Ya know, I’ve never been popular. I’ve never done the popular things or been “in the know.” That’s just not me. I’m not really concerned with that type of thing. I don’t hop on bandwagons and I don’t follow trends. Instead, I tend to prefer the “old school” method of doing things. I like old stuff.
It may be for that last reason that I find this new “anti-bread” age disturbing. Why is everyone on a gluten-free diet? What did bread to do get such a bad rep? It smells delicious – it tastes delicious – and it just looks pretty.
Let me take a second to say that I realize not everyone can eat bread. I have friends who are severely allergic to gluten, so they don’t eat bread. I also have friends and family members that have medical conditions that don’t allow them to eat wheat. I think that’s the smart and responsible thing for them to do – they have a hard job and I give them GREAT respect. I also have family members who are allergic to bees…so they try to keep their distance. Does that mean everyone should be deathly afraid of bees? Heck no! If you don’t have an allergy, why not enjoy the lovely gift of bread that God gave us?
NOTE: This is my view for my family. I’m not telling you how to live or what to eat. I’m simply giving you the reasons why we eat bread and why we think the anti-bread age is downright silly. If you don’t want to eat bread, that’s great. Can I have your piece?
Here are 4 reasons we eat bread (they might also be 4 reasons why we’re not popular. Ha!!)
1. Bread is very cost effective. In the big scheme of things, bread products are rather cheap to serve. They’re obviously less in cost than meat, dairy, or even vegetables. I can get a 25 pound bag of wheat berries for about $25. If you’re on a strict budget, bread fits in great. Since I grind my own wheat, I feel good about feeding my family whole grain. It’s good – it’s filling – and we enjoy it. Even if you don’t grind wheat, a 5 pound bag of white wheat flour isn’t that expensive.
2. We like it. This one is pretty obvious. However, there will be some who say “just because I like it doesn’t mean I should eat it!” You’re spot on. Just because I’d like to eat a whole loaf of fresh Honey Oat Bread with real butter doesn’t mean I should. First, I’ll get sick…second, carbs in mass quantity aren’t good for you. But, I don’t think we should deprive ourselves of the things we like. Like bread? Eat it in moderation…just like everything else. Like chocolate cake? Eat a piece once (maybe twice) a week – it’s even better if you make it from scratch.
3. It makes a fast and delicious breakfast. If we had to cut out bread, I’m not sure what we’d eat for breakfast all week. Yes, there are eggs and meat and veggies and fruit…and gluten free oats. But really, I think one would get really tired of eggs or oatmeal all the time – and our budget can’t take the hit of serving meat at every meal. So, to make my budget work I make muffins, pancakes, or scones. Made with whole grain, they’re very filling and last us until lunch (except when I’m pregnant and eat every 20 minutes) – paired with some fruit, breakfast is done!
4. I REALLY believe that God intended us to eat bread. There are several foods in the Bible that God mentions – honey, milk, wine (ha, ha!), meat, vegetables, etc. Bread is one of those foods. If bread were AWFUL for us and would kill us and be just the most terrible food we could eat, would Jesus have called himself the Bread of Life (John 6:35)? I don’t think so. He sure didn’t call himself The Sugar of Life or The Jelly Belly® of Life.
In my post about Not Soaking Grains I had a few people mention that the bread we eat today is not the same that Jesus ate – so I can’t compare the two. And I know that’s likely right…but I’d be VERY surprised if anything we eat in this age is the same as it was in Jesus’ time. Does that mean we should just give up eating altogether? I sure hope not…because I’m hungry.
So, that’s why we eat bread, and grain, and gluten. And I just have to tell you, this entire post and all those pictures have given me a rumbly in my tumbly. I’m out.
It’s nice that you mentioned how bread is obviously less in cost than meat, dairy, or even vegetables. Our family is thinking of reducing our consumption of meat so we are thinking of eating bread instead. I heard Italian bakery creations are quite good so we’d like to try that out.
I really enjoyed this article. I just completed a post about a low knead bread and mentioned some great puns in it. I wish that I would have seen this article. I would have sent my readers to it for sure. gettinlifedunn.com
I like how the article explains that bread is very cost-effective food as they cost less money than other food products. My husband and I are on a budget and we are wanting to find cheap food that we can eat. We will look into getting bread. https://www.klostermanbakery.com/french-baguette-12-oz-6-loaves
Bread is such a great option when you go the whole foods route!!!
Hi Stacy, thanks for taking the time to share what you’ve learned from experience and from your own study of the research out there. I am embarking on a whole/real food journey for my family and I’ve enjoyed your blog.
