to toast, or not to toast

today was a hard day, and all i wanted most in the world was a piece of stupid toast.  seriously, toast is my all time favorite comfort food, and without it over the last few months i've been a bit of a pill from time to time.  so, i parsed the internet for all things "low carb bread recipe," combined a few of them together, and came up with this gem.  **warning** this is not real bread.  its low carb bread, with about 1g net carbs per slice.  boy & i both think its the most delicious thing ever, but we're bread deprived.  prep time + cook time: 2.5hours

ingredients:

1 egg
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup soy flour
.75 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp granulated Splenda
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup hot water

• bring your egg to room temperature, this can be done by placing the egg in a bowl of warm water. try to make sure that all your ingredients are not cold, this will make the yeast happier
• mix together all your dry ingredients in a bowl.  when they're all well mixed, add egg and oil and mix well with a fork.  
• add .75 cup of the warm water.  the vital wheat gluten is super thirsty, so you'll likely need all of it, but just in case add bits at a time until it reaches doughy consistency.  i kept mixing it with a fork because i don't have a fancy Kitchenaid stand mixer but i am due for some housewarming presents.
• knead the dough for like two minutes or something, i don't know really, then put it in a greased dish for it to rise.  my house tends to run a bit cold so i preheated my oven to 100 degrees, then turned it off, covered the greased dish with some plastic and put it in the oven to rise for about 1.5 hours.  
• take your dough out of the oven and drool at the bready smell its making already, whilst preheating your oven to 350F.  cook the bread in the oven for ~40min depending on how deep of a baking pan that you have.  the internet will help you with cooking times, but so will your eye balls and your gluttonous nature telling you to eat it before its done.

waaaahlaaaah! the most primary ingredient to toast!

i couldn't just stop at toast though, i had to make garlic bread. so i buttered it and added some garlic salt and some parmesan and threw it under the broiler while i baked these clam shells stuffed with lobster, crab, and cheese.  arugula & spinach tossed salad for added fiber.

that was dinner.  toast cravings gone, and i've survived another day on this dang diet.