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First published 3/18/14
Is anyone getting tired of my harping about Gwen’s Easy Bread yet? Surely not. It’s the base for so many great E (low-fat, healthy carb) meals, snacks, and even desserts for Trim Healthy Mamas (find out more about the plan here)!
If you haven’t made it, make it. It’s the easiest bread recipe you’ll ever make (it only takes 4 ingredients!). The dough is very easy to work with-provided that you use mostly whole wheat flour, at least. I usually use 4.5 cups of whole wheat flour and 2 cups of bread flour.
So without further adieu, here are some ideas of what you can make with Gwen’s Easy Bread Recipe (other than bread, which makes great toast):
Pizza. This is hands-down the best thing you can do with this bread recipe. I’ve never tried the cauliflower crust, but I have tried the Speedy Thin Crust as well as pizza made on lavash wraps. Those aren’t real crusts. I’m sorry. Not only does this one taste way better and more normal, but it’s super easy. Just flop it (a pizza crust takes about 1/3 batch of bread) into a greased pan and pat it out with your hands. As long as you make the dough with enough wheat flour so it’s not too sticky, it works great and takes about two minutes to prepare.
Because this is an E crust, you have to watch how much fat you put on it. I usually use a very small amount of skim mozzarella and some cottage cheese, lots of veggies, pizza sauce (watch your sugars; you could also use tomato paste), spices, and lean meats such as chicken and/or turkey bacon/pepperoni. Regular pepperoni won’t work on this pizza crust, unless you want a crossover.
I prebake the crust at 350-400 degrees for about 8 minutes, add the toppings, and then bake again for 12 minutes. The serving size is 2 slices (just like the serving size for the bread is two pieces).
Or, you can prebake and freeze the crusts for later use when you need a quick meal.
Sandwich buns. Keep your toppings lean. Here I have a small amount of skim mozzarella, turkey meat, lettuce, fat-free Ranch, and mustard.
French toast. This one is fairly self-explanatory. Here I dipped the bread in an egg-white/almond milk/vanilla/stevia bath, fried it in a non-stick skillet with some cooking spray, and served it with sugar-free maple syrup and a small amount of banana.
English muffins. Toasted and topped with blackberry Slim Belly Jelly. Yum.
Apple Cinnamon Braided Bread. A delicious breakfast or dessert that takes very little time to make and looks quite fancy.
Cinnamon rolls. I wasn’t terribly impressed with these; you have to keep your fat to under 5 grams/serving, so a lot of butter isn’t an option. A teaspoon of butter wasn’t quite enough, in my opinion, but you can try it if you’re really craving a cinnamon roll. They looked pretty. 🙂
Bagels. Actually, mine turned out more like half a bagel. 😛 Add some berries, make a brown sugar/cinnamon bagel, get creative! Top it with a teaspoon of butter, some fat-free cream cheese, or some Slim Belly Jelly.
And just an idea I’ll throw out here: you could probably make soft pretzels with this dough too, so long as it’s not too sticky.
Dump and Stir Bread Pudding. This is a great way to use up old, dry bread. I’m not normally a big bread pudding fan, but this turned out pretty well-the top was nice and crusty. If you struggle with finding good desserts for E meals, this recipe just might become your friend.
Well, are you convinced that you need to make some bread?
I have actually made soft pretzels (filled with low fat cheese of course:)) with this dough, I have also made calzones and they have both come out amazing!! I use the dough that is at the very top of the container for those kind of recipes because it tends to be a little more dry and easier to work with.
You had me at bagel. I need this in my life. I LOVE bagels! And donuts, but that’s a different story…
Do you have a tutorial on how to do the bagels?
Haha…this is a super old post. No, I don’t. I just made them into a bagel shape and baked them.
Hi Briana! I love your blog! I have a question about the pizza dough variation. I followed your instructions when I made pizza last night, but the crust was kind of floppy and had to be eaten with a knife and fork, even after pre-baking it. Do you have any suggestions that might help it be more sturdy and able to be eaten without utensils?
Hi Ginny! I’m afraid I’m not sure what the problem is if you made the bread the same way I do. Perhaps you just needed to bake it longer (oven temps can vary)? Adding a lot of really juicy toppings could also cause problems.
Can you make tortillas or pita bread with this recipe? It seems it should work, since this bread recipe doesn’t rise much. Thanks!
It really doesn’t remind me of the texture of either of those, but I’m sure you could try.
I have to tell you how much I appreciate your blog! I’m new to my THM journey, but happy with my weight-loss success so far, and this blog and your Facebook page are a great resource. Thanks for all the efforts you put into it! And now I have a question: you mention using 4.5 cups of wheat flour and 2 cups of bread flour in this pizza crust. What kind of bread flour is on plan? A white flour, like high-gluten or Occident? Or some other kind that I’m not thinking of? Thanks for your help!
Hi Mary Beth! Thank you for the encouraging words. In answer to your question, I’m just referring to regular white bread flour. It’s not on-plan unless it’s fermented, as it is in Gwen’s recipe. If you check out her recipe, you’ll see she has a lot of good information about the science involved and what’s approved for THM and what’s not. 🙂 Looking at her recipe, I see that she actually suggests 4 cups of whole wheat flour and 2 cups of white, not 4.5 of wheat. Maybe she changed the recipe since I’ve made it, or maybe I just made a typo. Definitely follow her recipe if you decide to make it. 🙂 I actually haven’t made this recipe in awhile because I came up with another cold-fermented bread recipe that rises better. You can check it out here if you care to: https://www.briana-thomas.com/homemade-bread-e/
I love Gwen’s bread (have a question about it) and I love your variations. I am new to your blog…could you please help? How do you make toast with it? I can’t ever get it to rise enough…it usually turns out like a flat loaf of bread with very little rise…tastes great though…any advice would be appreciated…
Hi Kristi, Gwen’s Bread doesn’t really rise much at all, so we usually baked it in a 9×13 inch pan and then cut it down the middle to make “slices”. I actually don’t make Gwen’s Bread much anymore because I formulated my own cold-fermented bread recipe that actually *does* rise. You can check it out here: https://www.briana-thomas.com/homemade-bread-e/
Why have I never thought about slicing it down the middle? Sounds so obvious now. Lol…. Thanks for all you do. Love your recipes, I’m like others, you could just move in and cook all you want. Lol…..
have i told you lately that i love you? and gwens bread! I have made like 3 of your recipes this week and i am so glad you are doing all of these it really helps me and im sure heaps of others! from New Zealand – Thank you!
I’m enjoying browsing your new site!
I thought I remembered an alternative bread recipe in which the flour was soaked without the addition if yeast immediately. I thought that would reduce the ‘fermented’ flavor I keep getting with Gwen’s recipe… Was that your recipe?
It was but I took it down because it was unclear whether or not fermenting the flour without the yeast actually reduced the carb content of the flour enough. I got mixed reports, so I took the recipe down to be safe. However, I have come up with another recipe that I will be posting in the next week or so. It doesn’t rise as high as my last recipe, but it’s nice and soft. 🙂
Great! Can’t wait to try it:) Thanks!