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of LatterDay Saints (Mormon) and wondered if you have rubbed shoulders with any other members who have mentioned one of the practices we adopt called the Word of Wisdom. It’s a revelation from God about how to take care of our bodies by what we eat/ingest. That’s why Mormons don’t drink alcohol, chew tobacco or smoke and avoid drug abuse of any kind. But there is also quite a bit about what to eat (not meat except for in times of cold or famine) and herbs in their season (fruits and vegetables.) And the part that I am totally on board with you, is that in the Word of Wisdom, God says that grains are the staff of life. STAFF OF LIFE. And yet everywhere I turn for information about a healthy diet I find people saying don’t eat grains. Confusing? Yes! I am grateful that their are answers from the ultimate source on how to care for the bodies He created. 🙂
Take care!
Thanks for sharing, Abby!
This is a really good website thanks
im going to eat bread gluten bread cause i’m on a gluten free diet now
I cant say why
thanks emily
Thanks so much for this post and the one about not soaking grains (that’s how I found your blog). I’m glad I’m not alone but even if I was, I’d still chose based on my convictions and not t what the majority of blog land agrees with. Now, I must go check on my two rising balls of dough!
Yum, dough! 🙂
Wheat has gone through tremendous changes since biblical times and has become devoid of any nutritional value.
I have to disagree. I would encourage you to check out this post from the Bread Beckers: http://www.breadbeckers.com/blog/bread-of-idleness/
ok
I like, nay I love bread!
I have been eating primal for years now, but I still have a piece now and again during the week.
However, nothing good comes from store bought bread. No bread should be able to sit on a shelf for weeks and not go bad.
Just homemade for me 😀
Oh yes – no comparison. Even better when grinding your own wheat. 🙂
Hi, thanks for your sharing your opinion on making and eating bread. I’ve been learning a lot about grains, and the bread making process the last several years! Partly due to the fact that after I have a sweet baby I’m left with about 35 lbs. of baby fat to loss. So found that by cutting out flour and sugars (of course) I could loss the weight and not hinder my milk supply. But breads and flours seem to be a BIG part of me losing weight. Then I learned about Sour Dough Bread! I learned how to make it and could eat it and continue to loss my baby weight!! The only Ingredients are W.Grain. flour, water and salt, plus a little love and a bit of time! The best bread, the cheapest bread!!! My husband loves it to and too feels better on it then yeast bread. Hope this can encourage someone to look into it! It is amazing!!
We like sourdough pancakes. 🙂
Love this site..love the thoughts about bread. I too have struggled with health issues and the more professionals you go to the more different is the list of things YOU CAN”T EAT! I also have thought that if bread was so bad for you why is Jesus The Bread of Life? So refreshing and unburdening to find confirmation from another soul who looks to the Word about these things:) NOW! Where is the recipe for the picture of the bread at the TOP of this page??
http://www.stacymakescents.com/my-favorite-sweet-bread-chunky-apple-bread
Be careful though. Make it once and you may not be able to stop…
Thank you so much!
I think it would do everyone well to do a food challenge with gluten and see how they feel when they reintroduce it. There are a lot of studies to show that due to genetic entropy that we are getting many more auto-immune diseases (a result of the fall, no doubt). So we are losing our ability to digest God-given bread, unfortunately. I agree we were meant to eat bread. We were also meant to live forever and our bodies to never break down! But because of sin, everything got all messed up. 🙁
We actually did that – our health suffered. When we added bread back, we felt SO much better. Now, I do use fresh ground flour. The stuff in the store cannot even come close…and that’s where I believe the gluten problem comes in. The flour from the store is basically a big bag of gluten – and then manufacturers are putting it in EVERYTHING. So, our systems are completely overloaded with it. 🙁
We did a food challenge with Einkorn. I had to call an ambulance for my husband (auto evacuate from all orifices… and fainting), and i felt that gross carsick feeling. Still feel that when I eat gluten now. I guess everyone is different when it comes to wheat. What I don’t like is how people are so ADDICTED to their wheat that they won’t even try a food challenge to see if getting off it improves their health, or to see how they feel when they get back on it.
Lucky you, you can still eat it! Because the one thing I haven’t mastered yet is getting the perfect gluten free bread! There is some great GF fluffy, beautiful bread at the farmer’s market… but their recipe is a secret! 🙁
Where you grinding your own flour?
