120px-StroudBread Bread is a natural source of fiber and complex carbohydrates, and that makes it one of the most important superstar foods in our healthy diet. Good, fresh bread was always admired by food connoisseurs for its aroma, taste, quality and texture. They eat and enjoy it.

Many people try to exclude the bread from their diet because they fear to gain weight. “Bread makes me fat! I am not going to eat it.” I hear these exclamations very often from my friends, but this belief is so foolish. Do you know what makes you fat? The butter, cream cheese or margarine you put on it is fattening, not the bread itself.

Studies report, there are four calories in a gram of carbohydrate, four in a gram of protein, but nine in a gram of fat. So, what is fattening, you think? Fat is fattening! Norwegian scientists found that people who eat less than two slices of bread daily weigh 11 pounds more than big bread eaters. Sounds like a paradox, but it is a proven fact, so take a note.

Do you know that some breads even can reduce your appetite? Researchers at Michigan State University reported this fact, probably more than ten years ago. They compared white bread to dark, high-fiber bread, and came up with interesting information. Students who ate 12 slices a day of the dark bread felt less hunger on a daily basis and even lost five pounds in two months. Other students who ate white bread were most of the time hungry, and ate more fattening foods and dod not lost any weight during the same time.

You can say that students are young people, and their metabolism is much faster working that older people with slower metabolism. No matter what, the key to healthy diet is eating a dark, rich, high fiber bread, such as rye, whole wheat, 5-7 mixed grain or oatmeal.

I don’t recommend eating one of America’s favorites, pumpernickel bread only because it has the dark color. The American bakers achieve the dark color in pumpernickel bread by adding molasses that can contain sulfur to light rye dough, coffee, cocoa powder, white or brown sugar, and other coloring agents. Wheat flour is also added to provide gluten structure and increase rising, and commercial yeast to quicken the rise compared to a traditional sourdough. The result is commercial bread made with a mix of wheat and rye flour with darket coloring, and sometimes caraway seed for flavor.

There is also another argument against this type of commercial pumpernickel bread. American bakers have changed the original German recipe for economic reasons to speed the process. They don’t use the slow baking process that is a standard for German pumpernickel.

I was many times in Germany, and I was always surprised how different German pumpernickel tastes, looks and made in comparisson with American pumpernickel. This bread there is a type of very heavy, slightly sweet rye bread that traditionally made with coarsely ground rye or a combination of rye flour and whole rye berries. This recipe was originated in the Westphalia region in Germany in 1450. About the same time the same bread started its way in Russia, too. The secret of this natural and healthy bread is in the long, slow baking that gives pumpernickel or just rye bread, coming from the oven, deep brown, almost black color.

Most all-rye and pumpernickel breads are traditionally made with a sourdough starter and contains no coloring agents instead of relying on sweet dark chocolate or coffee color and brown sugar. Loaves are baked 16-24 hours in a low temperature in 250 degrees oven filled with steam. When is ready, it has no or little crust, but this bread is dense with large amounts of whole grains added. So, if you want to eat a real pumpernickel or rye bread, buy it imported from Germany and sold by Whole Foods or other supermarkets. It comes in small packets of presliced bread. It is not very cheap, but it’s healthy, tasteful and easy to digest.

My family eat this bread with caviar, smoked wild Sockey salmon, sturgeon, omelette, mozarella and tomatoes, homemade salads, soups, guacamole, eggplants, zucchini, honey, and preserves. No one is overweight. Do you know why? The average slice contains only 50 to 70 calories (some new diet breads contain only 40 calories per slice). This slice of good, natural bread is rich in complex carbohydrates — the best and steadiest fuel you can give your body together with a necessary amount of protein, and energy. So, be smart and selective in your choice of bread, one of the most important superstar foods.

Today you can see a rich assortment of different breads in stores, but how many are nutritional and healthy? Some breads are wrapped in plastic or paper, and if you keep this bread in the warm and moist environment, it can develop mold, harmful to your health. Change your habits for the sake of your well-being, and don’t eat traditional breads like cornbreads and various biscuits or so-called “cowboy bread.”

Look for artisanal breads which are gaining more and more popularity. You also have a better option. Create your own superfood, nutritional and healthy bread with the best ingredients you choose yourself.

What can be better than your own, freshly made bread that your whole family can eat at dinner? If you don’t have time for that, make an exception for the holiday season. Try just once and you will appreciate the difference in taste and flavor between commercial and homemade bread. It’ll inspire you to create your own fabulous bread. Now you have a chance to experiment.

Surprise your loved ones and friends, for example, with homemade pumpkin bread that can be a wonderful addition to your holiday table. Watch this video and see for yourself how easily you can make this delicious and nutritious bread you ever tasted. The pumpkin gives the loaf a wonderful golden-brownish color, delicate flavor and aroma.

Interesting facts:

* The Roman poet Juvenal satirized superficial politicians and the public for caring only for “bread and circuses?”

* A well known prayer in Christianity, the Our Father or Pater noster, contains the line “Give us today our daily bread.”

* In Eastern European cultures bread and salt are offered as welcome sign of hospitality to all guests and visitors.

References: Photo “At the farmers market” by Jongleur100; Waitrose Research (http://www.waitrose.com); Pumpernickel, Merriam-Webster, 2007; Pumpermickel at the Mavens’ World of the Day, Random House, 1997; http://www.youtube.com