Doesn't Rye Bread Contain Gluten?

Traditional rye bread is made with no fat or oil. There is never any bleached flour, with its potentially toxic bromides. There are only rye flour, a little bit of sugar for the yeast to grow in, water, salt, baker's yeast, and the sourdough starter — plus a bit of wheat flour. Wheat flour is added precisely because it contains gluten.

There are brands of rye bread that contain no wheat flour at all, but they are, well, chewy. Really chewy. But they keep for months if you don't open the package, even without preservatives. If you are gluten sensitive or if you have celiac disease, you will have to avoid any brand of rye bread that contains wheat flour. Some American "rye" breads are actually more wheat than rye. Be sure to read the label.

The Secret To Success

Rye bread is healthy bread, but it is possible to go wrong. A Czech rye bread recipe calls for 50 rye crisps, a pound (450 g) of Emmenthaler cheese grated fine, a stick (1/4 pound/110 g) of butter, some grainy mustard, a little dill, and some caraway seeds. Pulse the rye crisps in a food processor until broken up but not powdery.

Add enough water, about a cup (240 ml) to the mix to make a dough, and work in the cheese, butter, salt, mustard, and caraway.  Form bite-sized balls of rye, butter, and cheese and place on wax paper. Refrigerate for at least two hours and serve. The mixture stays fresh for about two days.

READ Could You Have Celiac Disease And Not Even Know It?

This Czech rye bread recipe is delicious, but it's really not likely to help you lose weight. Sorry — you'll have to forego the butter and the cheese to use rye bread in weight loss plans. If you just use rye for your carbohydrate portions instead of white bread, wheat bread, potatoes, and oatmeal products and don't change anything else, you may notice a lighter feeling around the waist. And if you can cut back calories and exercise even a little, you will lose weight faster than on any other reduced-calorie diet plan. Rye isn't a miracle food, but it's really good for you.