No. We do not have a grain mill. I hope we can get one soon. It’s difficult with my husband being so ill. Even since the “Einkorn incident” it’s like his body has been in hyper drive, getting worse and worse as time goes on. He was randomly throwing up since December 2011, stopped when we cut out gluten, soy and sesame, and then was great from December 2012 to May 2013. Then comes the Einkorn (it was some pasta that I bought online because I can’t find it anywhere else or in any other form in Canada), and then everything downhill after that. He missed 25 days of work between June 2013 until last week (and that was just work… not counting the puking on the weekend). So we ordered a “Mediator Release Test” (MRT) out of desperation and he’s now on the LEAP diet plan. It’s a nightmare. But we’re sticking through it. I’m looking for a transcriptionist job so I can work from home. And then maybe we can buy a mill. 🙂
Well bless his heart – I will pray for him right now. The reason I asked is because from all my reading a research, the flour you buy at the store doesn’t even some close (nutritionally wise) to the flour you grind yourself.
Strength to you…I pray that God sends healing.
Maybe you could get them to give you their secret read recipe if you told them the detailed story of your husbands experience. It would be doing so by playing the dirty guilt trip card though.
Thanks for the peace!
Amen!
:O)
Bahaha! I absolutely LOVED this post. It made me laugh right out loud. I love bread too and as far as I can tell don’t have an issue digesting it. Like you said. Each person has to do what is best for THEM. I don’t know why everyone feels like they have to get on their soapboxes about everything they feel passionate about with the tone that there is only one right way. I 100% agree that you have to do what you FEEL is right. If you are a religious person or not when you take the time to research and really study and ponder (and of course pray if you are religious) than you will know what is right. Thanks for keeping some humor in a very sensitive subject. 🙂
🙂 I figure if we don’t laugh about it, we’ll just cry – and what’s the good in that? 😉
Girl, you’re freakin hilarious!!
You look enough like my one aunt and have the sense of humor of that side of my family I swear we must be related! Any Druhans or Griffings in your family?
On a serious note, I am trying to learn how to be a domestic goddess, wish I could have learned all this stuff when I was growing up, but thank the Good Lord for blogs like yours, they have been so helpful. Keep up the good work!
Anna
No Druhans and Griffings…but we can still be frugal sistas! 🙂
I am so glad to have found this article. I, too, have been kind of concerned about all the anti-bread agenda that has been going around. I started making our own bread a couple of years ago and I don’t eat a lot of it, but I sure love a piece or 2 of that loaf as soon as it cools enough to cut! When I got to your #4 reason for why you eat bread, I was so happy, because that is the one reason I could not get around! Yes, Jesus is our Bread of Life! And why would God call Himself that, if bread was no good for us? Thank you for the time and effort you put into “Humorous Homemaking”. I use so many of your recipes and also enjoy doing things the “old-fashioned” way. (((Stacy)))
Even to this day, I still struggle with the bread issue. I wrote this post last year and I am still doing TONS of reading. I don’t think bread is bad…but I’m having issues with the way man is handling bread. God created wheat to be GOOD – and man has fiddled with it so much trying to make it “better” and now we’ve screwed it all up. It’s so sad…we’ve switched to using spelt instead of wheat.
I’m learning new stuff every day, so I’m so glad you guys are sticking with me. 🙂 It’s a fun journey with you all.
I totally agree with your four points! However, I’ve slowed down how much ‘bready’ stuff I eat lately, and I do feel better. I think it was too much of a habit to grab something quick and easy and full of carbs and I get hypoglycemic easily, so it was a bad combo. I do think bread these days is nothing like bread a century ago…even the homemade stuff. Here’s a great article explaining why so many people are gluten intolerant these days: http://www.eatingrules.com/2012/10/why-are-more-people-gluten-intolerant/. It mostly has to do with how wheat has changed in the last century. If I could soak and grind my own wheat berries (grown with old school grains and all that jazz) I’d feel a bit better about it. For now I just make wholewheat bread at home and make sure I get some good fats and protein and extra fiber with it to slow the absorption of sugar (from the carbs) into my bloodstream. And try to eat some cheese instead of bread every time I’m snacky. Yep, more expensive. But it also sustains me longer so it (hopefully) all works out.
Man, cheese just makes life better….
