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Bread is Broken

nytimes.com

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Re: Bread is Broken

#31

Post by jobu »

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…

There's a bakery near us that makes some amazing Bavarian sunflower wheat bread. They sell it pre-sliced in a few local grocery stores as well, but it definitely doesn't keep very long. Most store-bought bread is shelf-stable for weeks, and this stuff is only a few days. We've found that freezing it and then using a toaster to thaw it works great - almost as good as fresh.

Re: Bread is Broken

#32

Post by xenihn »

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…

What's the best way to find a local farm to buy whole kernels from? I'm assuming I won't find anything on Yelp...I'm also assuming there's bound to be something within a 1-2 hour drive in Southern California.

Re: Bread is Broken

#33

Post by gahahaha »

Dirlewanger wrote: post #19
iamsohungry wrote: post #5

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

Eh, maybe modern processed bread that has sugar in it. Questionable otherwise, unless you have a source.

Agriculture was terrible for our health - even before sugar became a part of our diet.

http://discovermagazine.com/1987/may/02-the-worst-mistake-in...

Re: Bread is Broken

#34

Post by 542458 »

jandrese wrote: post #30
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 lik…

If you're in Canada even all-purpose flour will work OK, since Canadian flour has a higher gluten content.

Re: Bread is Broken

#36

Post by boxy310 »

nether wrote: post #29
boxy310 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

It was in the airport, so I wouldn't be surprised. They looked about the same price as coffeeshops in downtown Indy, so I think it's more reflective of the cost per square footage than it is about the inputs to the sandwich. I would've hoped given Starbucks' "artisanal" bent for most pastries that their sandwiches would've been the best option given a layover, but it still didn't compare very favorably to gas-station sandwiches in Europe.

Re: Bread is Broken

#37

Post by hugh4 »

jandrese wrote: post #30
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 lik…

How much can they really charge that makes it worth spending ten minutes kneading, ten minutes washing your hands and the next two days pulling out arm hairs with caked on dough? That's my experience with bread making anyway.

No matter what bread I buy, bread isn't a major part of my weekly budget.

Re: Bread is Broken

#38

Post by thaumasiotes »

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…

> In addition sliced bread is subject to every health-related fad in existence. Low carb bread? Sure.

How could you have "low carb bread"? Bread is a big bundle of carbohydrate. It'd be like low sugar caramel.

Re: Bread is Broken

#39

Post by john61 »

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.

There are fine bread machines. I use one of those and I am very satisfied with the result and the easy and fast usage: http://www.panasonic.com/uk/consumer/home-appliances/breadma...

Re: Bread is Broken

#40

Post by derpadelt »

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.

For most stuff that is very true. There is one bread that keeps me easily saturated on 6 slices for the whole work day (=manageable caloric intake) but I need to make that myself. Takes 10+5min prep/cleanup, no rise time or preheating. Just put in baking pan to the middle of cold oven and take out after 60min at 200°C. Remove from pan and let cool for the night. 300g whole grain spelt flour, 50g rye flour (for more gluten), 10g salt, 20g white wine vinegar, 0.5-1 cube yeast, 300g sunflower seeds. Pro: Good taste, no sugar or additives, easy to control nutritional content, cheap. Con: Doesn't bake itself.
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