If you don't bake your own bread, take a really good look at the ingredient list on the next loaf you think about buying. I had recently been buying Orowheat bread at Big Lots for less than $2 a loaf. I like the kind with nuts & seeds in it, whole wheat, oatmeal, etc., but did some looking the other day as they didn't have the 12 grain I had been buying.
They had several varieties, most of which had sugar, one had high fructose corn syrup and all had cellulose. What? The last one I bought at the regular grocery store did not have that! It seems Orowheat makes different versions and since it is generally lower income people who shop at Big Lots, they get the lower quality bread.
I had read somewhere months ago about cellulose being used in processed foods. It bulks things up and is a cheap additive. Supposedly good for us as fiber. Yeah, right, indigestible wood pulp. That's right, WOOD, as in from trees. Trees are plants and parts of them are edible and nutritious, but we're talking sawdust here.
It's in more and more things, especially mixes and processed foods. It may not kill you but do you really want to eat something that was never meant to be eaten?
Here are some articles I found interesting and that helped to show me how insidious this practice is.
Main St has a 15 page list of common foods including fast foods that have cellulose.
Our Civilisation has an overview of commercial bread-making, yikes!
Food Renegade even tells us it is in shredded cheese!
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So this girl is planning to learn how to bake bread. I have tried in the past and it has always come out as bricks you could build a house with. The only luck I ever had was with a beer bread recipe and if that's the only one I ever master then so be it. I love Ezekiel bread but it can only be found at one store and is nearly $5 a loaf!
I did get an $8 bread machine at the thrift store that had only been used once, came with book and slicer thing included. I am reading and learning. Wish me luck on this journey.
10 comments:
When I read a label if there is something in there that my grandmother would not know I put it back.
High fructose corn syrup I don't knowingly consume. All corn is Monsantos GMO corn now. Anything made from corn for the mass market has it. Sugar is OK but. I make bread and sugar is essential as an ingredient as is yeast, salt,flour and water. Everything else is just icing.
I admit I have never made a loaf of bread that is light and airy like the 89 cent 1.5 pound loaves in the market but my bread is food and not just an edible paper plate.
Check out http://www.urbansimplicity.com/ he makes Ezekiel bread.
It is sad that such additives are allowed into bread and like you say this is contributing to obesity among the lower income families. Growing up in Ireland my mother baked our bread, whole wheat, grown on our farm and stone ground. She would never dream of adding sugar to everyday bread (that is for cakes).
I buy Ezekiel and agree it is woefully expensive but I dread the sweet taste of regular break. I sometimes bake bread too.
Good luck with your bread baker.
A great post
Helen xx
I bake 2 loaves every other day. I will admit to my first attempts at bread making resulted in many 'bricks' but persevere. You'll never go back to bought bread again.
Love from Mum
xx
Hang in there. I have given up on eating bread, but there are other alternatives I enjoy instead: tortillas, pita crisps, stone-ground wheat crackers. Soft bread is hard for me to digest, but if it's crunchy, it goes down easier.
I tried to go without bread to see if it made any difference in my allergies. It didn't so I still eat it, just not so much. I grew up eating sandwiches and living alone it is just easier to fix & eat. I want to learn how to make pita bread too and I've read crackers are really easy. I only have a toaster oven, thought it's a large one, so we'll see.
Mooberry Farm blog has a fantastic bread recipe that is almost fail-proof. I say almost, because if you don't use fresh yeast, it turns out very dense, but it is still tasty.
I bake all of our bread for those very reasons. I use a bread machine and it makes wonderful bread with very little work.
Most shredded cheese has been switched from cellulose to potato starch now. My daughter used to be allergic to potatoes and this was a real problem for her.
Cruising over from frugally sustainable blog.
I love my bread machine! I have recently been going through ingredient lists too... kids sure do change things!
I wasn't sure if I could really do it, so instead of buying one at full price I looked on craigslist and lucked out on freecycle. I can now say I don't buy bread anymore. I have even learned how to make biscuits and dinner rolls. Not as difficult as you might think, just takes a little thinking ahead. My next bread endeavor will be sour dough, I am revving myself up to making a starter.
My basic breads come out really great! They are super yummy grilled and toasted or just for sandwiches. If you want to look at the recipe (for breadmaker) I have for grain bread, take a look at my blog. (the breads with grains in them are my favorite too!
http://stephaniesprojects.blogspot.com/2011/10/perfect-wheat-grain-bread.html
Thanks for the link Stephanie. I'm going to try this out this coming weekend!
I found a recipe and OMG!!! My husband and I both use it only now - It makes woderful sandwich bread - YEP, homemade bread makes GREAT sandwich bread and french toast etc.... Here is a link, although it is not my site it is a recipe site and has been around a long time, I am a member and have enjoyed it. http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/163650/Honey-Wheat-Bread I usually don't post links, but this is easy and tastes amazing!!! Also, I use milk or dried milk too works great - of course the canned milk is good :)
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