THE BREADS

Every one of our breads has a little story behind it. At some point each of them was born from an imagined flavor or texture, often the result of a nonchalant experiment without scales that just worked out. Luckily, having an Austrian mother means baking was very much part of my upbringing. She first introduced us to the idea of freshly milled grain when I was 7, after training in wholefood nutrition at the Dr Bruker Institute (GGB) in Lahnstein, Germany.

Wheat-Free Bread

This was our first development. Spawned by a recommendation of our own physician ‘not to eat American wheat as it’s so genetically modified’ and the observation of how many people were electively gluten-free to avoid it, we set out to make a bread that was naturally low in gluten and didn’t have any modern varieties of wheat in it. The primary focus was to avoid refined carbohydrates, unlike so many other gluten-free products on the market and to only use freshly milled whole grains to ensure a full nutrient profile. No pre-milled flours, nothing from a packet, no sifting, no heat-treatment. Just fresh whole grain. The flavor profile is deep and complex with a nutty crunch when toasted.

Ingredients: Water, Rye, Oatgrain, Sorghum, Brown Rice, Millet, Flaxseed, Agave Syrup, Sesame Seed, Salt, Dried Yeast, Coconut Oil.

Gluten-Free Bread

We consider this the little brother to our ‘first-born’. We omitted the rye for people who would like to avoid the protein Secalin, which has similar properties to gluten. We tweaked the recipe until we had a springy gluten-free loaf that did not contain the usual suspects of tapioca starch, sugar and binding agents such as xanthan gum. The aim was to produce a loaf that satisfied the ‘bread craving’ but didn’t feel too dense and still fulfilled all of our criteria of only being made from freshly milled whole grains. Slightly lighter in texture than the wheat-free bread, it is a delight toasted. Please note that all our breads are currently made using the same equipment and therefore traces of gluten might be present.

Ingredients: Water, Oatgrain, Sorghum, Brown Rice, Millet, Flaxseed, Agave Syrup, Salt, Psyllium Husk, Dried Yeast, Coconut Oil.

Grain-Free Bread

When our friend Chef Leslie expressed a desire to stay away from grains, we felt challenged to come up with a just such a recipe. Buckwheat and Quinoa are pseudo-cereals that are classed as seeds. In combination with freshly ground almond meal, also a seed incidentally, this makes a high protein, plant-based loaf. Being made with yeast, it produces a surprisingly springy dough and a very bread-like consistency once baked. Please enjoy toasted for maximum pleasure.

Ingredients: Water, Quinoa, Buckwheat, Almonds, Flaxseed, Agave Syrup, Salt, Dried Yeast, Coconut Oil.

Potato Bread

Years of baking experience proved that it is very possible to use up leftover rice, potatoes or similar in a batch of bread dough. These atypical ingredients can add interesting flavors and textures. My Austrian mother taught me to never use freshly cooked potatoes for gnocchi pasta. This holds up here as well. The best potato bread comes about when using yesterday’s cooked potatoes! In combination with ancient Emmer and Spelt grain, this makes for a moist bread with a latent sweetness and a nice crunchy crust. Possibly our breakout star, this bread has everyone licking their chops.

Ingredients: Water, Emmer, Spelt, Cooked Potato, Agave Syrup, Salt, Dried Yeast, Coconut Oil.

Rye & Spelt Sourdough

This was a random improvisation that was never meant to make it into the Blue LaGrainne range. After all, we are based in California where excellent sourdough is to be had everywhere. However, of course, ours had the distinct advantage of being made with freshly milled whole grain, which also makes it denser than conventional sourdough. Often rye flour is assumed to be whole because of its color, but that does not mean much on a nutritional level. Just because it looks dark, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Then we accidently toasted a slice twice. It brought out the most delicious caramel crunch which worked wonders with the nutty sunflower seed crust and the mild tang from its long fermentation. It had to be part of the family!

Ingredients: Water, Rye, Spelt, Sourdough Starter, Sunflower Seeds, Salt, Coconut Oil.

Brioche Bread

Ah, the childhood memories of my Austrian grandmother and aunties making ‘Zopf’, or Challah or Brioche. The sweet yeast bread has many names and variations across different cultures. We came up with one that would have pleased the Sun God Ra himself. Made from golden Kamut and ancient Einkorn, a highly prized grain in Ancient Egypt, we developed this mild, buttery bread that goes down a treat on its own or makes an amazing French toast.

Ingredients: Kamut, Water, Einkorn, Sour Cream, Honey, Butter, Salt, Dried Yeast, Coconut Oil.

Treasures In The Making

We’re forever experimenting to see where else we can take the Blue LaGrainne journey. A lot of times our recipes start with an off-the-cuff improvisation. We’re still working on recreating that amazing Einkorn & Spelt Focaccia that was so good there was no time to take a picture of the finished product. Or when we just happened to make a perfect baguette. Once. Often the really good stuff comes about when we are too lazy to weigh anything and just let culinary creativity dictate the flow. The process then needs to be revisited, often taking months, baking, tweaking, making notes, getting feedback, and, crucially, weighing the ingredients to find that magic combination again. Most of the time it works. We should have an Irish Soda Bread in our range, shouldn’t we?