Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Continuing on a theme of mine - if some foodstuff is a problem can you find a way of eating less of it rather than looking for substitutes - I have started to explore filo pastry.
In the early days I found that products containing wheat flour were a real problem. Bread, cake, pizza, pastry and the like were the big hitters and by restricting or eliminating those things I got things down to acceptable levels. I am not one who has any motivation to try and make pseudo-bread with eggs and weird flour, odd pizza bases, or cakes loaded with artificial sweeteners and odd flours. Not against that approach and I have admiration for many of the suggestions and products of contributors to this thread. Just not me.
Bread I solved by making my own using the ready mixed flours you can get in the supermarket. Bread from 250g of flour in a small loaf tin produces a tasty bread where one toasted slice finishes my breakfast perfectly.
Cakes I have a way forward with a chocolate brownie that is so chocolaty that a small portion is quite satisfying. Need to expand my repertoire in that area.
Pizza I have not thought about.
Pastry is something I have missed. A nice pie is a delight to eat but the carb content of a shortcrust top is a showstopper. I made the mistake of buying a pasty from a notable outlet on Euston Station when I was last in London. Ate it on the train and was at 14 an hour later.
This has led to my next move. Using the philosophy - if something is a problem, eat less of it but of better quality - I have started to experiment with filo pastry.
Filo pastry is made with oil rather than fat and with a bit of practice it can be rolled into very thin sheets. Two or three sheets layered with melted butter or oil ought to give a pie crust with a minimum amount of flour in a portion. You can find recipes all over the place showing this, but glossy pictures on the interweb and posh cook books don't always turn into the thing you make in real life.
This morning I made some filo pastry using the proportions of flour/oil/water in Mary Berry's recipe. It worked. By resting it as suggested, you got exactly what is wanted, an incredibly stretchy dough. This you could roll into very thin sheets! I reckon that 250g of flour could give you three or four sq meters of filo sheet - enough for loads of pie toppings even if doubled or trebled.
Took a small knob of dough (should have weighted it but didn't), rolled it out into a thin sheet, put a dollop of cooked chopped spiced veg on it, rolled it all up into a parcel with double layering and baked it at 180c for 20 mins. RESULT. A nice crispy pastry parcel of spiced veg. I would hesitate to call it a samosa, but you should get the picture.
Said parcel went onto my lunch plate in place of the four small crackers I normally have. Did not take a reading before eating but an hour after my BG is 9, the sort of reading I might expect from my cracker lunch. For me that is a RESULT.
Anyway I'm thinking that filo pastry might be a route to making savoury pies without sending my blood glucose into double figures. What do you other bakers think?
PS...no pictures, I ate it whilst it was hot. Anyway, it's a taste and blood glucose thing, not a beauty contest
In the early days I found that products containing wheat flour were a real problem. Bread, cake, pizza, pastry and the like were the big hitters and by restricting or eliminating those things I got things down to acceptable levels. I am not one who has any motivation to try and make pseudo-bread with eggs and weird flour, odd pizza bases, or cakes loaded with artificial sweeteners and odd flours. Not against that approach and I have admiration for many of the suggestions and products of contributors to this thread. Just not me.
Bread I solved by making my own using the ready mixed flours you can get in the supermarket. Bread from 250g of flour in a small loaf tin produces a tasty bread where one toasted slice finishes my breakfast perfectly.
Cakes I have a way forward with a chocolate brownie that is so chocolaty that a small portion is quite satisfying. Need to expand my repertoire in that area.
Pizza I have not thought about.
Pastry is something I have missed. A nice pie is a delight to eat but the carb content of a shortcrust top is a showstopper. I made the mistake of buying a pasty from a notable outlet on Euston Station when I was last in London. Ate it on the train and was at 14 an hour later.
This has led to my next move. Using the philosophy - if something is a problem, eat less of it but of better quality - I have started to experiment with filo pastry.
Filo pastry is made with oil rather than fat and with a bit of practice it can be rolled into very thin sheets. Two or three sheets layered with melted butter or oil ought to give a pie crust with a minimum amount of flour in a portion. You can find recipes all over the place showing this, but glossy pictures on the interweb and posh cook books don't always turn into the thing you make in real life.
This morning I made some filo pastry using the proportions of flour/oil/water in Mary Berry's recipe. It worked. By resting it as suggested, you got exactly what is wanted, an incredibly stretchy dough. This you could roll into very thin sheets! I reckon that 250g of flour could give you three or four sq meters of filo sheet - enough for loads of pie toppings even if doubled or trebled.
Took a small knob of dough (should have weighted it but didn't), rolled it out into a thin sheet, put a dollop of cooked chopped spiced veg on it, rolled it all up into a parcel with double layering and baked it at 180c for 20 mins. RESULT. A nice crispy pastry parcel of spiced veg. I would hesitate to call it a samosa, but you should get the picture.
Said parcel went onto my lunch plate in place of the four small crackers I normally have. Did not take a reading before eating but an hour after my BG is 9, the sort of reading I might expect from my cracker lunch. For me that is a RESULT.
Anyway I'm thinking that filo pastry might be a route to making savoury pies without sending my blood glucose into double figures. What do you other bakers think?
PS...no pictures, I ate it whilst it was hot. Anyway, it's a taste and blood glucose thing, not a beauty contest
