Facts about Bread

• Bread may be the ancestor of all prepared foods. The first bread was made in Neolithic times, nearly 12,000 years ago. It was probably made by crushing grain and mixing it with water. The dough was then baked in the sun or laid on heated stones and covered with hot ashes.
• Bread provided ancient people with a reliable food source, which would keep through the winter months and multiply in the summer. This allowed them time to develop other useful skills beyond what was required to feed themselves.
• Bread can be unleavened or leavened with yeast. When flour comes in contact with water and remains idle for a period of time, it begins to rise. In modern processes, yeast is added to aid in the rising, but even without yeast, dough will begin to ferment, and the resulting gases will cause the dough to rise. The Egyptians were the first to discover that this process would produce a light, expanded loaf. The Egyptians also invented a closed oven in which to bake the bread.
• The ancient Hebrews were in such a hurry to get away from their Egyptian captors that they made their bread without leavening. Today Jewish people celebrate Passover, their escape from the Egyptians, with unleavened bread—matzo. Bread without leavening also represents truth in Jewish tradition, because bread that is unleavened retains the true flavor of the grain from which it is made.
• Traditionally, people made bread from whatever grain grew best in the area where they lived. Wheat, rye, corn, barley, millet, kamut, and spelt are some of the grains used around the world. Wheat flour is preferred because of its gluten content. Gluten is what gives bread its elastic quality.
• Bread is such a powerful food that ancient Egyptian governments controlled its production and distribution as a means of controlling the populace. In France, the shortage of bread helped start the French Revolution.
• For thousands of years people used stone wheels powered by wind to grind wheat into flour for bread.
• In the middle of the nineteenth century, a Swiss engineer invented a new type of mill with rollers made of steel, which operated one above the other and were driven by steam engines. Meanwhile, the North American prairies were found to be ideally suited to grow wheat. This, together with the invention of the roller-milling system, meant that for the first time in history, whiter flour (and, therefore, bread) could be produced at a price which brought it within the reach of everyone—not just the rich.
• It takes nine seconds for a combine to harvest enough wheat to make about 70 loaves of bread.
• An acre will produce enough wheat for about 2,500 loaves of wheat bread.
• Bread is probably the one food eaten by people of every race, culture, and religion.
• One family of four can live 10 years off the bread produced by one acre of wheat.

These can be made from enriched white flour, whole wheat, or a combination of flours. They are baked in loaf pans for a softer crust. Pan breads may include coarse-textured home-style, richer premium, and buttery split-top breads.

Whole wheat bread
This bread is made entirely from whole grain wheat flour, which contains all the components of the wheat kernel—the germ, bran and endosperm. Label will read 100% Whole Wheat.

Hearth breads
Baked directly on the hearth for crispier crusts, some white hearth breads include French, Italian and Vienna bread. Whole grain varieties include wheat, rye and pumpernickel are popular as well.

“Wheat” bread
Not to be misconstrued with whole wheat bread, this type usually contains a mixture of about 75 percent of white flour and 25 percent whole wheat flour.

The nutritional content of whole wheat breads also varies between brands. An average slice of whole wheat bread gets 69 percent of its calories from carbohydrates and 15 percent from fat because the wheat germ in the whole wheat flour is about 10 percent fat. That leaves 16 percent contributed by protein.

The wheat germ contains protein in addition to fat and several minerals. However, the nutrient profile of whole wheat bread remains excellent. It has two grams of fiber, primarily insoluble. Foods containing insoluble fiber have been shown to help prevent colon cancer and possibly breast cancer. Almost a gram of iron per slice, a substantial amount of folic acid (17.5 micrograms), vitamin E, copper, vitamin B6 and the three major B vitamins make it a nutrient dense food.

The label should list first “whole wheat flour” or contain a combination of whole grain ingredients for it to be a whole grain food. When shopping for whole grain bread, remember that not all brown based bread is whole wheat. A brown color may be the effect of caramel coloring, which will be listed on the label. Its nutrient value is similar to white bread.