An almost recipe: IKEA's multigrain bread

I think the most appealing facet of bread is its versatility. You can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or as a snack, make it savoury or sweet (only the former for us HFIers!), have it brown or white, toasted or fresh, homemade or store-bought... There is an endless amount of variations. Bread has remained on of my favourite foodstuffs, but authentic bakeries are almost non-existent in and around York. I am always shocked to find breads labelled baguette or focaccia, when they taste nothing like the real thing. That is part of the reason why I gave up bread for almost a year, longing for the freshly baked loaves sold in Luxembourg.

I had never really crossed paths with pumpernickel and rugbrød (Danish rye bread) until last summer. I was going through a wheat-free experiment and was pleased to hear rye bread contained no wheat. Unfortunately, I later found out sugar is often used in the batter in order to activate the yeast and had to stop eating it. This made me wonder if all yeast-based breads contain sweeteners. I couldn't find a single loaf of industrial bread containing no sugar, sucrose or fructose. When I say industrial, I mean the square-shaped kind I mentioned earlier. Proper bakeries tend to have more choice for a low-fructose diet; sugar is also an excellent preservative in order to keep goods fresh for more than a couple of days; it is often the case that homemade bread only stays soft for a few days.

The official guidelines advise the consumption of white bread instead of brown bread when going low-fructose. I personally find white bread very bloating, especially if it is not homemade. (I do like homemade, sugar-free brioche, a recipe will follow shortly!) This particular bread making mix is one I found at IKEA, which is why this recipe isn't quite a recipe: add water and tadah! The best rye bread you'll ever taste. It contains all natural ingredients and no added sugar! Pick it up next time you go to IKEA or get it here.

1 box of IKEA's multigrain bread mix (list of ingredients below)

600 ml of warm water 

All the instructions are on the box; it advises you to pour the water in the carton and shake for 45 seconds until combined. I poured it into a mixing bowl to combine the mixture properly as it tends to be quite lumpy. Leave to rise for 45 minutes and bake in the bottom of your oven for 60 minutes on 200°C. 

What's on the back of the box?

Ingredients: wheat flour (21%), wheat flakes (20%), rye flakes (17%), coarse rye flour (13%), sunflower kernels (8%), wheat starch, linseed (6%), malt (4%)(from barley), sourdough powder (rye flour), salt, dried yeast.