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The aroma of freshly baked bread is the best temptation to grab a slice, bun or roll. Labelled the staff of life! Bread is usually made from wheat flour and added yeast to ensure it rises under heated temperatures, with water and other condiments. Bread flour may be fortified with vitamins and minerals. To make bread flour the wheat grains are crushed.  During by-gone years it came about that if the outer seed casing and layer of the grain were removed, softer and gentler bread could be produced - our common white bread. The ‘wealthier’ people seemed to favour white bread and it probably cost more due to the extra processing it required. With the loss the outer grain sections we suffered nutritional loss. Yet through the years there has been a return to darker browner breads for plain and simple health reasons! Bran houses the fibre, which helps propel our food along the alimentary canal and consequently evade constipation; we don’t want that. More stored vitamins and minerals, including essential fatty acids are in the outer layers of grains. The inner grain is mostly carbohydrate. To compensate manufacturers now add fibre and nutrients. Utilizing the whole grain originally, may make more sense! In marketing it becomes apparent that white bread may keep for longer. It doesn’t have more of those essential fatty acids that can quickly go rancid. However by adding preservatives, we’ve been able to extend its shelf life further. Brown bread has a reasonable shelf life and is often seen as a compromise for many. The grain hasn’t had all its outer layers stripped away. Brown bread is slightly better and still soft in texture. The list of preservatives can easily go on and on. Seriously, we need bread to last for only so long. Freeze what you don’t expect to eat within a week. Placing your loaf of bread in the fridge, if not to be eaten within a couple of days, helps extend its state.  As we know, preservatives aren’t always just preservatives. Some of them preserve food at the expense of not being healthy themselves. Not all preservatives are in the red house! It’s worth basically reducing the list of added preservatives where possible for health, plain and simple. The healthiest bread is probably made of wholemeal flours, whole wheat, whole rye or whole maize. If you have the time, try and bake your own and surprise yourself after maybe a few trial and errors. Whole grains haven’t lost their nutrients through physical removal during processing. Those nutrients give the power to metabolise the carbohydrate of the inner grain! Carbohydrate is healthy but ideally it should come from a source that hasn’t been refined (had parts removed to allow only the carbohydrate rich part to remain). If liked and you do not mind using your molars to chew, the whole wheat grains can be boiled and simmered until soft. They can be eaten as cooked whole grains with meals. Dark bread may have a shorter shelf life but for our health it’s worth the purchase. Here comes the catch, check its label. There are types made of white flour coloured brown, probably with caramel and with whole grains for decoration around the outer loaf. Be less deceived on what type of bread you eat in the delightful craft of bakery. Adding whole seeds (sesame, fennel and others) gives a nutty taste and mix to the final texture. The bonus is extra nutrients as seeds, although small, are a packed house of nutrients. The thing about bread is that we can add ginger and other spices and herbs to implant tantalizing aromas and flavours. Anastacia Sampson DN Med |