Unleavened bread: benefits and harms

In all stores you can find yeast-free bread in various designs. It has great advantages compared to classic bread, but it can have some harm. Let’s try to understand the features of such a product.

What is unleavened bread?

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This type of bread is called so, since yeast, sourdough are not used in production. The product is used in many countries of the world, more often baked with cakes in the following forms:

1. Lavash — the composition includes only water, salt and flour. Tandoor is used for cooking.

2. Matzah is an Israeli bread made exclusively from water and flour. Salt is not added.

3. Focaccia — Italian cuisine, additional olive oil is added to the bread, and the product is generously sprinkled with herbs on top. It is this option that is the basis for pizza.

4. Tortilla is a Mexican tortilla made from wheat or corn flour, with the addition of water, salt and margarine. Flat cakes are round, cooked in a dry frying pan. Eat as an independent dish or in addition to fillings.

5. Chapati is an Indian bread and the basis of the diet of people of any class. Served hot, it acts not only as food, but also as appliances. It is folded so as to collect soups and other liquid dishes. It is first baked in a pan, and then on fire.

Any type of bread marked «unleavened» in our stores is relatively similar. It will be more accurate to say the product on natural sourdough. In the case of a yeast composition, bubbles appear that help keep the dough soft by changing its structure. If yeast is not used, then the dough is not able to rise, it will be dense and difficult to bake. Few people may like such products, so manufacturers use sourdough for their products.

Attention! Sourdough is a semi-finished product made with the help of beneficial bacteria and the fermentation of the mixture. There are several types.

Yeast-free bread is made according to GOST, similar to a regular yeast-based product. Seeds, grains, spices are used to improve taste.

Benefits of unleavened bread

A store-bought product is made on sourdough from natural ingredients. Wholemeal flour is added to the composition of the products, which contains vitamins of group B, PP, as well as fiber and other elements. All this points to the benefits of the product:

1. Easy and fast absorption.

2. Improving metabolic processes, the work of the digestive tract.

3. Doctors advise people with gastrointestinal pathologies to eat yeast-free bread, and nutritionists recommend adding it to the diet for those who have weight problems.

4. The safety of the product is slightly longer than that of classic bread, due to the bacteria in the composition, which excludes mold and other pathogens.

Like other food products, bread can affect the general condition of a person, his health. If the product is of poor quality or irregularities are allowed during manufacture, then there is a possibility of nausea and indigestion. In the case of regular use of such bread, chronic pathologies develop.

Harm and disadvantages of yeast-free bread

All the disadvantages of the described product are related to commercial activities, since its popularity is not very large on an industrial scale. Main disadvantages:

1. A complex cooking process that requires more time and effort.

2. Taste and aroma are significantly different from classic pastries.

3. The rough structure of the dough, its rigidity.

Real yeast-free bread made from flour and dough is a rarity in stores. More often, manufacturers use wild yeast in the form of hops. Such starters are natural, but almost do not differ from the usual yeast. To be sure of the quality of the product, it is best to make it yourself.

Recipe for yeast-free bread at home

For cooking, you need to start sourdough, which is suitable for 4-5 days. For her, a glass container or an enameled plate, a saucepan with a lid are best suited. Water to pour in the usual tap, boiled or bottled water is not suitable. The filtered option is the best. Choose flour to your taste, rye is well suited, only coarse grinding.

Initially, stir 100 g of flour in 150 ml of water, leave the homogeneous mass for a day at room temperature, covered with a towel. A day later, add another 50 ml of water and 50 g of flour, stir again and leave for 24 hours. Repeat the algorithm for the next 2 days. On the 5th day, add again, but at the end of the day you can use the mass for baking. From the sourdough, before the first preparation, it is necessary to drain about 100 ml into a separate bowl in order to use it in the future without waiting 5 days.

A wild yeast recipe using hop cones is a good recipe. They will need 250 g, which are filled with 0.5 liters of water. Boil everything together for 30 minutes over low heat, and then leave for 8 hours. Then strain and add 130 g of whole grain flour and 1 tbsp. l. honey. After stirring the contents, cover the container and leave in a warm place for a day. In a day, the mixture will be more than doubled, and while it holds its shape, you need to prepare the dough. For her you need:

1. Milk or water — 1 tbsp.

2. Sugar — 30 g.

3. Sourdough — 10 tbsp. l.

Mix the ingredients, pour flour and make the consistency of sour cream. Close the container with a cloth for 2 hours. After the dough, salt, knead, introducing flour. Bread is baked for 40-45 minutes at 200 degrees.

Unleavened bread is an analogue of the classic, but with greater benefits. The main value is that there is no yeast inside, although manufacturers make the product on sourdough. The benefit is determined by the fact that grains, bran and other ingredients that increase value are added to the product during manufacture. This product is valued for dietary fiber, which improves the functioning of the digestive tract. The grains are rich in minerals and vitamins.