I received many replies to my plea for help with using alternate sweeteners in
breads. I also received several requests from people to summarize those
responses.
So, here's a great big THANK YOU to all who took the time and effort to educate
me!! (I wanted to thank you separately, but I've been too sick this past week
to spend more than a few minutes on email.) We have the most helpful and
knowledgeable people on this list!
Here's a summary of what I learned:
1) Yeast breads work just fine without the use of any sweetener; however, you
do need to allow more rising time so the yeast can grow. Several suggested
using the "sponge" method or sticking with sourdough starters.
2) Some reported much success using barley malt , brown rice syrup, or maple
syrup in place of refined sugar. As suspected, yeast seems to thrive on these
sweeteners just as well as on sugar and honey.
3) The herbal sweetener, Stevia, won't offer any good food source for the
yeast, but it is fine to use if you want sweeter bread. It will hold up in
cooking. If you use it, then treat the dough as if you added no sweetener.
4) Concentrated fruit juices work well, too.
If you are interested in a comparison of various sweeteners, including a
substitution chart, check out this site: http://outpostcoop.com/sweetner.htm
Thanks again for your help!!!
--
Ellen C.
ellen@brakes.elekta.com