Hey, I love homemade bread too! I thought you might be interested in the real health benefits of grains. The part that people don’t know is that there are around 20+ vitamins and minerals in wheat that oxidize and are 90% gone by the time 72 hours have passed since milling wheat. Milling your own flour and baking fresh same day is really a healthy way to eat grains. Buying whole grain flour in the store just gives you the fiber, but not the same mineral and vitamin content. The change in bread we buy from the grocery to the homemade bread of 100+ years ago goes way beyond just making it out of white flour. It used to be milled freshly as it would go stale and there weren’t ways to preserve it. Store bought bread has also contributed to the unusually high gluten sensitivity in that (aside from high gluten white flour) it is also short-cutted with rising times. Commercial bread isn’t risen twice like homemade bread. There was. Guy on Dr.Oz that explained that not rising it twice properly is like eating raw gluten. Check out http://www.breadbeckers.com for more information. They really have done a lot of research on eating freshly milled flour- with just bout every grain- amaranth, spelt, wheats, rye, quinoa, etc. Also, Chef Tess Bakeresse if you’re interested in making bread cheaply with everlasting yeast in a bucket! Oh, and in a side note- I have found it much easier to make my homemade bread from freshly milled flour as measuring grain is faster than measuring the flour (at least to me)! Happy bread making! (Just found your blog today, btw. Love it!) 🙂
🙂 Seems you and I are eye to eye on things. You might like this post too: http://www.stacymakescents.com/why-i-dont-soak-grains
Welcome and nice to meet you. 🙂
Lol! You already read about her! Yeah, got my stuff from her. My parents heard her speak about 15 or so years ago. I’ve always known it was better, but I wasn’t there yet to get started. Recently, I got my husband on board with the idea (the milling, homemade bread I had already been doing). Now, if I could just afford to have all the variety of grains! How much fun that would be! 🙂 I believe so many of our health problems are tied to us not eating the way God intended us to- our bastardizing is ruining our health- as I’m sure you agree! 🙂
Sue Becker opened my eyes to a lot of things. I’m thankful that God allowed me to find her. 🙂
I would love for someone to share a rye bread recipe!
I found this recipe. We LOVE King Arthur recipes!!
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/tender-sandwich-rye-bread-recipe
I recently decided to switch to rye bread, for blood glucose reasons. Turns out there are lots of great recipes for homemade rye bread out there!
Barry loves rye!
Stacy,
I love your humor mixed with honesty 🙂
Very encouraging for me to read this post because I’ve personally really been struggling with finding balance in my life in regards to what I eat and what I make for my family.
Sara
-Becoming a Wise Woman-
I think that’s a struggle we all have…and we have to stick together. 🙂
Couldn’t agreen more! Grains have been demonized when what we need to do away with is packaged, processed “grains.” (The same could be said for dairy lately too!)
Ahem, I read your comment right after I had some…..homemade Cinnamon Bread. LOL
Stacy,
I love the way you think. I agree that bread is good and should be eaten:)
I like the way I think too….but I’m biased. LOL
Personally, I’m fascinated by the different healthy eating “lifestyles” (or “diets”; not sure if it would really be the right word there..) out there right now.
I’m a middle of the road girl too. We don’t have any pressing health issues that necessitate special diet needs, and frankly, we’re a family of wide needs – I’m a health nut, Chris likes to eat healthy but still enjoys sugar, one toddle could live on plain yogurt and fruit and bread (but NO meat), and my other kid eats liver and chicken broth likes it’s going out of style.
But someday, as the budget allows, I’d love to try eating different ways – like vegan, or grain-free, etc. Just to see how they make me feel – whether I feel healthier or no.
Thanks for this post! Prompts some great thoughts.
Isn’t it funny how everyone eats so differently? 🙂 I find it fascinating.
We love bread too. We buy several hundred pounds of organic wheat once a year. With seven (soon to be eight) children it’s a cheap, nutritious food. Also, there is a verse in Psalm 104 that talks about bread strengthening man’s heart. That bread though has to be from the whole grain. When they removed everything and made white flour the nutritional values that made bread good for us went out the window. There’s nothing so good as a piece of fresh-out-of-the-oven bread with some butter and honey!!
I’m about ready to stock up on my organic wheat again! 🙂
I couldn’t cut out bread either! YUM! I have cut down on bread though, and try to make it all homemade or occasionally buy Ezekiel bread. I love oats, brown rice, and those other non-gluten grains. My main reason for the decrease in gluten consumption (but not cutting it out entirely) is because I have this non-proven, non-scientific idea that if I really moderate the amount of gluten I eat now (as well as limit sugar, eat high quality meat and dairy, and as many organic fruits and veggies as fit in the budget), maybe when I have children they won’t be as prone to allergies? Kids with major food allergies is one of my biggest fears about having children. Is that silly? I love my bread/dairy/eggs/nuts too much to have to give them up for 18+ years due to child allergies, haha!
Ezekiel Bread is AWESOME!!!
Wow. Very interesting comments. My mom struggled with me as a child because I never wanted bread and it wasn’t until many, many years later, did I realize I have issues with wheat. I’ve never much enjoyed bread.
The bread of today is nowhere near what it was even 20 years ago. It has 30 times the gluten it did then. There are so many things wrong with today’s bread and gluten is just one of them. An even greater concern is bromine; and then of course the high fructose corn syrup and not to mention all the chemicals.
