What was the name of the particular breads you enjoyed on your trip? Was it made with rye, wheat, oats, barley, or a combination? Danish ryes tend to be lighter and sweeter than German ryes, but you said it wasn't sweet, was it a light rye or similar to German Pumpernickel (more like a dense "brick" that has been steamed in the oven, rather than baked)? Nordic Breads... Kernebrod Tresse Limpa Rogbrod Swedish Caraway Bread Scandinavian Star ------------------------------- Here are some different recipes for Sprouted Breads.... This recipe uses a sponge method which works very well when using whole wheat flour. I'd add 1/4 t. ascorbic acid powder to the sponge, but that's me, always trying to improve a recipe. But then, I always add ascorbic acid anytime I make a yeasted bread that contains whole wheat flour or wheat germ. You'll get better gluten development if you use ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid isn't necessary when making sourdough breads. Sourdough breads are acidic enough. -Grainlady SPROUTED WHEAT BREAD (source: Deaf Smith Country Cookbook) Yield: Two 9x5-inch loaves 3 c. lukewarm water 1 T. dry yeast 1/4 c. unsulfured molasses or raw honey 4 T. unrefined oil 1 t. sea salt 4 c. whole wheat flour 2 c. wheat sprouts (more can be used) 3-4 c. whole wheat flour Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the molasses, oil, salt, and flour. Beat well. Let rise for 1 hour. Add the wheat sprouts (ground in a food grinder or hand grain mill) to the raised sponge. Add additional flour to make the dough kneadable. Knead well on a floured board. Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down and form into 2 loaves and place in oiled loaf pans. Let rise about 30 minutes. Bake 1 hour at 350F. Cool on rack. --------------------------------- SPROUTED WHOLE WHEAT BREAD (source: Wheat Cookin' Made Easy - by Pam Crockett) 1 c. milk, scalded 1/2 c. water 2 T. vegetable oil 2 T. honey 1 egg 1 c. sprouts 1 t. salt 1 pkg. dry yeast 4 cups whole wheat flour Liquefy in blender, scalded milk, water, vegetable oil, honey, egg and sprouts. Pour into large mixing bowl and add salt and 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Mix well. Add yeast and remaining 2 eups of flour. Knead for 10 minutes. Form into a greased 9x5-inch pan and let rise until doubled in bulk. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes at 350°F. Grainlady note: I'm going to question going from kneading to formed loaf without allowing the dough to double in bulk if using active dry yeast. If you use an instant type yeast (Quick-Rise, Rapid-Rise, SAF-Instant, Bread Machine Yeast), you can knead the dough, then cover and allow it to rest for 10 minutes, THEN form and allow to proof. So there may have been a step omited in this recipe. ----------------------------------- WHEAT SPROUTS BREAD (source: Uprisings - The Whole Grain Bakers' Book) 2 c. warm water 2 t. malt 2 T. molasses 1 T. yeast 5 cups hard whole wheat flour 1/2 lb. (about 2 cups) wheat sprouts 1 t. salt 2 T. whey powder (optional) 3 T. oil 1-1/2 T. soy flour Mix together water, yeast, sweeteners and 2 cups flour. Let sit till bubbly. Then add remaining ingredients, and knead well, reserving or adding a little flour to obtain a good elastic texture. Let raise in oiled covered bowl, shape into loaves and let rise again. Bake at 350°F, 45 minutes. Yield: two 1-1/2-pound loaves. ---------------------------------- Sprouted Wheat Bread (source: http://emr.cs.iit.edu/~reingold/ruths-kitchen/recipes/breads/sprouted_wh.html) This sprouted wheat bread is moist and hearty without weighing a ton. Be sure to start it 3 or 4 days before you want to bake because you need to grow the sprouts first. I originally got this idea from Bernard Clayton, Jr., The Complete Book of Breads, Simon and Shuster, 1973. Early Preparations 3 days prior to baking, put 1/4 cup whole wheat seeds or berries in a 1-quart jar. Cover the mouth of the jar with cheesecloth, fastened with a rubber band. Soak seeds in warm water. Pour off the water (save), and place jar on its side, in a dark place. Twice a day, rinse the berries in tepid water (80°-85° )poured through the cheesecloth. Each time drain and reserve the water for a total of 2 cups rinsing water. Store the rinsing water in the refrigerator. Ingredients 1/4 cup wheat seeds or berries (see above) 2 cups tepid water for rinsing (see above) 2 pkgs. dry yeast the same 2 cups of rinsing water, heated to 100°F. 1/4 cup each brewer's yeast and honey 3 T. oil 5 cups whole wheat flour 1 T. salt When the sprouts are as long as the seed, bake the bread. Sprinkle the yeast over 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid (heated to 100°). Put remaining ingredients (except for 1 cup of flour and sprouts) in bowl of food processor. Add yeast mixture, and mix until smooth. Leave in food processor to rise for 1 hour. Stir down; add sprouts and 1 additional cup of whole wheat flour. Mix until fairly smooth, adding flour if needed. Place dough in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until double. Punch down, knead 30 seconds, and divide into two. Shape into balls, and let rest for 5 minutes. Form loaves by making an oval, folding in half, and pinching seam. Put in greased loaf pans to rise. Cover, and allow to double. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake loaves for 25 minutes, lower heat to 300°F., and bake an additional 35 minutes. Finished loaves should give a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes if loaves are not done. Cool on rack. These freeze quite well. Yield: 2 loaves.

