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In days gone by, bread was ‘clean’, nutritious and wholegrain. Then came refined flour about a century ago. People still made their own bread or bought fresh from a local bakery. The bread did not need to travel very far and neither did it need to sit on a shelf in a market and have ‘shelf life’. And so, it did not have preservatives and other chemicals.
Then came ‘industrial’ food! Today, there is a potent cocktail of chemicals in big brand factory and bakery breads which you often have first thing in the morning.
Add to that the fact that wheat in our country has about the most amount of pesticide residue among agro-food products and you are left wondering whether you should be buying bread at all! Consider this: Most of the wheat comes from Punjab where the maximum amount of chemicals are used in agriculture and where a lot of cancer cases are in evidence in the countryside.
Studies show that pesticides can cause health problems such as birth defects, nerve damage, cancer and other effects that might occur over a long period of time. They also harm nervous, reproductive and immune systems (punjabilok. com). A recent study in Punjab showed that there was upto 605 times the level of pesticide residue in human blood samples as compared to the US, according to the Centre for Science and Environment (cseindia.org).
Clearly, the news on the bread front isn’t all good. But, since everything in life is relative, one can choose the better option. Factory-made bread has more chemicals, especially dough enhancers and preservatives. Buy from a bakery that sells its bread fresh and, if you’re really lucky, warm. This usually means less or no preservatives.
Look for wholegrain or multi-grain/dalia/oats variants with a rougher, denser texture of bread and a beige colour when sliced. If lighter in colour as well as weight, then whatever the label, it could have more maida and/or enhancers/improvers and certainly less wholegrain. If it is dark, it means that colour or caramel has been added. Bakeries are not required by law to list ingredients. Ask them if in doubt.
Brown bread was a healthier choice than white bread earlier. The classic recipe would require a certain amount of wholewheat in it which is what made it light brown. Then, caramel was added by some to make it more brown. The wheat component began to vary and today, as with brown ‘colour’, the ‘caramel’ also has harmful chemicals. While there is a huge variety available, most breads in the market are filled with varying degrees of refined flour which is bleached white with chemicals that create toxins. These breads also have more salt, sugar and fat than they need to. The so-called ‘wholewheat bread’ has at least 50% maida if not more! Bread made with just wholewheat/wholegrain flour would be denser, as it has less gluten.
Maida is made from wheat grain but only the inner starchy part called the endosperm. The milling process uses 300 degrees of heat and destroys most nutrients. The nutritious ‘germ’ and the bran/outer covering which have vitamins B6 and E, magnesium, folic acid and fibre plus many micro-nutrients are left out. Wholewheat flour, of course, is made from the whole grain and therefore has all its goodness. Stone ground flour is ideal as the level of heat involved is much less. Other wholegrain flours used for breads are ragi, barley, oats, rye, amaranth, jowar and corn.
If you want to take advantage of whole grain ‘flour power’ and avoid unnecessary chemicals, get an automatic breadmaker. It takes just 10 minutes to load it and the machine does the rest! You can programme it upto 13 hours ahead of when you want it. Buying bread takes more time and money! Use flours of your choice and with simple recipes from the internet, go ahead and bake your own breads.
Use honey, olive oil and sea salt instead of sugar and refined oil. Given all the facts, organic ingredients or at least organic wheat flour would be ideal. It’s easy and rewarding. My daughter’s friends on the school bus would fight for a piece! You will wow your family with the heady aroma of freshly baked bread, its variety, flavour and nutrition. Bon Appetit!
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