There’s a farm here that grows non-GMO wheat, and organic. You can still have GMO wheat even thought it might be organic. But it’s important to have non-GMO wheat, grown organically. Buying it fresh, and grinding your own, and making your own. You won’t be putting in all the things mentioned above! If you do that, and providing you don’t have wheat or other allergy issues, then no problem!
Those with weight, hormone, thyroid issues will struggle more with bread in their diets. And, as the population is aging, the ability to digest, and the insulin resistance; and perhaps sedentary lifestyles, will contribute to shying away from breads – or carbs. It’s not so much a ban on bread but time to modify the diet; and of course become educated as to what causes the real problems.
PROCESSED foods being the major problem – regardless of age or health issues!
I have noticed that when I have bread in my diet – meaning conventional (Subway sandwiches; etc.), I have anxiety attacks; as well as nightmares! This has been tested and proven again and again. My grown daughter is the same. Remove anything with flour and sugar and it goes away!
I’m not a bread person and feel better without it. However, with the ease of the artisan bread-in-five-minutes recipe, I did try out some of the whole grain, homemade breads to see how it worked. They were delicious and I shared with work. As I still struggled to digest it, I just know that I cannot have wheat at all.
TO ERIN: I can help. I have a number of good suggestions for you that WORK.
Also, I have used Pamela’s Products (buy from Amazon) and they are wonderful! All her products are phenomenal but I like her “Baking and Pancake Mix” the best. It makes great breads, muffins, cakes, etc. and tastes wonderful.
I have other suggestions for your son, as well.
Stacy – you are on the right track. Start from scratch and make homemade and it works for you -wonderful!
Fabulous comment Gail! Thank you for sharing!! 🙂
Yes. Gluten, is just one small problem with the way our society is currently eating. I have a severe gluten allergy and have since learned, we can enjoy any food. As long as I make it myself, and know exactly what goes into it.
I eat gluten-free, but I still eat pasta, pancakes and bread. I just go about it a different way. It has nothing to do with being trendy.
& I’m pretty sure in Bilical times they did not over indulge the way Americans do.
For those of you who are eatting the Gluten Free foods, be careful with them. They are substituted with Starch flours which can lead to spikes in your glucose and can actually cause you to gain weight.
Thanks for the input Kathy!
After years of ‘experimentation’ (ahem, what’s a nice word for failure?) I know that there is not one diet/meal plan/eating plan that will fit all. I also know that between 30 minutes to 1 hour after eating anything with flour, I will be falling asleep. Even if the bread is home made with organic, stone ground wholewheat flour… (not able to mill my own)
I have PCOS and seem to be insulin resistant. I’m working my way through a list of carbs to see what does and doesn’t affect me. Its an expensive and time consuming task but luckily (unprocessed) rice seems to be ok so far. I’m so over the brain strain trying to re-work my menus and stretch my budget. And trying to figure out what to take to church potlucks!!!!
There’s not much one-style-fits-all for anything in life. 🙂 And I love church potlucks!
Oh. My. Goodness. If we had not had bread (homemade) for the last 41 years, I don’t know how we would have survived! A sweet friend taught me to make whole wheat bread the first year I was married. We raised 6 children. I wonder how many thousands of loaves I have made in all that time. At one time, when there were lots of teenagers, we would make 15 loaves a week, all in one batch! It has almost always been from freshly ground wheat too, which has been so nice. We had this saying… “We ain’t got no bread.” Interpreted, that translates into “There’s nothing to eat, Mom!” Bread and butter, bread and milk, French toast, regular toast, bread pudding, sandwiches, croutons… but always BREAD!! The best book I ever read on bread making was “Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book.” It’s a real education and although they didn’t know about the “soaking” then, theirs is a nice slow rise with 3 risings. So, it’s not 7 hours. Where did they get that magic number? Does it mean that if my bread takes 5 hours before it enters the oven that it is 5/7 soaked? I am being facetious, of course. I do know that soaking some grains makes them more agreeable to my tummy, but bread? No. It soaks a lot before it goes into the oven. I do have one peripheral question on this. If I make banana bread with freshly ground whole wheat flour, and bake it right away, doesn’t it continue to soak while it sits in the fridge for a few days? It’s wet. It’s acid… so??? I think we all need to get to know our own bodies and figure out what agrees with us. Thanks for listening! 🙂
🙂 I’ll listen any time. I really would love to have the King Arthur Whole Grains cookbook, but that one sounds great too!
Hurray for bread and rolls and scones!! and butter and honey and jelly!! No gluten-o-phobia at this house.
