Bread has been around virtually since the beginning of time… A staple in many diets but also something to be avoided in many cases…I mean who has eaten that tasteless sliced bread that sticks together and makes for a very unappetising sandwich?

Bread is made in many different ways and from many different flours, it comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes and is also prepared in so many different ways around the world…

Bread may be leavened by methods which have a reliance on naturally occurring microbes as in the process of bread making using sourdough, or by using chemicals which are used as is industrially produced yeast or even now high pressured aeration… In commercial breadmaking. Some of the bread-making processes would now probably cause many traditional bakers to turn in their graves. Because of this, there has been a revival and an upsurge of traditional Artisan bakeries springing up which is good for all of us who appreciate good bread rather than the mass-produced unhealthy rubbish which masquerades as a loaf of bread …Whoever said this is the best thing since sliced bread was obviously deluded.

Bread is basically flour, water, yeast and a small amount of salt. If it is properly made and allowed to rise properly and yes it takes time but as the bread rises it is also fermenting. Fermentation neutralises the part of the wheat protein that is most likely to trigger bowel disease and other autoimmune diseases and inflammation which is a reaction to gluten.

Of course, using traditional dry or fresh yeast and adding no preservatives or other additives means the shelf life of the bread is shorter and the bread is best eaten the day it is baked …

But who doesn’t love day old bread toasted? It also makes lovely breadcrumbs for making stuffings or for coating meat or fish alternately freeze the odd bits and make a bread pudding there is no excuse for wasting good bread.

Bread can come with the addition of fruits, nuts and other fats it is also served in various forms with any meal of the day. It is eaten as a snack by making it into sandwiches, fried used to coat other foods in the form of bread crumbs when frying as it prevents the food from sticking it can be made into bread pudding as an addition to stuffing mixes it has untold uses it also plays an important part in religious rituals and secular culture many sayings or expressions in language refer to bread, in prayer ” Give us this day our daily bread ” or “He stole the bread from my mouth”

Adding other products to bread is fine such as honey, seeds, nuts or fruit as long as it is natural or naturally produced so if you have an artisan baker near you then you are very lucky and enjoy of course in moderation as too much…I am a party pooper aren’t I? but it can have that effect on the waistline…

Did you know that the lottery has funded a Real Bread campaign??? 

Now we come to the bad bread the bread you really don’t want to be eating …commercially produced bread generally contains additives to improve the flavour, texture, colour, shelf life, nutrition and speed of manufacturing.

Most bread in the UK is made using the Chorley Wood Bread process which came into being in the ’60s and is still used in many bakeries to this day…The bread is mixed at high speed using intense energy, many additives and preservatives are added, increased amounts of yeast are used and the bread is given no fermentation time.

This modern practice of increasing the yeast element in bread and modern bakery practises have lead many medical researchers to believe that this is a factor in the extraordinary rise in digestive illnesses such as gluten intolerance and coeliac disease.

Who doesn’t stick a slice or two of this into the toaster? Who hasn’t eaten cucumber sandwiches? the pictures look quite inviting, don’t they? But they are empty of healthy ingredients and may aggravate or cause any illnesses or disease you may have and for what?… They can and should be avoided at all costs…

As a consumer who reads the labels …Yes I do…The enzymes which are used to aid rising and give lightness and freshness to bread DON’T have to be declared in the list of ingredients…Why? Because they are processing aids …REALLY.?..One of the most common is called Amylase which is known to cause asthma and this is also one of the most common diseases among bakers…

So please when you buy bread think about what you are buying…I think it is about time that we all backed The Real Bread Campaign….Don’t you???

Or make your own… And here’s how…

 

Homemade Bread Day…November 17th 2020…

Just a note I make bread regularly now and never buy processed bread…I always buy unbleached flour and as I rarely eat bread myself but my hubby does I add some wholewheat flour to it as much as I can get away with or make soda bread or sourdough but he prefers white bread so my aim is to keep him happy and add as much wholemeal flour as I can without it being too obvious… I make the occasional wholemeal loaf again he eats it but much prefers white bread…as his diet is in the main healthy I concede on the bread…xx

Enjoy!

That’s all for this week’s healthy eating… I do hope you have enjoyed it I am looking forward to your comments  ….Thanks, Carol xx