (but not the weight) can also be reduced by substituting some wholemeal flour for some of the plain flour, or by using a little milk (try 50 or 100ml) in place of some of the water. Milk will also help to make a browner crust.

· I have successfully made a large loaf, in a large breadmaker with a horizontal pan, by using 360g of water, 170g of bread mix, and 400g flour. That loaf was 840g when baked.

· In Sydney, we have been able to buy Lighthouse "Crusty Ancient Grains" Bread Mix and Lighthouse Bread & Pizza Flour in Coles supermarkets.

Regards, Dave

Following the posting of Dave's recipe I had  a tip from Chris who had difficulty getting hold of the Lighthouse bread mix and had used a similar method with Laucke Multigrain Soy & Linseed which can be found in Woolworths. Note Laucke also has another multigrain with a higher sodium level. Make sure you get the correct one.

Laucke Multigrain Soy & Linseed has a sodium level of 246mg/100g so diluting it a little more than 50:50 is preferable.  It comes in a 2.4Kg box so using 240g will get you 10 loaves and when each 240g is mixed with 260g of bread flour. This mixture results in a nominal sodium level for the finished loaf of 120mg/100g. The recipe I ended up with was the above mix plus 330g/ml cold water and one and a quarter level teaspoons of yeast. The resulting bread had a great texture and still had plenty of grains. Some adjustment of the yeast may be necessary when switching yeasts after using up the one supplied. Update -- I add 1 teaspoon of bread improver and sometimes 1/2 a cup of seeds.

Regards, Peter

DAVE'S OAT LOAF

• Place 45g of coarse cracked wheat (Burghul) in the bread maker pan.

• 20g White vinegar or real (not bottled) Lemon Juice.
• 1 Egg. (55g)
  
• Make this up to 430g with ice water then pour into the bread pan.

• 45g linseed meal. You can buy this or grind some linseeds in an electric coffee grinder.
• 45g Rolled Oats (not quick type).
• 45g Oat Bran.
• 220g Whole Meal Plain Flour.
• 220g White Bread Flour.
• 28g (2½ Tablespoons) Gluten flour (Ensure protein above 65g/100g).
• 2 Teaspoons Bread Improver.
• 2 Teaspoons Yeast granules.

Mix the ingredients and add to the bread pan.
Stir the mixture around a little with a non metallic utensil before starting the machine. This is to ensure that within a few seconds of the machine starting the ingredients are melded together.
I recommend you slice this loaf when it is slightly warm, seal it in a bag and freeze it. A couple of slices easily de-thaw in the microwave and it toasts beautifully direct from the freezer.




Test loaves were made with Tip Top High grade flour (disconinued so use another bread flour) and Lowan stone ground wholemeal flour.

SPICED MUESLI LOAF

• 150g Sultanas
• 40g Chopped Prunes
• 40g Chopped dried Dates
  
• 1T water
  

• 20g White wine Vinegar
• 290g Water (some adjustment may be necessary)
  
• 2 T Canola oil (Get lowest in trans fat)
  
• 1 t  Vanilla essence

• 270g Bread flour
• 135g Wholemeal Bread flour (you can use wholemeal plain flour if necessary)
  
• 50g rolled oats (quick cooking type)
• 2 T Skim milk powder
• 3 T Brown Sugar  = approx. 50g
  
• 1 T Gluten flour (the sort that has about 83mg protein/100g)
• 3 T Almond meal
• 2 T Sunflower seeds
• 1 1/2 T Mixed Spice (see below)
• 1 T Lecithin granules -- optional
• 2 t Bread Improver (use the amount recommended for 500g of flour)
  
• 1 t Ginger powder
• 1 1/4 t  Bread machine yeast granules
• 30g Chopped Dried Apples ( these are hardy enough to add with the main ingredients)
  

You can use store bought Mixed spice but I use the following mixture of powders.

By Volume.

