All Saturated Fats Are Not CREATED Equal

Posted By Dr. Mercola | October 22, 2010

You’ve no doubt noticed that for about the last 60 years the majority of health care officials and the media have been telling you saturated fats are bad for your health and lead to a host of negative consequences, like elevated cholesterol, obesity, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Meanwhile during this same 60 years the American levels of heart disease, obesity, elevated serum cholesterol and Alzheimer’s have skyrocketed compared to our ancestors, and even compared to modern-day primitive societies using saturated fat as a dietary staple.

Did you know that multiple studies on Pacific Island populations who get 30-60% of their total caloric intake from fully saturated coconut oil have all shown nearly non-existent rates of cardiovascular disease?^[1]

Clearly, a lot of confusion and contradictory evidence exists on the subject of saturated fats, even among health care professionals.

But I’m going to tell you something that public health officials and the media aren’t telling you.

The fact is, all saturated fats are not created equal.

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Bread Baking Tips for a Perfect Loaf of Maninis Gluten-Free Bread, Dinner Rolls and Sandwich Buns

These baking tips are to be used as a supplement to the baking directions on the back of the Maninis bread mix package.

Baking Tools

For best results, use a standing mixer and its paddle to blend the ingredients into dough and be sure to bake it in a 8-1/2″ x 4-1/2” loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. We prefer the Chicago Metallic Commercial II Loaf Pans found at Sur La Table or glass bread pans.  Or if you have a bread machine with a one rise setting, follow the directions below for proofing the yeast and adding to the stirred liquids before you pour it into the bread machine with the dry ingredients. You will also need a rubber spatula, measuring spoons, a glass liquid measuring cup and a 1-cup measuring cup, a cooling rack, and a towel to cover the bread while it is cooling.

Ingredients

If you wish to make more than one loaf, simply double or triple the recipe.

Please make sure your yeast is fresh! I always heat all my water (7/8 of a cup) in a glass measuring cup for 30 seconds or until 100 degrees (depending on your microwave) then I pour ¼ of the warm water over the yeast in a small separate bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes. If you don’t see the cream forming on the yeast within 5-10 minutes, add 1/8 teaspoon of sugar to the mixture.  This should give you nice creamy foam.

While you are waiting for the yeast to foam, you can add the egg and egg white, vinegar and oil to the remaining 5/8 water in the glass measuring cup.  You can also measure the mix, (make sure it is packed into the dry measuring cup) and dump it into the mixing bowl. After the yeast is foamy you may add it to the wet ingredients in the measuring cup and stir it until blended together.  Then add the wet contents of the glass measuring cup to dry ingredients and mix it together for 3 minutes at medium speed, or the #4 setting on your Kitchenaid mixer.  If I am having issues getting my bread to rise, I just add two whole eggs instead of one egg and egg white.

We prefer virgin coconut oil for all its nutritional properties. Coconut Oil is solid at room temperature, so simply sit the jar upside down in a bowl of hot water to bring it to liquid form so you can measure it precisely.

I always spray the pan with cooking spray while the mixer is blending the ingredients so I am ready to pour the mixture into the pan when it is done.

Dough Shaping

After carefully following the directions on the bag for mixing the remaining ingredients, scrape the dough from the pan with a rubber spatula and place the dough into the pan. Use a wet rubber spatula to gently shape the dough into a loaf form. It may be easier for some to gently form it with wet fingers.  This dough is made with Maninis Miracolo Pane Classic Peasant Bread Mix.

Dough Rise

Although the recipe suggests you let the dough rise for about 45 minutes, every climate is different. In the winter, or if I am in Seattle, I always put my covered dough in an oven that has been preheated to 100 degrees.  Or you can put a bowl of hot water beside the pan to keep it warm. 100 degrees is the temperature that dough will rise, any higher and it will kill the yeast.

For best results, please let the dough rise until it looks like this, (this one is a little brown on top because it was placed in the oven for 5 minutes) but after 15 minutes, be sure to cover the loaf with foil so it won’t burn on top.  After your baking time is finished, be sure to press down on the top of the bread while it’s still in the oven. If it springs back, it is not done. Let it bake with the foil on top for 5 minutes at a time until feels firm.

Finished Loaf

A finished loaf should look like this. You need to be sure and cover it with a towel while it is cooling down on a cooling rack.  If your loaf sinks a bit after cooling, it probably means it was under baked. Do not refrigerate this bread.  It has a shelf life of 5 days if stored properly. Once it cools, store your bread in a sealed plastic bag.

Sandwich Buns and Dinner Rolls

You can make your own homemade gluten-free buns and dinner rolls with any of Maninis Gluten Free flours. Simply follow the recipe on the back of the package to make bread. (if you are using Multiuso, the recipe is on maninis.com) You don’t need to handle the sticky dough too much. Scoop about 4.5-5oz of dough for the buns and 3 ounces (or use an ice cream scoop) for the rolls and plop gently onto a floured surface. With a plastic lid or scraper, roll the dough over so most of the surface is covered with flour. Shape the dough into a ball, lift the dough onto a sheet pan and, for the sandwich buns only, pat down to flatten with the flour mix until it’s about 1″ thick. Let rise for 1 hour. or double in size then bake at 375 for 23-25 min. or convection 22 min. until really golden brown.

Practice makes perfect! Above all, do not feel discouraged if your first loaf doesn’t look like this. It still tastes delicious and practice makes perfect!  Bread mixes are available to purchase online at www.maninis.com.  ENJOY!

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