Low Carb Cuban Bread

I love homemade bread. I make homemade bread. But I don't make it often. I have a breadmaker but I don't care for the bread it makes. In the last few years it has been primarily used as a kneading machine. I let it knead, go through the first rise and take it out. I give it a bit of kneading to make sure it has been "punched" down completely, removing all the huge air bubbles, then shape it and put it a regular loaf pan. I let it rise and bake in the oven. It comes out with a much better crust and is way better for sandwiches.

When my mother passed, my dad gave me her Kitchen Aid Mixer. Make no mistake, I have wanted one of these for years. I did not think the cost of a one would be justified by the infrequency of my actually using it. I have used this machine once in about a year. Today I finally got brave enough to actually use it for bread. Which was the primary reason I wanted one.

I looked through my favorite bread recipe book, The Bread Machine Cookbook by Donna Rathmell German. I know, it's more than a little ironic, that I used a machine recipe to make regular bread when I don't like the bread that comes out of a machine... I pulled the Kitchen Aid away from the wall and started mixing. I was amazed, no really, amazed at how little time it took to get a well kneaded dough. I was in a hurry, so I let it rest a little and kneaded it a little more. I shaped it and put it in the warm oven to rise, took it out, preheated the oven and put it back in.

Now that in itself is nothing to crow about. Really, I know loads of women that make their own bread. I need to watch and limit my carbs these days so I am always on the quest for a flavorful, low carb bread. The store where we do all our shopping has stopped carrying the 9g carb per slice that I have come to count on at a reasonable price.

When I first found the low carb bread option, I asked friend of mine, a retired baker, how it is made. He told me they add more gluten which is 66g carb per cup to the dough. Whole wheat is 88g carbs per cup and white is 96g carbs per cup. So, substituting some of the high carb flour equals low carb bread. I also know that flax seed meal has 0-.75 g per cup, depending on who on the internet you believe. So I added that as well.

This bread tonight came up to 127 carbs for the whole loaf... 11 slices per loaf. That means it was 10.5g of carb per slice... The bread I was buying was 9g. per slice. Most whole grain bread, that isn't just brown white bread, has between 23g and 30g per slice. So my excitement over this bread is that at 21g. for two slices is huge!

Now, this may not seem like it should be such a big deal. But... when you have to keep your carbs below 120g a day, it's unbelievable how quickly you burn through them. Especially when I'm supposed to stay below 25-30g a meal. The ability to have some toast, garlic bread or a sandwich becomes an obsession that just won't go away. At least for me... If you tell me I can't have something it becomes a flashing neon sign at the front of my brain. And 10.5g a slice means I can have a sandwich, a real sandwich, not one that's between 2 lettuce leafs and you can't make a grilled cheese sandwich with lettuce. It is delightful that I have been able to figure out how to do this on my own...


What was the last thing you made that was exactly what you needed? Good or bad. :-)