Bread is Broken • Hacker News Board

Re: Bread is Broken

#21

Post by blacksmith_tb » Thu, Oct 29, 2015, 6:25 PM UTC

Turing_Machine wrote: post #14

pakled_engineer wrote: post #3

I buy Khorasan whole kernels from a local farm and hand mill it as needed into my own flour to make east african chapatis everyday, never will go back to zero nutrient, flavorless bleached flour in supermarkets. Takes me about 30mins, I roll it in an omlette they call a 'rolex' in Africa for breakfast and sometimes make more for dinner/curries. The rolex fills me all day no carb sugar burnout like I used to get with…

Less flavorful, perhaps. "Zero nutrient", no way. A 125 gram serving of commercial enriched white flour contains about 95 grams of carbohydrates, about 13 grams of protein, and about 1 gram of fat = 109 grams. All of those things are nutrients (about three grams of the carbs are in the form of indigestible dietary fiber, which technically isn't a nutrient, but is still good to have). In addition, it has 65% of the DV…

If only the Times had someone (like, say, an editor?) to make similar points. Nearly all the criticisms of 'mainstream' wheat in their article amount to subjective praise of the magical goodness of obscure local strains. I'm sure they're delicious, but I would like to see some real research on just how bowdlerized typical wheat has become. Not to mention that while I like to bake my own bread, and I have the time to do so (occasionally), millions of people will have to settle for buying their bread from a grocery store.

Re: Bread is Broken

#22

Post by Chlorus » Thu, Oct 29, 2015, 6:30 PM UTC

blacksmith_tb wrote: post #21

Turing_Machine wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Less flavorful, perhaps. "Zero nutrient", no way. A 125 gram serving of commercial enriched white flour contains about 95 grams of carbohydrates, about 13 grams of protein, and about 1 gram of fat = 109 grams. All of those things are nutrients (about three grams of the carbs are in the form of indigestible dietary fiber, which technically isn't a nutrient, but is still good to have). In addition, it has 65% of the DV…

If only the Times had someone (like, say, an editor?) to make similar points. Nearly all the criticisms of 'mainstream' wheat in their article amount to subjective praise of the magical goodness of obscure local strains. I'm sure they're delicious, but I would like to see some real research on just how bowdlerized typical wheat has become. Not to mention that while I like to bake my own bread, and I have the time to…

Ditto, people seem to say the same things about bread that people said about wine & high-end audio equipment. Some actual empirical research would be nice...

Re: Bread is Broken

#23

Post by nsxwolf » Thu, Oct 29, 2015, 6:40 PM UTC

bad_user wrote: post #9

Ironically, sliced bread is the worst. Normal bread can get stale, dry and hard. But packaged sliced bread is much less perishable. I've seen sliced bread having the same texture and taste after a whole week of lying on a kitchen countertop. And when you read the ingredients on its packaging, you begin to understand why, as sliced bread is subject to the techniques of processed foods such as the addition of preservat…

I don't know. My entire life's experience with grocery bought sliced bread is that it gets mouldy very quickly.

Re: Bread is Broken

#24

Post by GFischer » Thu, Oct 29, 2015, 6:40 PM UTC

angdis wrote: post #16

bad_user wrote: post #9

Ironically, sliced bread is the worst. Normal bread can get stale, dry and hard. But packaged sliced bread is much less perishable. I've seen sliced bread having the same texture and taste after a whole week of lying on a kitchen countertop. And when you read the ingredients on its packaging, you begin to understand why, as sliced bread is subject to the techniques of processed foods such as the addition of preservat…

On the other hand most cities have at least some "real" bakeries where you can get a nice loaf of bread with proper crumb and flavor. Most supermarket bread is virtually inedible to folks that have a taste for good bread. Aside from the insane ingredient list, the sickly softness of it and the lack of any decent crust and crumb makes me wonder what market forces influenced industrial bread makers. How can anyone that…

Time(convenience) and money? I love freshly baked bread, but I can't buy a loaf on a regular basis due to the strict schedule at work, and even if I do, I won't eat it all and it'll go stale very quickly.

