What does bread made of at home consist of? It consists only of flour, water, sourdough or yeast, and some salt. But the ingredients of bread may vary depending on its type. Today in stores you can buy a loaf of white, Borodinsky, whole grain, rye and many other types of bread. If you pay attention to the composition of bread on the label, you can notice that preservatives and other questionable substances are added to them. For example, in the composition you can find frightening inscriptions like E300 or E920. What are these ingredients for and can they harm our health?
To bake delicious bread, flour, water and yeast are enough, but manufacturers complicate the composition. Image source: goodfon.ru
Contents
- 1 What bread is made of
- 2 Improvers in bread
- 3 Dyes in bread
- 4 Preservatives in bread
- 5 Is bread harmful to health?
- 6 How to choose fresh bread
What is bread made of?
Bread made according to traditional recipes from quality ingredients does not need additional additives. Good flour, yeast or sourdough are all that is needed to create a tasty and nutritious product.
Scientists believe that bread was first baked about 6,000–6,500 years ago in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Photo source: agraryplus.ru
However, on store shelves we often see bread with a long list of auxiliary ingredients. Why do manufacturers add them? According to experts from Roskachestvo, in some cases the presence of new ingredients is entirely justified. For example, they can help increase the shelf life or improve the appearance of the product.
Improvers in bread
Improvers are very often added to store-bought bread. This is the name for special additives that help make bread better, especially if the flour is not ideal for baking.
If the flour has weak or too strong gluten (the protein that forms when the kneaded dough is washed), the bread may crack or lose its shape. To avoid these problems, improvers are added to the dough, which make the bread fluffy and neat.
Bread improvers can make the product beautiful, even if the manufacturer does not use the best raw materials. Photo source: agroo-vesti.ru
There are different improvers, each of which performs a different function. For example, improvers of oxidative action, such as E300 (ascorbic acid) or E930 (calcium peroxide), help to correct the shape of the bread and prevent it from becoming spongy. Other improvers, such as E920(L-cysteine), help improve the quality of products made from flour with strong gluten. There are also substances that speed up chemical reactions in the dough, but they do not remain in the final product, so nothing is said about them on the labels.
Dyes in bread
According to Roskachestvo, the use of dyes is prohibited in the production of bread. But there is an exception in the form of malt bread. To give it a richer color, manufacturers are allowed to use dye E150, which is also known as sugar color or burnt sugar. This natural dye is obtained by heating sugar.
Malt bread is made with the addition of malt – sprouted and dried grain, which gives the bread a special taste and rich color. Photo source: dolce-style.ru
E150 is perfect for bread, as it tolerates the effects of high temperatures and acidity that occur during baking. Thanks to this, malt bread acquires an appetizing dark shade, while remaining safe and even beneficial to our health.
Everyone should know about this: Products with which food additives should you absolutely not buy?
Preservatives in bread
Preservatives in breadare rare because their use is strictly regulated. They can be found in small quantities only in bakery products that are intended for long-term storage. We are talking about all kinds of muffins, cookies, gingerbread, waffles, and so on.
Preservatives are added only to products that need to be stored longer than usual. Photo source: newsib.net
Among the permitted preservatives, several of the most popular ones can be distinguished. For example, E280 (propionic acid) helps fight mold growth, and E200 (sorbic acid) and E260 (acetic acid) prevent the growth of microbes. All these additives help to preserve the freshness of products that remain on store shelves for a long time.
Is bread harmful to health?
Ultimately, it turns out that additives such as improvers and preservatives are used in bread to improve its quality, extend its shelf life and simplify the production technology. They help make bread fluffier, improve its structure and prevent rapid staling.
Excessive consumption of bread, like any other product, can be harmful to health. Photo source: fb.ru
At the same time, additives in bread are used in minimal quantities, which are considered safe for health. But it is important to remember that excessive consumption of bread, even without additives, can lead to excess consumption of calories and carbohydrates, which can negatively affect overall health.
You will be interested in: Why is Borodinsky bread called that – the most popular versions
How to choose fresh bread
To choose quality bread, first of all, you need to pay attention to its appearance, and then to the information on the packaging. Good bread should be of the correct shape, without cracks and defects. When lightly pressed, the loaf should restore its shape. The crumb inside should be uniform and not crumble too much. If the label indicates only the main ingredients without a lot of additives, this is also a good sign.
Fresh bread retains more nutrients and vitamins than old bread, and has a soft texture and aroma that brings pleasure with every bite. Photo source: dairynews.ru
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If you are interested in learning more about bread, read our article “A new type of flour from which healthy bread is baked – what does it consist of?”, where we talked about modern ingredients that make bread not only tasty, but also healthy.