Bread is a Wonder; Wonderbread is not

It is hard to argue that bread is not three things: delicious, filling, and a staple of life. I, however, would like to take up the issue of its healthfulness. While it has sustained countless people around the world in varying forms, have we had too much of a good thing?

I am not even sure if bread is a good thing anymore. The last time I flipped over a bag of Wonderbread I was puzzled. The ingredients list a short novel written mostly in foreign words. I was able to understand a few of the ingredients, but even they left an odd taste in my mouth. What is corn syrup doing in my bread?

Mentally I had conjured up a recipe for bread based on what I thought bread was supposed to contain. This product, in a fancy, colorfully marketable bag, seems less like bread than I had contemplated before. To me, bread is supposed to contain flour, salt, yeast and water. I am even a bit skeptical when bread contains sugar, but I could let plain sugar pass. Could I be the one who was out of his mind this time?

No. Bread today and bread of the past are two entirely different food items. Well, entirely may be taking it too far, but they have less in common than most of us expect. With the artificial enrichment, emulsifiers, dyes, preservatives and sweeteners it is amazing that this stuff is still allowed to be labeled as bread at all. Most 100% whole wheat breads even contain these “extra” ingredients.

This dilemma sent me on a mission. That was to find a recipe to make real bread. I succeeded and the recipe was posted previously. I have baked a dozen loaves of this bread and have been quite pleased as I weaned myself off of commercially produced breads.

Those commercial breads have some other properties I would like to draw into question. Why is it that “old time bread” rose for a full day and now bread can rise in just two hours? Super yeast strains, sugars, dough conditioners, and yeast supplements have changed how the bread rises. Carve up a slice of artisan bread and compare it Wonderbread if you are not convinced. The Wonderbread is amazingly homogenous and uniform. In fact it is so uniform it is scary.

Artisan bread should be just that, artisan. It made with the human hands and every loaf had its own bit of individual character. The yeast could act differently, or the water content varied slightly. Whatever the reason may be, when you browse a selection of artisan bread at a farmers market or in a fellow food lover’s kitchen, you will appreciate the individuality of each loaf. And that is exciting. That is what bread is about. Not only is it delicious and filling, but it was a product made by a human to be marveled at and enjoyed. In a way the energy used to make the bread set is aside as an astute food item.

So where did it all go. Artisan bread is now a niche market. Many companies make uniform “artisan” loaves that are sold in the marketplace, but to not let them fool you. They need a train car to pull the ingredients list along with them as well. True artisan bread will never be part of corporate America where everything needs to be methodical, uniform and precise. Artisan bread died the day America sold its soul to the corporation.

In what I thought was a stand against “new bread,” I began to avoid the worst of the worst. That is, I avoided plain white Wonderbread type loaves. I picked up 12 grain and whole wheat versions that touted no corn syrup on their labels. My effort was mediocre. These breads were not great. I was making a stand, but it was more like a sit. I was giving in to the giant in a different way.

This entire ordeal did provoke much thought about nutrition in general. I wondered how nutritious bread really is. By using science the bread manufacturers had been able to conquer and control each loaf and produce it at an alarming rate. They must have realized that this bread was lacking nutrition so the created a solution. They reinvented nutrition by injecting the missing nutrients back into the bread. It was perfect. Wonderbread was born, and moms loved it.

The bread is cheap, and the marketing campaign built it into an American icon. Every child in America knows that bread is white and comes in a plastic bag. And their moms loved to spread peanut better and jelly on it for an all American lunch. This is the basis for another post altogether.

I will just hit on one more peculiarity of the bread though. When Wonderbread is smashed in a lunch pail, as can often happen, there is no reflex. It just takes it. If you have never tried smashing Wonderbread I recommend trying. When you squeeze the bread it goes flat into a compressed ball or sheet. There is no resilience. It is most peculiar and alarming, since true artisan bread can be prodded pressed and poked with little damage inflicted. I have dubbed this the sponge property that all breads should posses. It is an easy litmus test for good bread as well.

So as we stuff ourselves on white bread like substances, consider the nutrition. Can all of those added ingredient be good for us? If you had a choice to limit the chemical you consumed why wouldn’t you? Of course you would, but corporate America has kept your mind occupied in others ways in order to prolong the magic. Beyond choice, how much bread should we consume?

With bread now rampantly available in varying forms, it is easy and cheap to acquire. This was not always the case. This often happens when a food item hits mass production. This may not seem like a problem. Stop for a second to consider the number of calories in bread. Most slices contain at least 100. And who eats just one slice anyways. Sandwiches require two. The high calorie content is precisely the reason this food makes such a great staple. Increase the consumption and now you have a problem. In conjunction with a diet marked by ever increasing sugar consumption, Americans are eating far too many calories.

And thus, I conclude that bread is bad. Not on its own merits, but based the adulterations of mad scientists and business moguls. To cope with this obstacle I recommend two things. Eat bread in moderation. Buy artisan bread or, better yet, make it yourself. Together we can restore bread to its past glory.