Sunday, January 4, 2015

The Bean Bread Book: A Completely Different Way to Make Bread by Anna Purdum






To say I fly by the seat of my pants in the kitchen is a bit of an understatement.  I've always been pretty good at making something out of whatever is there, but it's hard for me to envision and plan for what I'm making ahead of time.

Our family became gluten free and dairy free nine years ago when my husband was diagnosed with various food intolernaces.  At that point I had to relearn everything I ever "knew" about cooking.  My skill in "making something out of whatever is there" proved useful with our dietary restrictions.  I became very creative because there were so many things that we couldn't eat.  

This book grew out of pressure from friends and family to codify my recipes....From the introduction.

For the very first time I am reviewing something I rarely ever use or read:  a cookbook!  Why, you may ask, am I treading strange waters?  Because this is a unique cookbook that fulfills a demand for an ever growing population that has special dietary needs.  Anna Purdum has compiled a plethora of recipes all of which are gluten and dairy free and devoid of processed sugar.  

The bean bread book, as the subtitle states, is a completely different way to make bread. Her first chapter makes the case for bean bread.  The incentives are that it is quick, easy, inexpensive, nutritious and-most important of all-completely yummy!  I can vouch for this because I have had the muffins.

Her next chapter explains the equipment, such as a blender not a mixer, a microwave not an oven and ingredients needed (cooked beans, not flour) as well as the procedure (add beans slowly).  Chapter 3 explains how to use a conventional oven if you need to,  as well as the sort of beans and sugar substitutes.

Then we get to the heart of the matter.  How to make everything from fluffy white bread, waffles, pancakes to pizza crust.

I found the most interesting recipes in the cake section:  Hummingbird Cake, Lemmon Poppy seed, and my second favorite was Chocolate Fondue and Orange Essence Chocolate.  

She has a chapter listing the different beans one can use like black, great northern, kidney, lima navy and white.

If you need a wider variety of interesting and tasty recipes to include in your gluten free diet, I recommend Ms. Purdum's book as a valuable addition to any cookbook collection.

Go to Ms. Purdum's website to see a short video of her making a bean loaf. 

Anna is also a songwriter.  You can check out her face book page:


www.beanbreadbook.com

You can also join Bean Bread on Facebook. 
Bean Bread on facebook


6 comments:

Brian Joseph said...

Both my wife and myself cook a lot and actually read cookbooks too. Some that cover particular ethnicities are actually filled with prose that cover culture.


We do not have an issue with gluten so we likely would not gravitate towards this however. I must confess that even my conventional bread making has been at times disappointing.

Man of la Book said...

Sounds very interesting, I'll forward the book to my wife. We are trying to go gluten free, just for health reasons.

http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

Phyllis Winn said...

I'm so glad you wrote about this. I just made the black-eyed pea cake for our New Year's dinner,and drizzled the top of it with lemon icing (just powdered sugar and lemon juice). It was delicious. Everyone who tried it agreed. And it is good for you!!

Sharon Wilfong said...

H Brian. I know a lot of people, including friends of mine, love cook books. They're easy to buy gifts for. I myself am not gluten free either, although the recipes are very good.
My favorite food is ethnic food, especially ethnic restaurants. Josh and I also like to cook ethnic. Those books that not only provide recipes but also describe the culture sound like something I would want to get. You should review some. Take care!

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hi, Zohar. My husband read somewhere that many people who go gluten free become healthier not only because of not eating gluten but because going gluten free makes them change their diet into an overall healthier one. Take care!

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hi Phyllis! I have not tried the black-eyed pea cake yet but I will now have to. It sounds really good. Take care!