Unleavened bread

Unleavened bread, the benefits and harms of which still cause debate among nutritionists, continues to occupy a leading position among healthy food. But why, in this case, does he not force out the bakery products made from yeast dough, so familiar to us? Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of yeast-free baking.

Today, pastry from yeast-free dough is very popular among fans of healthy eating. This is commendable and fully justified, since it is easily digested and improves the digestive process. Such bread can be safely included in the menu of various diets for weight loss and in the children's diet. Many nutritionists recommend it as a prophylactic agent for cholelithiasis and anemia.

The benefits and harms of unleavened bread

First, let's talk about the benefits of using this type of baking. Through scientific research, it has long been established that the excessive consumption of foods on yeast contributes to the rapid fatigue of the human body and increases its susceptibility to colds and other infections. Unleavened bread is completely devoid of these shortcomings and retains in its composition a lot more nutrients, since they are not spent on the feeding of yeast.

The structure of bread without yeast is dense - thanks to this, the intestines and muscles of the digestive tract work more actively, which has a positive effect on the state of the whole system. But yeast baking can provoke unnecessary fermentation processes in our body, the production of too many "excess bacteria". As a result, this will lead to discomfort, pain in the abdomen and dysbacteriosis.

Another advantage of this type of baking is the lower calorie content compared to the “brothers” in yeast: 100 g of unleavened bread contains 177 kcal.

Is bread without yeast a threat?

In general, it is impossible to talk about any serious harm that this kind of baking can cause our body. But it has several serious drawbacks:

• tight, slightly coarse crumb. Unleavened pastry is completely devoid of volume and lightness of regular bread;
• a different, unusual taste. The aroma and taste of fresh baking is familiar to everyone since childhood, while the unleavened bread does not have that pleasant aftertaste due to the absence of yeast in its composition;
• Considering that products without yeast on store shelves are a relatively rare phenomenon, many housewives tend to cook them themselves. This process is quite feasible, but very costly in time and effort - in contrast to the preparation of the usual buns with yeast.

As you can see, the drawbacks of unleavened bread are not directly related to the issue of the physical form of a person. Therefore, it is impossible to call them a serious problem for those who prefer a truly healthy diet.

Recipe for a quick, unleavened bread

Ready bread turns out very dense, but tasty, especially if you smear slices with natural butter.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. finely ground oatmeal (you can take the usual and grind them in a blender or coffee grinder);
• 1 tbsp. flour (for the best use, you can use whole grain);
• 2 tsp. baking powder;
• 0.5 tsp. salts;
• 1.5 Art. l honey;
• 1 tbsp. l vegetable oil;
• 1 tbsp. warm milk.

Cooking:

1. Before starting to knead the dough, preheat the oven by setting the maximum temperature.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients: salt, flour, baking powder, oatmeal.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the honey, butter and warm milk. If the honey is candied or has a too thick consistency, melt it in a water bath and only then mix it with the other components.
4. Pour honey-milk mass into the mixture of dry ingredients, stirring everything gently.
5. Cook the dough. It should not be steep, but slightly moist and plastic.
6. Put it in the bread pan; if not, roll the ball, lightly flatten it and place it on a baking tray, greased and sprinkled with flour.
7. In a hot oven, bread is baked for 20 minutes at a temperature of 230⁰C.
8. Readiness can be checked by tapping the bottom - the sound should be deaf.

Cooking bread on sourdough kefir

The bread prepared in this way is obtained, albeit not as lush as yeast pastries, but tasty, fragrant and, most importantly, very soft.

Ingredients for the leaven:

• 1 tbsp. kefir;
• 1 tbsp. any flour.

Ingredients for bread:

• 350 grams of leaven;
• 400 g of flour;
• 200 ml of water;
• 1 tsp. salts;
• 1 tsp. Sahara;
• 2 tbsp. l vegetable oil.

Cooking:

1. Pre-cook the starter. To do this, leave a glass of kefir in a warm place for 2-3 days, so that it will finally turn sour, and the whey will peel off. Then add the flour so that the mass will become as thick as the liquid sour cream. Cover the dish with leaven with gauze and leave to warm for another day.
2. The mass should wander and bubble, in no case do not interfere with it.
3. After 24 hours, add flour again to the starter, so that the mass becomes thick like sour cream. This leaven can already be used for bread dough. Leave the rest of the mass. The older it is, the better its properties will be and the tastier the bread will be.
4. To make the dough, first mix the dry ingredients: flour, salt, and sugar.
5. Put the dry mixture in a small slide, make a depression in the middle and pour in the oil, sourdough, and then water - in small portions, gently mixing the flour from the edges.
6. Cover the dough with a towel and let it stand for about 4 hours.
7. Preheat the oven beforehand, form a neat hemisphere from the finished dough and place on a greased and floured baking sheet. If you use a special form for baking bread, fill it in half. Note that the dough rises well during baking.

Now, you not only know the benefits of unleavened bread, but you can cook it yourself at home. Of course, with such baking will have to tinker. But your work will be reimbursed in the future by improved well-being and benefits to the body.