2/25/2023 Question of the day

[petrea_mitchell]

Real Bread Week: Real bread refers to any type of bread that has been made without the use of processing aids or any other additives and includes any type of additive-free bread (e.g. pita, paratha, tortilla, oatcakes, roti, bagels, etc.). Do you, or have you ever, made bread? Do you use a bread maker? If you always buy rather than make bread, do you look for bread that at least claims to be additive-free, made from organic flour, etc.?

I have never made bread. My mom made bread frequently when I was a kid, but it was a dense, dry, unappetizing bread that I never had any interest in trying to replicate.

As for additives, define "additive". I was distressed to learn that whey powder frequently turns up in mass-market breads and breading, where it has no business being as far as I can see, but since it doesn't have a scary chemical name it might not be what the founder of Real Bread Week might be thinking of.

Comments

[delosharriman]

My mother bakes her own bread using spelt flour, because ordinary wheat flour seems to exacerbate her health problems. She has to use guar gum or gum arabic in it, though, because the gluten isn't nearly as elastic. Others of my acquaintance make a variety of breads using nut flours, extra gluten (seitan), you name it.