Oh my word – I am a scone lover for sure!
You don’t have to sell me! I have always said I could like on good quality, homemade bread and Diet Coke! I would never survive without lots of carbs in my diet, it’s one of the reasons I have to run! Think I will go cut into some of my fresh Beer Bread right now…
You’re making me hungry.
I love bread. Couldn’t live without it in some form. I’m hoping the trend (and it really is just a fad for a lot of people, though of course not everybody) toward gluten-free stuff will lower the price of bread so I can eat more of it. 😉
That’s an excellent thought!
I tried to go gluten free/cassein free because I have two autistic sons and people told me it would help them(some hint at almost a cure) but I flunked gf. Flunked cf, too. It was so expensive and you go to cook and you have to make a different flour for each recipe. Every recipe that tried to mimic bread(bread, cookies, muffins, brownies, etc) was labor intensive on many recipes for an end result of bricks. I have celiac friends and I know that’s their reality but I do sense judgment when talking about food, that I didn’t stay gf or try harder. Having children with autism just entails a certain amount of guilt anyway(Do I go to this therapist that someone told me about for $1000 because if it’s THE cure then what’s a $1000? if it helps my child? ) Many things are aimed at parents of autistic kids. But back to bread, maybe that diet would have been the cure!! I don’t know if my kids would be cured by it, but I do know that I would be insane(insaner?).
Thanks for sharing your story, Erin….and for being honest. 🙂
I loooovvvee bread! Yum yum!
Us too!
Hear hear! Well said. I have a lovely piece of homemade sourdough calling my name as I type. Everything (ok most things since I don’t go for processed stuff) in moderation (barring any allergies). Bake on!
Baker’s unite!
Love this! My sister and I have recently been talking about all this gluten free stuff. And whether the good of bread out ways the “evil” gluten lol. I loved your post and I would also love to look at this from a health perspective too…hm…I need to go study it haha.
I think you’d enjoy Sue Becker’s stuff. If you’d like to read it, let me know and I”ll send you the links.
hahaha: the jelly belly of life. Too funny. I’m pretty sure God never intended jelly bellies, but bread is certainly wholesome!
For some reason, Jelly Belly was the first thing that came to mind. LOL
Right on Stacy!
WOOT!
To expand on your last point, there are numerous times in the Bible where people ate, were told to eat bread/grains. I don’t think Jesus would say to eat the bread in remembrance of Him, being God who is all-knowing and knowing that a few thousand years later that grains would be harmful to us. I believe that God loves His children, and would not tell them to eat something that was harmful to them.
Also, many who are on the no-bread bandwagon, say that traditional cultures did not/do not eat much bread, which I have no idea where they get their information. As someone who a) loves ethnic food (especially Indian food…yum….) and b) loves history, I see tons of evidence that bread was/is a main part of the diet. In many parts of the world, bread was/is used as a eating utensil. Even throughout Europe, until the past few hundred years, a common meal would be some kind of soup/stew that was eaten by sopping it up with some bread. This is still the case in cultures that still eat their traditional diet.
So I will continue to eat bread.
How interesting!! I love all your points. 🙂
I and my family LOVE bread and anything made of bread, with bread, for bread (insert homemade apple butter here). I feel bad for anyone who has to give it up 🙁 I had to do an elimination diet once and it was awful! Totally agreee with you, why give up bread if you dont have to? I found a fabulous recipe for sweet milk bread (mimics King’s Hawaiian bread) and my hubby loved it so much he almost ate a whole loaf himself!
That sounds divine! Share the recipe?
Yes, do share the recipe for the knockoff Kings Hawaiian Bread
Stacy,
I just want to thank you for your Honey Oat Bread recipe! I’ve tried many different whole wheat bread recipes and this one won hands down! I’ve been making it for quite a while now. Everyone who tries it loves it. My family is not cutting bread out any time soon either!
Rebekah, I’m so glad you like it! 🙂 It’s our favorite too.
I agree completely but I know a bunch of people that don’t do moderation very well. lol My mom will eat the whole basket of rolls at a restaurant. Thankfully she also has a wildly speedy metabolism…but still. 😉 I do gluten free, dairy free (except for Kerrygold butter, which doesn’t bother any of us, for some reason), soy free, corn free, artificials free for my family due to our obviously numerous intolerances. We feel much better this way, but regret having to eat like this (except for the artificial thing…I am totally on board with chucking that one). Bread and corn on the cob and cheese and pizza and ice cream…only a masochist, a person with our issues or someone trying to lose half their body weight would give these things up. YUM. I miss them, right now more than usual. lol
Artificial things sorta give me the heebie jeebies too…..why would one want to eat ARTIFICIAL FOOD?
