Unleavened bread

Few people today can imagine their life without bread. It is simply impossible to pass by a delicious fragrant freshly baked product. Now on the shelves of the supermarket you can find a wide variety of all kinds of pastries. But lately, especially followers of a healthy lifestyle, most often prefer newfangled yeast-free bread. It is believed that it is much more useful precisely due to the fact that it does not contain yeast. However, is this true? In fact, a striking example of yeast-free bread is dry bread, which is made from whole grains that have retained their shell. Such products contain much more vitamins and useful minerals, since these shells have a particularly valuable composition. Also, speaking of yeast-free bread, they mean a product made with natural sourdough, consisting of flour and water.

A bit of history

Many thousands of years ago, people learned how to make a yeast-free product from flour and water, baking it on hot stones under the sun. Such a tradition is not a thing of the past: in this way, without applying yeast and yeast, one gets Armenian and Persian lavash, Jewish matzo, Mexican tortilla, Italian focaccia, Indian chapati and the notorious Russian flat cake.

The benefits of yeast-free baking

If we talk about natural unleavened bread, the main distinguishing feature of this useful product from any other bakery products is the lack of baker’s yeast, which are harmful to the human body. Such baking has been used for the prevention and treatment of diseases of the digestive tract for a very long time.

Due to its organoleptic properties, it promotes flawless intestinal work, stimulates the active work of the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract. It is precisely its sufficiently high density and rigidity that contribute to better digestion of food and effective work of the digestive system.

The beneficial properties of unleavened bread can also highlight the absence of destructive microorganisms for the intestinal microflora. After all, yeasts contribute to the growth of various bacteria in the body, due to which disorders of the digestive tract and the development of dysbacteriosis are possible.

Unleavened baking improves liver function, contributes to the stable activity of the pancreas, and is also able to lower the acidic environment of the stomach, thereby helping to get rid of various problems.

Almost everyone knows about the ability of the yeast to swell in the dough and thereby form an increased gas formation in the intestines. The use of yeast-free bread forever will help get rid of flatulence.

This bread is often recommended by nutritionists, as it is less calorie than other types of bakery products and at the same time is able to saturate the body with energy and vigor. This product is very loved by followers of a healthy lifestyle for its beneficial properties.

As for unleavened bread made with the so-called “wild yeast,” its healthy and nutritional qualities are not particularly different from the usual yeast product.

Real yeast-free bread contains a large amount of dietary cellulose fibers ^[1][2][3].

Chemical composition of the product

Yeast-free bread contains a good mineral complex, which contains such useful components as: phosphorus, which is directly involved in the synthesis of proteins and carbohydrates, potassium, which stimulates thought processes and supplies oxygen to the brain, magnesium, which has an anti-stress effect, and other elements .

Also in this product there is a high content of B vitamins and vitamin PP, which do not break down at high temperatures during baking. B vitamins contribute to the improvement of metabolism, activate the brain. And vitamin PP normalizes the hormonal background, participating in the formation of such important hormones as cortisol, insulin, testosterone, progesterone and others.

The calorie content of such bread is noticeably lower than its more common counterparts. 100 grams of the product contains approximately 177 kcal. While in white bread – about 258 kcal, and in a long loaf – a little more than 260 kcal. Although, he steps in the protein component: 5,77 grams of protein is found in yeast-free bread, 8,02 grams in white and 7,41 grams in a loaf. The amount of carbohydrates is 37,54 grams, and fats – 0,51 grams. At the same time, white bread and a long loaf have a higher content of these substances. ^[4].

Disadvantages of the product without yeast

Yeast baking still has small, but advantages over this useful product. Its disadvantages are more commercial in nature, which makes such bread unpopular in industrial production.

First, unleavened bread is not as simple to prepare as its better-known counterpart. It requires much more time consuming:

• preparation of dough for dough;
• yeast-free dough rises much longer.

At the same time, ordinary bread, due to yeast, turns out to be much more, obviously attracting potential buyers to its volumes.

Secondly, the taste and aroma of a yeast-free product is very different from the usual baking, and many prefer familiar products. In addition, almost all types of the latter have a light, airy and softer structure, which is also one of the weighty arguments when buying a product.