Re: Bread is Broken

#25

Post by SixSigma » Thu, Oct 29, 2015, 6:44 PM UTC

iamsohungry wrote: post #5

As an aside, consumption of bread is strongly correlated with tooth decay. Whole wheat has only a slightly smaller correlation.

[citation needed]

because bread in the US is not like bread anywhere else I have been, all that added sugar!

Re: Bread is Broken

#26

Post by emptyflask » Thu, Oct 29, 2015, 6:46 PM UTC

About a year ago I learned how to bake a good sourdough loaf, and have been doing it about once every week.

It's not exactly dense, but it does seem to be much more substantial than mass-produced squishy bread. A single buttered slice of sourdough toast is incredibly delicious, and is often all I need for breakfast. Though it's tempting to eat half a loaf right after baking...

Oh, and the same dough makes a damn good pizza. (http://stellaculinary.com/recipes/70-hydration-sourdough-bou...)

Re: Bread is Broken

#27

Post by venomsnake » Thu, Oct 29, 2015, 6:47 PM UTC

GFischer wrote: post #24

angdis wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand most cities have at least some "real" bakeries where you can get a nice loaf of bread with proper crumb and flavor. Most supermarket bread is virtually inedible to folks that have a taste for good bread. Aside from the insane ingredient list, the sickly softness of it and the lack of any decent crust and crumb makes me wonder what market forces influenced industrial bread makers. How can anyone that…

Time(convenience) and money? I love freshly baked bread, but I can't buy a loaf on a regular basis due to the strict schedule at work, and even if I do, I won't eat it all and it'll go stale very quickly.

Do you have an oven - making a boule is very easy and has only 5 minutes of on hand time?

Re: Bread is Broken

#28

Post by thrownaway2424 » Thu, Oct 29, 2015, 6:53 PM UTC

I appreciate all the do-it-yourself fervor on this thread but baking seems like a decent application of the principle of economic specialization. I, for one, enjoy visiting my local bakery every few days, and they do a better job than I will ever do even if I quit my job and practice baking full-time, which I'm not planning to do.

Re: Bread is Broken

#29

Post by nether » Thu, Oct 29, 2015, 6:58 PM UTC

boxy310 wrote: post #18

stevesearer wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to discount what you're saying as I'm sure the bread was very good, but I've been thinking about whether knowing a bit more about the process and story behind food products helps enhance the experience. So in this case, knowing that he mills it himself and that he seems to use old school methods, in addition to just baking great bread is a recipe for a better bread experience than that of simply eating great brea…

I went to Germany this past summer and bought amazing gas-station sandwiches for 4 euros apiece, with great quality meat, cheese, and bread. I came back to America and bought a Starbucks sandwich for $12 and almost threw it out, it was so bad in comparison. Even if you have neutral perceptions of sandwiches you will definitely taste the difference between American bread and European bread.

Wow, that's 4x the price of Starbucks sandwiches where I live. Must be the same ones serving the $6 coffees (mine are $1.30).

Re: Bread is Broken

#30

Post by jandrese » Thu, Oct 29, 2015, 7:00 PM UTC

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #28

I appreciate all the do-it-yourself fervor on this thread but baking seems like a decent application of the principle of economic specialization. I, for one, enjoy visiting my local bakery every few days, and they do a better job than I will ever do even if I quit my job and practice baking full-time, which I'm not planning to do.

The thing is, homemade bread ends up being a lot tastier than store bought if your only store bought options are big mass produced soft breads. The crust especially suffers on packaged breads.

You don't even need fancypants flour. Just an oven and a few minutes to prepare it (plus rise time and bake time of course). I prefer to do a half and half mix of wheat and bread flour, but everybody is free to do what they like.

You can get good bread at bakeries, but I find that they tend to way overcharge for it.