The American Dream

Elin

Bread. Mmmm. I'm trying to cut down refined carbs and give up HFCS. This sucks and every now and again I thought I would indulge in some 100% whole wheat bread goodness ... until I looked at the label and realized HFCS is the number 2 ingredient.

Is it possible to get some whole grain goodness without the HFCS without making it myself? I understand some artisan bakeries will have fresh bread but in the armpit of a town I live in, there aren't really any bakeries. And grocery store "bakeries" are really just a fancy place to thaw frozen crap.

So, any brands that you can recommend or am I baking?

HighPoweredMutant

http://www.shoppingblog.com/pics/oroweatbread.gif

I eat the orowheat 100% whole grain. no hfcs, I buy it at wal mart

Fizban140

You could just get a bread maker, its pretty easy and doesn't take that much time. Oh and it is always fresh.

Elin

Fizban140 wrote: »

You could just get a bread maker, its pretty easy and doesn't take that much time. Oh and it is always fresh.

I have a bread maker, I can also make it myself. I even have no knead recipes that produce great ciabatta and I love to bake. The issue is I have virtually no kitchen (it's called a "space saver" kitchen), not much time, and a cat that would love to investigate rising dough. And I hate to leave appliances running while I am out, it's a thing for me, I can't leave the bread maker on while I'm out (or a crockpot, yes it's crazy and that's what they're for but I can't do it), so it's not that practical for me.

admanb

Depending on where you live there should be places where you can buy HFCS-free bread. Trader Joe's and PCC in the northwest, for example.

Bread freezes pretty well, so if you have to go out of town you can buy a bunch at a time and store it.

A Bear

Nature's Own now is 100% HFCS free, but appears to only be sold in the southern half of the US.

http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_About/Availability/index.cfm

As a person who is also trying to do the no HFCS thing, its been odd for me to find out what sort of things are and aren't all full of the stuff.

Acebgd12

A Bear wrote: »

Nature's Own now is 100% HFCS free, but appears to only be sold in the southern half of the US.

http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_About/Availability/index.cfm

As a person who is also trying to do the no HFCS thing, its been odd for me to find out what sort of things are and aren't all full of the stuff.

This bread is pretty good considering how basic it is.

Gork

There are quite a few brands of whole wheat bread in regular grocery chains that don't have HFCS. Just be meticulous about reading your labels.

DoctorArch

I highly recommend the "No knead bread method."

Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

Readers’ Opinions
Forum: Cooking and Recipes
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

The only bad part about this bread is the large amount of time required while letting the bread sit (between 12-18 hours), so it definitely has to be pre-planned, but it yields the most delicious loaf of bread that is practically identical to anything you could purchase at an artisan bakery.

If you try that basic recipe and like it, pick up the cook's book at Amazon. I most recently took the asagio cheese bread recipe and modified it with garlic and parmesian to make the most delicious loaf.

edit: Oh drat, I just re-read your post about space. Anyways, your best bet to find good loaves in stores is to shop around. Here in the Northwest we have Dave's Killer Bread, which is fantastic, delicious, free of junk, and now carried in Costco so I can buy it at a decent price instead of at 5 bucks per loaf.

blakfeld

A Bear wrote: »

Nature's Own now is 100% HFCS free, but appears to only be sold in the southern half of the US.

http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_About/Availability/index.cfm

As a person who is also trying to do the no HFCS thing, its been odd for me to find out what sort of things are and aren't all full of the stuff.

I buy this bread, it's usually pretty cheap, and definitly good.

Do not buy the sugar free rendition though, gross.

KalTorak

admanb wrote: »

Depending on where you live there should be places where you can buy HFCS-free bread. Trader Joe's and PCC in the northwest, for example.

Bread freezes pretty well, so if you have to go out of town you can buy a bunch at a time and store it.

If there is a Trader Joe's in your area I highly recommend their bread. And pretty much everything else in there.

Elin

KalTorak wrote: »

admanb wrote: »

Depending on where you live there should be places where you can buy HFCS-free bread. Trader Joe's and PCC in the northwest, for example.

Bread freezes pretty well, so if you have to go out of town you can buy a bunch at a time and store it.

If there is a Trader Joe's in your area I highly recommend their bread. And pretty much everything else in there.

I wish there was a Trader Joes. I keep hearing about them and I'm so curious. I'm in Armpit, CO*. There isn't much here other than stink and tumbleweeds. I have Walmart, King Soopers, and Safeway. A Sprouts recently opened so I'll check their bread selection, they tend towards the healthier side.