It turns out that in industrial volumes it is much more profitable to bake a yeast version of baking than its healthy dietary counterpart. But, despite this, on the shelves of the supermarket today you can still find various types of yeast-free bread. ^[5].

The harm of bakery products that do not contain yeast

Real yeast-free bread, made on unleavened dough, is not a frequent guest on supermarket shelves. Often, under its guise, they sell a product made with wild yeast, the raw material for which is hop cones, if it is a hop starter, or willow twigs, if the starter is natural. Such yeast is practically no different from ordinary baker’s yeast. If you want to make sure the quality of the product and try good yeast-free bread, then it is better to cook it at home.

Technology of preparation

For yeast-free bread you need unleavened dough, which does not imply the use of any type of yeast. In industrial production for the preparation of such a product is used:

• water;
• flour;
• salt;
• vegetable oil;
• natural whey;
• dry wheat gluten;
• citric acid;
• applesauce.

The dough is kneaded in special apparatus until a foamy mass is formed, heavily enriched with oxygen. High saturation of the dough with air will give the baking a more magnificent volume. After that, the dough is knocked down and sent to the molds. Bread is baked at a temperature of 260 degrees for 40 minutes.

Bread prepared with the help of hop sourdough receives a pleasant aroma and airy pomp. If there are air bubbles in the bread, then this product was prepared using yeast.

Making bread at home

For such a product, sourdough is required. It will take about five days to prepare. It is good to use glass or enamelware with a lid for this. Bottled and boiled water is not suitable for making, ordinary tap water passed through a filter is best. Flour is desirable to use rye, coarse grinding.

First you need to mix 100 grams of flour and 150 ml of water, mix thoroughly and leave for a day in a warm, dark place. After this time, add another 50 grams of flour and 50 ml of water there and again put it to infuse for a day. Repeat the same for the next day and the following day. On the fifth day, again add 50 grams of flour and water, and by the end of these days it will be possible to bake bread from such a sourdough.

Before the first batch, you should pour approximately 100 milliliters of ferment from a starter into a separate container. This starter can be used next time without first growing it for five days.

Cooking Wild Yeast Bread

To prepare the leaven, you will need:

• hop cones – 250 grams;
• water – 500 ml;
• flour – 130 grams;
• honey – 1 tablespoon.

Pour the hop cones with water and boil for an hour over low heat. After, put the finished broth to infuse for about 8 hours. After the time has elapsed, filter through cheesecloth.

In the resulting broth add any flour, it is better to use whole grain, and honey. Mix thoroughly, cover with gauze and put to settle in a warm dark place. After a day, the leaven should increase approximately twice.

Before she has time to settle, you need to prepare a dough. For this you will need:

• water or milk – 250 ml;
• honey or sugar – 2 tablespoons;
• cooked hop starter – about 10 tablespoons.

Mix all the ingredients and add flour, bringing the dough to the consistency of low-fat sour cream. The dough should be similar in thickness to pancake dough. Cover the resulting mixture with a kitchen towel or linen cloth and leave for several hours until bubbles characteristic of fermentation appear. Add salt to the resulting dough and knead the dough with your hands, gradually adding flour if you plan to bake bread in the oven. Such bread is baked at a temperature of 160 to 200 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Conclusions

Unleavened bread is a healthier and less popular alternative to regular bread. Its main value is that no types of yeast are used in its preparation. However, often in our country, yeast-free means a product prepared using natural sourdough, which is used as hop cones, willow twigs or lactic acid bacteria. Such bread is also considered more useful than ordinary yeast bread, since various useful additives in the form of malt, grains, bran, molasses and even seaweed are often added in the process of its preparation. At the same time, real yeast-free bread is valuable because it contains a large amount of dietary cellulose fibers. Thanks to them, it has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. And due to the fact that it contains whole grains with an upper shell, it is significantly enriched with useful minerals and has an excellent vitamin composition. Unleavened bread is certainly a useful and valuable product, but it is not recommended to completely switch to it, since it is a rather difficult product to digest.

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