Hi! I’m new to your site, and i have to say, i love it! thanks! I’m a bread girl too. I don’t hand make it though, i have a bread machine. It’s so much fun. my family has been trying lots of different recipes and playing with different types of flour. It’s a lot of fun in the morning when we get up my girls pick out the flour and we measure everything and dump…set the machine and come home to fresh, warm bread for dinner. I don’t know how anyone could live without fresh bread!
What a wonderful thing you’re teaching your children! 🙂 They’ll always remember that.
Youre awesome! The end.
You rock my face off. The end.
Preach it Lady!
Couldn’t agree more– we don’t have any wheat problems in my family, either, so we continue to eat it in moderation. At first, I felt horribly guilty about it, but now I don’t.
I always had a hard time justifying the “evilness” of bread, when it’s referred to in the Bible over and over and over again…
Thanks for always keepin’ it real!
I actually get weirdo chills when someone starts talking about how bread is evil…it screams to me RUN AWAY!!!!
Next purchase on The List: Grain mill
Actually it’s been on there for a while but kept getting shunted back down The List ’cause…I don’t know why! LOL Oh, maybe because I was too lazy to price and compare mills. *wink* Question for you (and I’ve been wanting to ask this since I found your KitchenAid Bread Recipe that is now a Staple in the house–thanks a lot…)–was there a specific reason you went with a Nutrimill rather than a Whispermill? I know the Whispermill is quieter, which is why I’m leaning that way, since my hubby works nights and therefore needs to sleep while I would be grinding.
At the moment, I am alternating weeks with my breadmaking–one week sourdough, for half the Manlings; one week your KitchenAid Bread, for the other half. Boy oh boy did that whole Traditional Foods thing bite me in the butt. Half of them prefer Kefir; the other half wants yogurt. I think I’m doing Twice the work I was before!! Men…. LOL They are all in agreement that they won’t give up their bread though!
I read a lot of reviews…and a lot of people told me they didn’t really hear a noise difference between the two. But, the main reason we chose the Nutrimill was because you can turn it off while it’s grinding. Not all mills have that option. The idea of knowing that I couldn’t stop for any reason sorta worried me a bit…because I’m the type of person who needs that option. LOL
I purchased mine from Paula’s Bread. Her prices are very competitive and her customer service knocks it out of the park.
I haven’t – and never will, probably – cut wheat out, but I do alternate it with kamut and spelt flour in my baking. I like using those other flours, too, and they haven’t been messed around with as much as wheat has! I’ve starting looking into healthier ways to eat bread – like soaking, but I haven’t really been organized enough for that yet. I’m not really the type who’s good at planning something 24 hours in advance. LOL 🙂
Oooooh, I love spelt!!! It makes the best noodles!
It makes great banana bread, too! I love mixing up our grains.
I need to get some to grind….
I love my bread – again. I would like to say if Gluten Free doesn’t seem to make a difference to the gut you might try preservative/chemical free. For a couple of years I, and the doc, thought the horrible GERD was the gluten but after no success in gastric relief, and a lot of money out the door, I began experimenting. I made homemade bread from refined flour and added in refined gluten to see how much gluten I could tolerate. Amazingly — no problems and I ate the entire loaf. I cried when I ate my homemade White Lily biscuit and no, none, nada reaction – pure bliss. A few more experiments later I realized it was the chemicals, natural and added, in food. I then began a preservative-free eating plan. I peel all the peels (organic and otherwise because natural pesticides are also in those vitamin rich rinds/husks as well as the man-made yuck.) I make my own where feasible and avoid were possible. I now use refined flour, white rice, and peeled veggies. (Talk about old school!) I am starting to do homemade dairy products with pasteurized milk -I grew up on raw milk and had too many TB scares for one lifetime. I avoid fresh fruit as it reacts in the gut – not sure why yet. While there is no long term storage to additive-free foods other than the freezer, of which I now have three, I feel great.
We try to avoid preservatives as much as possible…but you’re kickin’ it girl! 🙂
I think the big point you made regarding the gluten-free trend is spot on! I have been shaking my head every time people tell me how much bread/carbs are of the devil…really people?…really? As for me and my family, we will enjoy the freshly baked bread (with freshly ground flour) and lots o’butter. I may even over-do it sometimes and eat the whole loaf (or at lease half)…
Bread and butter….man oh man. The joys of life. 🙂
I love bread too. Farm-fresh eggs and toast with butter is my favorite breakfast, and fresh-baked bread and hearty soup is my favorite dinner. I am healthy and feel good, so why change? Unless you know you have a problem with gluten, I’d say put it out of your mind and assume its a phase.
