The Gastronaut news

What is wrong with bread?

12 September 2011

In most part of Europe, bread is still the basic element of every meal, that has been made in the same way for hundreds of years using flour, yeast and water. But in many countries, including Australia, bread is nowadays something completely different and even a little scaring.

All started in 1961, with the Chorleywood Process method, an industrial process used to lower the cost of bread production and to use low-protein (and low cost...) wheat. This process also makes the flour able to absorb much more water than usual, and nearly half of an average industrial loaf is usually water.

The Chorleywood method (or CBP) is used in over 80 percent of factory-produced bread in Australia, and is raising concerns because is being linked by some people to the increase in Coeliac disease: the gluten in fact is released quicker because the use of intense mechanical working by high-speed mixers to incorporate air into the dough and the use of ascorbic acid (E300). Even the abnormal use of yeast (up to three time the normal quantity) is being cited as one possible cause for the growth of yeast intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome over the past few decades, and the use of anti-fungal compound to avoid moulds (due to the high water content) is surely not very healthy...

On top of this, the cost of a loaf is not exactly cheap, and many families are rediscovering the art of bread making. And with some of the dough you can bake same beautiful pizzas, too!

If you want to share youre home made bread recipes, send us an email with a picture of the result (info@thegastronaut.com.au).

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