*may not be the real name of my town

admanb

You can also order this stuff online.

kragerbazu

Beware, most breadmakers I've seen are a piece of crap in some way. Read reviews.

MrDelish

Archgarth wrote: »

your best bet to find good loaves in stores is to shop around. Here in the Northwest we have Dave's Killer Bread, which is fantastic, delicious, free of junk, and now carried in Costco so I can buy it at a decent price instead of at 5 bucks per loaf.

I just want to say that I saw this bread at Costco today and bought it. I was expecting the same, mediocre nasty wheat-plus-a-million-gross-nuts bread but HOLY CRAP is it amazingly tasty

Dark_Side

A Bear wrote: »

Nature's Own now is 100% HFCS free, but appears to only be sold in the southern half of the US.

http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_About/Availability/index.cfm

As a person who is also trying to do the no HFCS thing, its been odd for me to find out what sort of things are and aren't all full of the stuff.

Yeah, it's crazy I never realized it until I started trying to cut the stuff out. I usually find that if I spend enough time in the aisle, I can usually find a few different brands that don't have it, just read your labels at the store.

Improvolone

blakfeld wrote: »

A Bear wrote: »

Nature's Own now is 100% HFCS free, but appears to only be sold in the southern half of the US.

http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_About/Availability/index.cfm

As a person who is also trying to do the no HFCS thing, its been odd for me to find out what sort of things are and aren't all full of the stuff.

I buy this bread, it's usually pretty cheap, and definitly good.

Do not buy the sugar free rendition though, gross.

I had no idea it was a regional bread. Its so good and omg the choices... good ingredients too.
Though I should make my own bread...

A Bear

Improvolone wrote: »

blakfeld wrote: »

A Bear wrote: »

Nature's Own now is 100% HFCS free, but appears to only be sold in the southern half of the US.

http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_About/Availability/index.cfm

As a person who is also trying to do the no HFCS thing, its been odd for me to find out what sort of things are and aren't all full of the stuff.

I buy this bread, it's usually pretty cheap, and definitly good.

Do not buy the sugar free rendition though, gross.

I had no idea it was a regional bread. Its so good and omg the choices... good ingredients too.
Though I should make my own bread...

Having grown up 100% on homemade bread, I've been built-in with a bias towards really good stuff--but neither my wife or I eat enough bread to justify baking at the moment. Nature's Own has been perfect for us to pick up a loaf (or some of those sandwich rounds) whenever we want. If they sold 1/2 loaves it would be absolutely perfect, as we normally cant eat a whole loaf before it starts to go stale.

DoctorArch

MrDelish wrote: »

Archgarth wrote: »

your best bet to find good loaves in stores is to shop around. Here in the Northwest we have Dave's Killer Bread, which is fantastic, delicious, free of junk, and now carried in Costco so I can buy it at a decent price instead of at 5 bucks per loaf.

I just want to say that I saw this bread at Costco today and bought it. I was expecting the same, mediocre nasty wheat-plus-a-million-gross-nuts bread but HOLY CRAP is it amazingly tasty

The worst thing about it (only worst in a logistical way) is that is has no preservatives, so if you don't eat it quick enough it will go bad pretty quickly. I usually pick up the two pack at Costco, freeze one and keep the other out for a few days then chuck it in the fridge. But you're right, it's really tasty bread. I'll simply grab slices to eat plain as a yummy snack.

Improvolone

A Bear wrote: »

Improvolone wrote: »

blakfeld wrote: »

A Bear wrote: »

Nature's Own now is 100% HFCS free, but appears to only be sold in the southern half of the US.

http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_About/Availability/index.cfm

As a person who is also trying to do the no HFCS thing, its been odd for me to find out what sort of things are and aren't all full of the stuff.

I buy this bread, it's usually pretty cheap, and definitly good.

Do not buy the sugar free rendition though, gross.

I had no idea it was a regional bread. Its so good and omg the choices... good ingredients too.
Though I should make my own bread...

Having grown up 100% on homemade bread, I've been built-in with a bias towards really good stuff--but neither my wife or I eat enough bread to justify baking at the moment. Nature's Own has been perfect for us to pick up a loaf (or some of those sandwich rounds) whenever we want. If they sold 1/2 loaves it would be absolutely perfect, as we normally cant eat a whole loaf before it starts to go stale.

I eat in waves. Sometimes I eat a lot of bread, other times I can go weeks with a few slices.
Freeze!

Elin

Thanks guys, Oroweat here is HFCS free. It's also 3x as costly, but my husbands the bread eater and he doesn't care so he's buying his own. I'll barely be able to eat a whole loaf before it goes bad.