Sorta like the low carb diet…
Good post Stacy – agree completely! Bread especially gets a bad rap on health sites that are otherwise spot-on. For example, Dr. Mercola (mercola.com) is especially anti-wheat, but so right on so many other things. Considering the vitamins and minerals that are in home-ground wheat but missing in processed flour, grinding your own wheat and making bread is almost like giving your kids a multi-vitamin. For parents who want their kids to eat healthy, there’s nothing like replacing empty calories with something wholesome – essentially turning a negative into a positive!
I just feel so much peace about eating bread when I read things that Sue Becker writes…she’s my bread hero. 🙂
absolutely – love Breadbeckers!
They pretty much rock.
Love bread! Don’t eat that much of it myself, but I can’t say why, I really don’t know. Fresh bread is to die for. My family goes through it-quickly. And you are right it is very cost effective.
Hard to say no to fresh bread. 🙂
Thank you for this pro-bread article. I can’t understand why so many people are getting on the anti-bread wagon these days. What is the reasoning when people say that the bread Jesus ate is not the same as the bread today? There are grains that have been around since before Jesus and are still used today. Kamut is one example. I see no reason to give up bread unless you have a disease like celiac or some other allergy that would prevent you from enjoying bread.
Kamut is delicious! 🙂
I’m afraid gluten free has been one thing I can’t get behind either. I do wish we could afford a flour mill, but right now that’s not in our budget. I’m not a huge bread person anyway (moderation is key), but last night I served your honey oat bread to a college buddy of mine (with dinner of course) and she loved it. We do too, it a fabulous recipe. 🙂 Thank you for sharing!! I’m not sure if I could give up blueberry bread either. Mom brought back pick your own blueberries from NC and it’s been a delicious baking week. How could we miss that??
Blueberries make bread BETTER….if that’s possible. 🙂
I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease about 16 years ago. Going gluten free has been good for my health, but hard on my social life. So much sociaizing is involved with gluten containing foods. I would not go on a gluten free diet for any reason but necessity. I think regular bread, etc., should be eaten in moderation.
“Everything in moderation. Including moderation.” -Oscar Wilde 🙂
I was baking sourdough something or other nearly every day for a while, but since there is just the two of us now, it was getting out of hand. I do try to stick to sourdough for most of my bread baking…just easier to have a healthy starter in the fridge…and with a bit of planning, I can have bread any time I want it. We love our bread!
We really love sourdough pancakes and waffles…but we’re not huge fans of the loaf bread. 🙂 Of course, I like pancakes of all sorts!
I am SURE waste products such as coconut flour and almond flour make a bread much closer to what Jesus ate then anything made with wheat.
I do make almond meal (different from flour) occasionally, and make coconut flour from the coconut left over from making coconut milk but I am not sure I will ever buy them because a lot of what is good from almonds and coconut has to be taken out to make them into flours. Why pay TOP price for something that has had most of it’s characteristics removed?
Want to know something silly? I did not want to do an elimination diet for a while, because I was afraid we might react to gluten and I really do not like the anti-gluten movement. Still hoping going gluten free is temporary.
Now just to figure out gut healing… without removing grains because I am not sure it would be worth it. I already struggle with keeping my magnesium high enough.
🙂 I hope things turn out fabulously for you guys. You’re such a good mama.
Thanks! I try to be. I hope so too. We’ve been praying for healing for Mark and Natalia specifically.
I am glad you responded so quickly because I feel bad about my comment. I guess I was feeling a little snarky… I get that people have been healed through grain free diets, and that coconut flour is beneficial for them :(. In general I do not get it because it IS a waste product but I see how it can benefit people. So… ummm sorry to anyone who read that, and uses coconut flour.
🙂 I didn’t think you were being snarky.
I like bread too. This morning I’m serving my family blueberry pankcakes before heading out for a day at the lake.
We’re having gravy and biscuits for Annie’s birthday – her favorite. 🙂
Happy Birthday Annie! Anything majorly different about being three? Something I should prepare Christopher for?
So far, she seems the same. But all the celebrating might go to her head. LOL
Cute post, Stacy! I love your humor. I think I’ll make some toast. Love ya’!
Life without humor is pretty boring. 🙂
Those sound like good reasons to me. Homemade is the way to go!
I want to try the bread you make in a casserole dish.
Ha! I read this post while eating a piece of toast!
Well, I hope you used butter. 🙂
I already miss my wheat, but GF bread isn’t too shabby in taste, either. I really wasn’t sure what to expect there. I loooooooove bread!
Bread is the bomb.