So funny. We just had a big reader discussion all about bread on The Lunch Tray: http://bit.ly/95QISk I’ll post your series today to follow up. Thanks as always for being such an informative site. – Bettina

Go with sprouted-grain bread and you can’t go wrong. Normally found in frozen food aisle. Worth the extra cost.

Another method of avoiding undesirable ingredients typically added to industrialized breads is to privatize your ingredients unto the simplest, most fundamental ones that you can verify by choosing them carefully and mixing them with your own hands. That is my practice, and the healthful effects on the mind of taking the time and devotion to make one’s own bread — fresh daily — are way beyond a measurable curve. Take 2 cups of whole wheat flour chosen either from an Indian grocery store and called atta or use Graham flour.  Salt can be added at 1/4 to 1/2 tsp depending on your taste, and it should be mixed in evenly. Add 4 tsp of coconut oil or canola oil and mix it in next, using your hand and fingers to distribute it throughout. This is your nascent dough. Now add in 2/3 cups of warm water by increments, preferably purified water you can be sure of for its purity. Each time you add some water, handle the dough and work the water into it with a kneading. You will see that the water will ultimately mix completely into the flour, giving a ball of dough that you should knead for a few minutes. Now let the dough rest, covered, for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on your time allowance. Then take the dough and knead it more for a few minutes. Once the dough has thus gained its full elasticity, it is ready to be cooked into Indian flatbreads called chapattis. Separate out a piece of dough the size of a golf ball, form a ball by rolling it between the palms of your hands. Place it on a floured bread board and flatten it into a disk with your hand. Make certain both sides are covered with flour so that the dough does not stick to the rolling pin. Now roll the dough out into a circular formation until it is thin and even. Place it on a heated skillet or tava (the Indian cooking pan for chapattis and parathas); this pan should be on medium heat, lightly oiled, and allowed to reach the smoking point as assurance that it is hot enough. Once the chapatti starts to puff up in places, flip it. Now the idea is to maximize the puffing of the bread as it cooks — puffing indicates that the dough is indeed being cooked internally; to do this, place a spatula on a puff and press gently down upon it, causing the puffy portion to spread out. You will see brown spots — these are normal and desirable. You can flip the chapattis and apply the spatula some more to spread the puffing effect. Once cooked accordingly, simply put the chapatti on a plate and lightly spread butter or ghee (clarified butter) over it to keep it soft. It can be kept in a covered pan or wrapped in foil to keep it fresh. Please visit http://showmethecurry.com/breads/chapatti.html for a video presentation of how to make chapattis. A whole new world of assured excellence in healthful eating is at your fingertips most literally. Once practiced at this method of making a sensible, delicious bread — the chapatti — it is within a 12-minute span to cook two chapattis on your stove top from a batch of dough already made and stored in the refrigerator. Just lightly oil the dough batch and wrap it in plastic wrap, place it in the refrigerator and use as needed on a daily basis.