The beginning of a new year usually sees us aspiring to a healthier way of living and New Year’s resolutions usually focus on more exercise and better eating and drinking habits.
Carbohydrates are often regarded as the main culprit when it comes to weight gain and most of us see bread as the head girl of carb class. So, when it comes to decisions of living a healthier life and shedding some weight, taking bread out of our diets is often the first step.
But is bread really that bad for us? “Not if you bake it with freshly ground flour”, says Pierneef à La Motte’s Culinary Consultant and well-known food historian, Hetta van Deventer-Terblanche.
What a relief!
Whether you bake your bread at home or buy it from a trusted source like La Motte’s Farm Shop, you do not have to feel guilty about adding this staple to your diet when it is made with only fresh and natural ingredients.
This is why.
The milling process kills the grain and when oxygen is introduced, spoiling, oxidation and decomposition will occur. To prevent spoiling, most shop-brought breads are baked from conventional white and brown flour from which the germ with its spoiling quality has been removed. While this process prolongs shelf life, it does mean that the flour is almost totally devoid of nutrition.
Freshly stone-milled flour however, is packed with nutrients and although it has a shorter shelf life, it has no oxidization or nutrient loss which in turn offers numerous health benefits. According to www.gonatural.co.za: “When previously wheat- or gluten intolerant individuals start to enjoy freshly milled organic whole grain, it has been found that the intolerance disappears almost immediately and consumers gain the added benefits of losing weight while gaining vitality.”
By choosing bread baked from freshly-ground flour, you can also be sure to avoid the preservatives added to mass-produced store-bought bread.
By baking your own bread, you can control the amount or type of sugar you use and have the option of healthier ingredients such as honey. You can also choose your flour and perhaps you would like to add some rye to the mix. Rye flour is high in fibre, lowers type 2 diabetes risk, and helps to fight cancer and heart disease. For those who are gluten-intolerant, there are several gluten-free options such as rice, buckwheat and nut flours.
At La Motte, we love our bread and a selection or artisan loafs are baked daily in the farm kitchen. The stone-ground flour is produced by the historic water mill on the estate and guests joining the Historic Walk on Wednesday mornings, can see the mill in operation and join us for a bread tasting.
Stone-ground flour available from La Motte’s Farm Shop
These artisan breads and stone-ground flour can be purchased from La Motte’s Farm Shop.