Mariah, when you do go to the library, I would suggest searching for books and cookbooks under the category, "Whole Foods." This is often substituted for the intimidating word "macrobiotic." Many cancer patients utilize some or all macrobiotic principles in a healing diet, and it sounds like your husband has been recommended to do the same. Sounds like emphasis on foods with good fiber, and lots of anti-oxidants, which helps keep toxins out of the body. The problems with macrobiotic is that a lot of the foods in that diet are hard to find or not palatable to westerners, so there are a lot of adaptations out there. You may run into the writers David and Nikki Goldbeck, they were writing about this subject early on, in the 1980s. Since then, a lot of other books have come out on the subject. I'm not familiar with any of the newer resoures, but I do like the Goldbeck's approach. They do use a lot of honey though, but some of their other recipes might be helpful to you. I like the FoodNetwork web site, they have a huge section on Healthy Eating which has just about every kind of recipe imaginable. I have read that the American Diabetic Association has a lot of good recipes on their site. A lot of diabetics use Splenda and other artificial sweeteners. They just don't taste right to me, and I think I am mildly allergic to them, so I wouldn't recommend them either. That does make it tough, but NOT impossible. Still, when it comes to low sugar baking, that's pretty much an oxymoron, I have found. The best low sugar baked goods are made with whole grains and yeast. To satisfy your sweet tooth on a low sugar diet, there's only one way to go--fresh fruit. A lot of the prepackaged "low carb" bread and pastas are crap, best to go with the real thing--whole grains themselves. Here is a link that might be useful: Recipes from the American Diabetes Association

Wow, you folks are awesome, thanks so much for taking the time to post ideas and recipes, I really appreciate it. I'm going to ask tonight if eggs/egg whites are on the OK list because those macaroons are a great idea (and are a favorite of DH as well). Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. It's also found in spelt, I've just learned. So all of those products are out, along with a laundry list of other foods that seem to cause her stomach to cramp up. I love to bake - bread a couple of times/week, cakes, cookies, pies, etc. I feel badly for my neighbor as she's basically given up on all baked goods, which is why I thought I'd see if there were any possibilities for her that she might have overlooked. publickman I've brought quinoa salad a couple of times and am not a huge fan, but it's a good fallback. bons thanks so much for the recipes. The brownies and macaroons look great (assuming eggs are ok, I'd have to leave out the nuts) but the 3rd recipe won't work as was pointed out (milk). mom4j47 yes, this is pretty drastic and not by choice but for health reasons. My neighbor gets very very sick when she eats something not on her OK list. All veggies and some fruits are always welcome so I often bring those. Annie I'll check out the cornbread recipes (and ask her if cornmeal is ok). The meringue cookies look good although no nuts. dcarch thanks for the hint about Asian groceries, I've got one nearby. I have no idea how to use these flours though - anything you can share about them? Wild rice is a grass and as such it's on her OK list. I haven't seen wild rice flour (if it even exists) but I've got a really good recipe for a wild rice salad (includes dried cranberries and almonds) that I could bring sometime, with the almonds on the side. cloud_swift the cholo tiki recipe looks delicious - I know DH would love to try that. Teresa yes, rice just an additional food she is sensitive to, which makes things difficult since it's often an ingredient in gluten-free flours and foods. tami_ohio thanks for pointing out www.diningdownloads. I have a Kindle and will check it out. chi83 I'll have to check with her on coconut milk. I'm assuming almond milk is not going to work. I didn't know that coconut cream whips. compumom thanks, I'll see if meringues will work for her. Becky thanks for the recipe! Jessica thanks as well, I'll ask about corn meal because your recipe looks great. cynic I'm going to see her tonight and so will ask about all the ingredients I'm not sure of. I didn't realize flour residue hangs around. She loves the gewurztraminer that DH brings on occasion, so arriving with baked goods is not really all that critical. Her basic approach is to make a soup that she knows she can eat and assume that any other contributions from guests are not going to be something she'll be able to have. If the contributions fit her diet, it's a bonus. This has been a real education for me, both in getting to know this neighbor and in all the posts here. Thanks again to all who commented.

Our daily bread is challah. My husband makes a double batch almost every Friday (2 small loaves go to my son who lives nearby). When my other son's visit, he may even make a triple batch to make french toast for everyone and send a loaf or two home with them. I think my husband would happily have that as his only bread - there seems to be a trend here of husbands who prefer soft breads. Bit it isn't universal; one of my son's makes sour dough and really likes that. He has tweaked the recipe to use white whole wheat for part of the flour. If we have any other kind of bread, I make it. So I fill out variety for our daily bread. I've been working on perfecting bagels and rye bread. My bagels sometimes come out perfect and sometimes come out tasting fine but looking kind of bumpy. I think that happens when they have over-risen before boiling so I'm working on perfecting that timing. I'm pretty happy with my rye bread now. The secret to getting the right chewy deli rye texture is the choice of wheat flour for the bread. It needs a flour that isn't quite a whole wheat but that uses more of the grain than white bread flour. BC (before Covid) I was using first clear flour from King Arthur, but that was out of stock forever (King Arthur's website now says it is "sold out for the season." I've found that 110 flour from Central Milling produces good results. I tried it because some websites on flour types said that German 110 flour is equivalent to American first clear. I also do pita, naan, sour dough and whole wheat breads. I just made some naan and wasn't happy with the results; we replaced our ovens recently and I need to figure out what settings on my new oven work best for naan.