• 3 Parts Cinnamon
• 3 Parts Nutmeg
• 3 Parts Allspice
• 2 Parts Mace (see Herbie's Spices on my low sodium diet page)
  
• 1 Parts Clove

Here is a version of a seed loaf. It could be used as a sort a biscuit when sliced thinly. It is a simple easy process that only takes a few minutes work.
You could try it in a tin but when I did it stuck like concrete.

In a bowl place

250g warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons or a sachet of yeast

Whisk and let stand while you prepare in a mixing bowl
.
100g of bran or equal weights of oat bran and wheat germ — any sort of "bran" really
150g of wholemeal flour
100g of seeds. A mixture of a range of seeds, see the mix above as an example

Using a wooden spoon  work the liquid into the dry ingredients to make a uniform paste.
Place the paste onto a sheet of baking paper, spray with cooking spray and form into a roll then clip the paper together.
Leave for about 1 hour in a warm place to double in size.
Bake in a 200C oven for 30 minutes then unclip and bake a further 10 - 15 minutes.
Cool on a rack.

Experiments with Unleavened Breads.

Indian Rotis

I was searching at an Indian grocer for a source of bread making flour when I spotted some Pillsbury brand Chakki Atta flour which stated it was 100% whole wheat (I was told "atta" means whole wheat) so I bought a 1Kg packet to try in my normal bread. On the back was a recipe and instructions for making Rotis. There was no mention of salt so I decided to have a go. First thing was to get hold of the iron skillet called a "Tawa" (Tava).

I rang a few Indian grocers from the phone book and ended up at a warehouse type shop. In the far corner was a pile of various types of Tawa. The $8 one I chose was 30cm diameter and was very obviously made by hand. At home I removed some rust and seasoned it by heating and wiping on vegetable oil then set about making my first Rotis. There are websites that give a rundown of what is required but I think the main thing needed is a lot of practice. Of my first batch only one puffed up on the pan but they all were very edible.

Flame puffing should take about 15 seconds with the gas correctly set. I took the rack off between times or it got so hot it burned holes which let the steam out.


My $8 tawa is now in regular use as a high temperature griddle for fillet steak. I use a little oil, 2 minutes 30 seconds on each side and 2 minutes rest. A rub over with a metal scourer ball under hot water and dry while still hot ensures no rust in storage and It should last forever.

• 1½  Cups Flour  ( I used Atta (Indian wholemeal)  and  Weston Milling Continental Sharps (White) but try any Wholemeal or plain flour)
• ½  Cup + 2 teaspoons Water

                                                   Other Things to make
Crumpets.
I guess that eventually you will miss having crumpets on a low sodium diet. The best I could find in the shops had a sodium level of 600mg/100g. So here is a recipe.


The crumpets on the left were mini versions made with egg rings. I was finally able to find a supplier who has real crumpet rings made locally.
Wheat Free world specializes in allergy cookery advice and supplies. www.wheatfreeworld.com.au

Big non stick rings are available from BBQ sections of  Woolworths and Big W. Look for cooking rings as opposed to egg rings.

• 1½ Cups plain flour (230g)  You can experiment. Perhaps try a 50-50 mix of plain and bread flour. 
• 1½ Teaspoons yeast granules
• 1    Teaspoon sugar
• ½   Teaspoon of cream of tartar

• 1    Cup warm water

• 1/3 Cup warm milk
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt Skip baking powder. Sprinkle this on and try not to form lumps.

As soon as your crumpet looks like the above get the ring off then lift the crumpet with a spatula to check the bottom. (Hold it right up in the air). After some practice you should get the hang of it. When the bottom is ready and the top firm turn your crumpet over and lightly cook the top.

Bread Sticks


I used a simple white bread recipe (see top of page) with 3 tablespoons of oil in the bread machine on the dough setting. I rolled the dough out about 1.5cm thick and sliced it 1cm wide, stretched the strips and laid them out well spaced on baking paper, coated them with wash made from slightly diluted egg yolk and sprinkled with herbs or seeds. I baked them for 15 minutes at 200C then left them in the turned down oven to crisp up for better keeping.


Your comments are welcome. less.sodium@gmail.com

  

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