Supermarket Bakery Bread

[Iamcazzy]

I've just come home with a 800g loaf of white bread from the instore bakery of a major supermarket. The laconic label states that the bread "contains flavouring". What does this mean? Why do they have to include this stuff and what exactly is it? I'm horrified at the thought.

[theprof]

You’re not going to like this answer but you asked! To begin with, these flavouring substances are added to bread because nowadays, the fermentation process in the bakery (on site or not) is markedly reduced in time from what is was years ago. This reduction in the time means that the bread has less time to develop a flavour and the flavouring is added to compensate. As far as the bakery is concerned, it allows them to produce more bread than they could if they allowed the dough to ferment properly.
So what are these flavourings? Well, bakeries tend to use two types, one for the crust and the other for the bread.

Crust flavouring is usually a compound called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline which is mainly there to enhance the smell rather than the flavouring but it does contribute a little to the taste. The stuff is volatile which is why the freshly baked smell disappears from a loaf quite quickly when stored at home. Sometimes zinc compounds is added to the compound to prolong its life as it’s not that stable.

Bread flavouring is usually a compound called 6-acetyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine which can also be added to tortillas etc. Sometimes another compound called 3-methylbutanal is added too.

Now any professional bakers out there will have not heard of these compounds. This is simply because these compounds are added to bread in relatively small quantities in the form of a liquid, flavouring essence, powder etc where the container bears little other than the words “bread flavouring”. The reason for this is that to some extent, the precise formulation of the powder or liquid is a trade secret that doesn’t have to be disclosed to anyone. Typical dilution rates for the liquid form of the flavouring is around 5ml per litre of water in the mix.

Bet you’re sorry you asked now!

[Captain2]

What a great answer theprof; I've lerned something today - won't stop me eating my favourite Tiger bread though.

[EDDIE51]

As Prof points out Supermarket and other major 'branded bread' can only be produced so cheaply as they take shortcuts. They can't wait 4 hours or more for the bread to rise naturally.

[MallyJ]

Brilliant answer by theprof....interestingly if you read the stuff in brown bread you will find there is a lot of sugar ... caremalised. Make your own.. you dont need a machine and you can make sure that the ingredients are as you would want them to be....and it is easy

[Samuraisan]

I tried on Sunday Mally, it turned out like a rock. I used dry yeast, maybe fresh yeast would be better ?

[EDDIE51]

My Morrisons does sell 'proper bread' as well, they call it traditional hand baked sourdough or something but it is £2.45 for a 400g 1/2 size loaf!

[EDDIE51]

Samuraisan, Dry yeast is fine but you have to mix it with warm water with a bit of sugar then leave it to stand for a while before you use it.

[Tilly2]

I have stopped eating bread. Most of it is absolute rubbish.

[MallyJ]

I started with a basic bread recipe from Paul Hollywood s book. I have worked on from there.... it is so easy and the results are great. I use a yeast that is in a green tin and never mix then yeast with the salt ... the salt kills the yeast. Do please keep on trying...your own bread is fabulous. If oyu need more info tell me... tomorrow..it is now my bed time!!

[theprof]

Thank you all. I tried to write the response without it sounding like I was lecturing to my students, but I think I my have failed in hindsight!

The Chorleywood Process that most commercial bakery companies use is even more appalling than bread produced in in store bakeries. They can churn out thousands of cheap loaves overnight at negligible cost.

For me, the worst thing about Chorleywood bread is that invariably, the bread contains Palm Oil. It's been included in most foodstuffs for some time but since late last year, all food manufacturers have had to declare the name of the oil in their products rather than hide behind the term "vegetable oil". Palm oil is now everywhere thanks to it being a third of the cost of rapeseed oil (canola oil).

Palm oil is one of the most saturated oils in existence but I suspect that many manufacturers failed to adjust the nutrition information on their packaging to take that into account. The stuff is extensively used to lubricate machinery in industry, stinks to high heaven and is merely decolourised for food use. Anyone notice a lack of government advertising on the dangers of eating saturated oil/fats lately? The food industry is clogging up our arteries like nobody's business with this stuff and it's being allowed solely on the basis of cost. What's the cost to the Health Service?

Don't get me started on the environmental damage caused in Malasia, Nigeria etc thanks to Palm Oil. Look up the hectares of forest denied to Orang-Utans as a consequence of Palm Oil plantations.

There is no legal definition of so-called "sustainable" Palm Oil and plantation owners can hardly be policed from the other side of the world.

[EDDIE51]

That has prompted me to Google ' Chorleywood Process'
http://anh-europe.org/news/the-chorleywood-process-and-the-rise-of-real-bread
It's scary!