Healthy quinoa whole wheat bread recipe boosts endurance

Baking homemade bread is easier to make than some people think. And, it's far less industrial than anything that incubates in a bread machine. Quinoa is a complete protein high in lysine.

Because this bread recipe's ingredients are minimally processed grains, This ensures that they have low numbers on the glycemic index, metabolize slowly, and extend endurance.

The benefits of lysine for athletes

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, “Lysine is important for proper growth, and it plays an essential role in the production of carnitine, a nutrient responsible for converting fatty acids into energy. It also helps the body absorb and conserve calcium, and it plays an important role in the formation of collagen, a substance important for bones and connective tissues including skin, tendon, and cartilage.”

Why bake bread rather than buy it?

The benefits of baking bread instead of buying it are many. One important reason is that it gives the running baker the ability to custom fit the ingredients according to taste, just like homemade energy bars. Just about any bread on the grocery shelf is over-processed. Many of the healthy nutrients the active body craves are absent.

This recipe for quinoa whole wheat bread is simple to whip up. It also serves up a healthy dose of fiber. Adequate fiber is sorely lacking in most store-bought food items and is an important component of phases 2 and 3 of the South Beach Diet.

Ingredients for quinoa homemade bread

• 3 1/2 C milk (2% milk is fine)
• 3 T butter for the recipe, and extra to grease 2 loaf pans
• 1 T sugar or honey
• 2 eggs
• 2 packages rapid rise yeast
• 3 T wheat gluten
• 1 C oat or wheat bran
• 3/4 C steel-cut oatmeal
• 3/4 C quinoa
• 2 to 3 C whole wheat flour

Combine the baking Ingredients

1. Pour the milk and plop the butter into either a microwavable plastic or glass mixing bowl.
2. Set the microwave to defrost and monitor it long enough to melt the butter. Depending on the unit, this will likely be about about 3 1/2 minutes.
3. Stir in the quinoa grain and the steel-cut oatmeal.
4. Soak the mixture for 30 minutes. Use this time to liberally butter up the two loaf pans.
5. Stir in the rapid rise yeast and the sugar or honey. (And give 3 cheers and a high five to whoever invented this time-saver!)
6. Whip in the eggs with a fork or a whisk.
7. Stir in the bran and wheat gluten. Gluten is not strictly needed, but it's the ingredient that acts as the “glue” in bread and gives it that texture that suggests it might be a good idea to eat another slice before someone else eats it all. Yes, this bread is that good.
8. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
9. Stir in the whole wheat flour ¼ cup at a time until the dough is too difficult to stir.
10. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough. Add a bit more flour to the dough surface every time it's folded.
11. As soon as the dough ball is smooth and springy on the outside, divide it into two balls. Place one in each bread pan and press flat.
12. Put the pans in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry.
13. Remove the loaves from the pans and set them on wire racks to cool.
14. Slice and enjoy!

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Return to the Houston Running Fitness Examiner homepage and be sure to bookmark it.Sources: www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/lysine-000312.htm

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