Don’t give up bread!

Poles love bread. Most of us cannot imagine our diet without it. Also abroad, our country is famous for its delicious bread. So why the consumption of bread has been decreasing in recent years? Is it the poor quality of widely available bread or maybe we have believed the rumors that bread is fattening and gluten is poisonous?

Poles love bread. Most of us cannot imagine our diet without it. Even abroad our country is famous for its delicious bread. So why has the consumption of bread declined in recent years? Is it the poor quality of widely available bread or maybe we just believed the rumors that bread is fattening and gluten is poisonous?

Bread is not the same as bread

Flour, sourdough starter or yeast, water and salt. So many ingredients are enough to make bread. Why is the composition on some loaves so long?? That’s right. What and why is in some breads, especially those from supermarkets, probably only alchemists know. You walk up to a bread shelf and see dark bread sprinkled with grains and described as multigrain. It must be healthy. Not necessarily. Manufacturers often profit from our ignorance. You ask for wholemeal bread and you get multigrain bread. Sounds similar, but it is not the same. Wholemeal bread is made from wholemeal flour. Contains more fibre, B vitamins and magnesium. And multigrain? It simply contains several types of flour, not necessarily wholemeal, and is often sprinkled with seeds. The dark color of bread is not always caused by wholemeal rye or wheat flour.

Sometimes, unfortunately, these are dyes, like caramel or roasted malt. If you also see on the label the mysterious E468 or E412 (cellulose gum and guar – cause bloating and diarrhea), as soon as possible put this product on the shelf and look for real bread. And best of all, stock up on flour, your favorite grains to sprinkle on top, and bake your bread at home. Rye flour type 720 – the so called “pytl flour” – is perfect for this purpose. Its name comes from the python, a mill sieve through which rye grains that have been ground several times are sifted. What if you don’t have time to bake your own? Try to buy bread in a bakery, not in a supermarket, and above all read the ingredients! If the ingredients are not on the label of the bread, the bakery worker is obliged to give you the ingredients.

To eat or not to eat?

Bread is fattening and gluten is better to avoid. We have all surely heard such statements more than once. What it is really like? No product is fattening – what is fattening is the amount and the excess of calories consumed. It is no different with bread. If you care about your health and slim figure, replace white rolls and sweet croissants with bread made of rye flour, preferably wholemeal. What about gluten? If you do not have celiac disease, food allergies or hypersensitivity to gluten, you do not have to be afraid of it. If you feel unwell after eating products that contain it, consult your doctor.