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BAKING SUPPLIES

Note that when using additive-free flour in recipes, you may need to adjust the volume to acheive the right consistency and you may want to use fresh lemon juice as a dough conditioner to optimize rising (1tbsp for every 4-5 cups of flour).  Pure flour has all the nutrition grains are supposed to have (and that flour had before it became so processed that it needed to be "fortified" to be nutritious), and the lemon juice replaces the need for artificial dough conditioners or additives.
 

Here are some delicious truly basic ingredients we use all the time when we're baking at home.

Baking from scratch is a great way to make delicious bread and desserts without refined sugar.  Avoiding additives can still be a challenge, even when baking "from scratch".  Even flour is almost never just flour - in some cases it's "nutritious" stuff that's added back in after processing removes it (like vitamins) but in many cases it's hidden MSG and additives.  It's hard to even find table salt these days that doesn't contain sugar!

Whenever possible, especially when it comes to flour, it's best to choose organic, as conventional flour can be made from wheat that is drenched with Round-Up to allow an earlier, easier and bigger harvest.

Oak Manor

Oak Manor has an awesome variety of high quality, delicious organic products available, grown on organic farms right here in Ontario. Another great source for local, organic flour if you live in our area is the Sustainable Market.

Bob's Red Mill 100% Whole Grain Ivory Wheat Organic Flour

Ingredients: ORGANIC WHOLE GRAIN HARD WHITE WHEAT

Pure whole grain organic white flour without additives. This flour will make you realize how much flavor good quality wheat actually has!

Bob's Red Mill 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour

Ingredients: WHOLE GRAIN HARD RED WHEAT

Pure whole grain whole wheat flour without additives. Note that when using this flour in bread recipes, adjust the volume as needed to acheive the right consistency and you may want to use fresh lemon juice as a dough conditioner to optimize rising (1tbsp for every 4-5 cups of flour).

Vita Sana '00' Flour (Italian Soft Wheat Flour)

Ingredients: SOFT WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID.

This is by far the best flour that we've found for making pizza, and what a difference it makes!  This makes the best perfectly crispy/crunchy on the outside, perfectly chewy on the inside crust.  And because it's produced in Italy, where they have banned the use of pre-harvest glyphosate application, it a particularly great choice if you're trying to avoid pesticides, even though it's not organic.

Robin Hood Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Ingredients: WHEAT FLOUR, AMYLASE, ASCORBIC ACID, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID.

This flour does contain amylase and vitamins, but I used it in the past without any problems and it doesn't contain any added sugar. Amylase is an enzyme that occurs naturally in saliva but as an ingredient it can be a source of hidden MSG (I assume depending how it's produced) - in this particular case it doesn't seem to be.  Ideally less processed, organic flour is a better choice, but Robin Hood flour can be much easier to find and more economical if you find you tolerate it well.

Kalas Classic Table Salt

Ingredients: SEA SALT, POTASSIUM IODIDE, MAGNESIUM CARBONATE

It's amazing how hard it can be to find salt that doesn't contain sugar (often listed as dextrose) or other harmful additives. Kalas table salt is one of the few, and it really makes me wonder why they bother adding sugar or other additives to other brands - this fine sea salt pours easily and tastes great!

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

Ingredients: SODIUM BICARBONATE

Pure baking soda.  Such a versatile baking ingredient but also very useful for toxin-free cleaning.

Magic Baking Powder

Ingredients: CORNSTARCH, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM BICARBONATE

This baking powder does contain monocalcium phosphate as an additive.  Monocalcium phosphate is derived from minerals naturally found in the environment so it is not a source of hidden free glutamate or sugar, but it could be a problem for you if you are trying to limit your phosphate intake (this is particularly important if you have renal failure for example, and recent studies have suggested that excessive phosphate intake may be detrimental in general).  If you want the same effect without phosphates, use baking soda in the recipe then mix in a small amount of lemon juice or vinegar to react with it.

Fleischmann's Yeast

Ingredients: YEAST, SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE

This dry yeast does contain sorbitan monostearate, which isn't sugar and shouldn't contain hidden MSG, but is an additive.  If you want more pure yeast, you'll have to look for fresh yeast (which only keeps a few weeks in the fridge) or use a sourdough starter culture.  If you want yeast you can keep in the fridge until you need it, use a little at a time, and not worry about it going bad, Fleischmann's is a great MSG-free, sugar-free yeast that works like a charm.  

Organic Traditions Vanilla Powder

Ingredients: CERTIFIED ORGANIC VANILLA POWDER (VANILLA PLANIFOLIA)

When you don't feel like scraping the sticky insides out of a vanilla bean (or as a more cost-effective alternative) this vanilla powder is awesome.  I especially love using it when I make vanilla ice cream!

McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract

Ingredients: VANILLA BEAN EXTRACTIVES IN WATER, AND ALCOHOL (41%)

This vanilla extract does contain alcohol but unless you're opposed to alcohol on principle, it evaporates readily so all you're left with is pure vanilla bean extractives.  It's hard to find an exact definition for "extractives" but I haven't had a problem with this product and I use it all the time in baking.  Most other "pure" vanilla does contain sugar or other additives.

Simply Organic Peppermint Flavor

Ingredients: ORGANIC SUNFLOWER OIL, ORGANIC PEPPERMINT OIL

This peppermint flavoring is perfect for baking, without additives or artificial ingredients.

Watkins Pure Almond Extract

Ingredients: WATER, ALCOHOL (32%), OIL OF BITTER ALMOND

Almond extract imparts awesome flavor in desserts and this one has no additives or processed ingredients.

Wholesome Coconut Sugar

Ingredients: ORGANIC COCONUT PALM SUGAR

Coconut palm sugar is made by drying coconut nectar.  The best part about this low glycemic index sweetener is that it can be substituted into recipes that call for white or brown sugar, without having to adjust the quantities or change other ingredients. Just keep in mind it takes a little longer to dissolve than white or brown sugar, and may change the colour of recipes that would use white sugar.

Coconut Secret Coconut Nectar

Ingredients: 100% RAW ORGANIC COCONUT NECTAR

It's hard to find a thick syrup to replace corn syrup in recipes like granola bars and butter tarts. Coconut nectar is a low glycemic index sweetener that is perfect for this purpose!

Ojio Agave Syrup

Ingredients: AGAVE SYRUP

Agave is a low glycemic index sweetener, and because this brand is colorless, it can be used in recipes that you don't want to discolor with coconut sugar or dark agave syrup.

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