I am excited to share with you something that made a huge difference in my health back when I was about 12.
When I was a child, I had severe skin rash problems. My hands were covered with a terrible eczema type rash; sometimes it would creep all over my body. When it was at its worst, there was no skin on my hands, just raw open flesh. Sounds terrible, huh?! Well, for a child 5 to 12 years old, it definitely was! My worst allergy was wheat. I could never eat anything that had any wheat or I would really flare up.
Focus on Yeast
When my family learned about the Natural Bread Starter, and learned about how truly harmful to your body yeast is, they cut all yeast products out of our diets and replaced them with life-building starter products. Oma started making me starter bread with other grains, since I couldn’t handle the wheat bread the rest of the family was eating. As time went on, we noticed that I didn’t break out if I ate something with wheat in it. Eventually, I was eating the wheat breads and all baked goods with wheat and had no reaction.
It was like a light bulb turned on for us. Many times we think we are allergic to wheat and other gluten grains, when in reality it is the gluten and yeast combination that our bodies cannot handle! If we get that right bacteria in our system, which the starter is loaded with, and remember to cut ALL yeast products out of our diet (yeast is in so many things you have to really watch what you eat), then our body will flourish eating all these healthy whole grains God created for us! Once my body was loaded with the right bacteria, it was okay to not be as rigidly strict. I have no problem eating some yeast bread at someone else’s house on occasion, but at home we use the healthy starter for as many things as possible.
Many times we think we are allergic to wheat and other gluten grains, when in reality it is the gluten and yeast combination that our bodies cannot handle!
Bread for Life Starter
You may already have the Bread for Life Starter in your homes. If so, here are a few different ways of using it that our family really enjoys. I love all the basic recipes that are included on the video. I just enjoy playing around with it to make new styles of breads. In the future, I hope to come up with recipes for bagels, crescents, pita pockets, and other interesting pastries typically made with yeast.
A couple of things I love about starter dough is the flexibility. I can let it rise only four hours if I’m in a hurry, or it can sit on the counter for 12 hours if I’m called away. Yes, the results will be one is not quite as fluffy, and the other will be more sour, but both are still good! Of course, if you do it the correct amount of time it is best. If I have too much starter, I can feed it every other day or so and then the day before baking, I feed it twice a day to sweeten it up. If I need more starter, I can feed it 2 to 3 cups per feeding (in a gallon jar) twice a day! The more you feed it, the sweeter your breads will be, but it can survive a lot! One more thing I have noticed: It seems to prefer fresh ground flour that is a bit coarse. So if you have a grain grinder, use it for your starter and bread.
If you haven’t bought or made a starter yet, I encourage you to do so with the Bread for Life Starter! And don't forget the Bread for Life DVD.
Happy bread making to you all!