No matter what type of ingredients I use, the bread I make always turns out an off color - not purely white. It tastes good but doesn't look like a nice fresh white loaf. What would account for this?
white is about as bad as it gets, unless of course if you have Snow White making your bread for you:-) Like the Star Wars storm troupers, white bread is evil!
since it appeared in stores about 150 years ago…yet it is still produced and still sells. If Juicejug wants a white crumb, then I agree baking with bleached flour could be helpful, although I do not use it. Also, JJ, look over your ingredients to eliminate anything that adds pigment….no honey, butter, molasses, malt syrup, egg yolks, etc. I love a creamy color to the crumb and a crackly crust…but I have one family member who wants very soft white bread. When that individual is coming for dinner, I bake to his tastes, laughing as I do that "this is as close to Wonder bread as I can make it." He never fails to rave about the great bread. Bread is "comfort food", and "comfort" is different for each of us. Bake whatever works for you. Embth
Is banned in the UK. Who on earth would want their flour bleached anyway? Give me the colour the grain is supposed to be any day and the goodness that comes with it.
Europe does ban the bleaching process used in the USA. Some of the chemicals used are carcinogens. The Europeans have moved quickly to eliminate trans-fats as well. In the USA, you should read labels carefully. Most grocery store baked goods here contain bleached flour. Many people I have talked with about home baking have not noticed that a flour sack reads "bleached" or "unbleached." I strongly recommend using unbleached/un-bromated flour and/or whole grain flour. The bleached flour is often priced lower and has well-known brand names like "Gold Medal." King Arthur flour is always "unbleached/un-bromated" except their Queen Guinevere Cake Flour which is bleached. A 2 lb. loaf of "industrial white bread" can be bought for around $1.00, and it never goes stale….which seems the scariest part of all.
I read recently that the US government is banning trans fats in food, with a 2 year phase in. Thank God.
Now, if they would only do the same with 'bleached' flour.
It's interesting how in the last 20 years or so, the EU has replaced the US as the forerunner in standards that favor citizen safety (rather than business profitability) in many areas.
Not the bleached flour or the controversy. Bleached flour makes lighter, fluffier cakes. I think it has its place in the baking world. Perhaps tightening up on the chemicals used would be helpful, but maybe not. Often time reveals that our "new improved" is actually worse than the old. We have the luxury of walking into a well stocked grocery, reading the labels, and making our choices. Many people in the world would surely trade places.
Bleaching is done 1) to whiten the patent flour, and 2) to strengthen the gluten bonds and 3) to speed the natural bleaching that aging brings. Bleaching is not a Bad Thing itself. The methods used are a different matter.
Flour, other than whole grain, should be aged to oxidize it, also known as bleaching for reasons 1 and 2 above. Whole grain flours should be used fresh to avoid the germ's oils becoming rancid (oxidized).
...other loaf that the home baker can produce to create an 'industrial white' loaf. That might be because mass-produced sliced white is arguably not bread at all. It's hard to say otherwise if you only add yeast to give it a 'bready' flavour rather than to ferment it. It's the polar opposite of hand-made bread.
I guess this all depends upon how you approach bread colour. I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of the bakers on TFL would describe their bread crumb as 'gorgeously creamy', 'nutty brown', etc. rather than use 'off-white'. And I'm equally willing to bet that the most of us started out saying the same things as you. I know I certainly did. :) It just depends upon from which direction you approach it. These days I would be disappointed in the extreme if my baguettes (the whitest bread I bake) turned out industrial white. In fact, it's a good visual test of baguettes (and all bread). If it's bright industrial white, then it's probably not very good bread. Real bread is better. And creamy white too.
Anyway, I hope you come around to our way of thinking.
This is a Good Thing.
juicejug, welcome to the forum
I agree with Jon, it is a good thing.
As you say, tastes good, just not white.
Kindly, it's bread, not laundry.
Go back and taste the 'white' stuff from the store. I would bet you will find it bland, comparatively.
dobie
white is about as bad as it gets, unless of course if you have Snow White making your bread for you:-) Like the Star Wars storm troupers, white bread is evil!
Oh, Obi Wan
It took me a second, but I got it.
dobie
since it appeared in stores about 150 years ago…yet it is still produced and still sells. If Juicejug wants a white crumb, then I agree baking with bleached flour could be helpful, although I do not use it. Also, JJ, look over your ingredients to eliminate anything that adds pigment….no honey, butter, molasses, malt syrup, egg yolks, etc. I love a creamy color to the crumb and a crackly crust…but I have one family member who wants very soft white bread. When that individual is coming for dinner, I bake to his tastes, laughing as I do that "this is as close to Wonder bread as I can make it." He never fails to rave about the great bread. Bread is "comfort food", and "comfort" is different for each of us. Bake whatever works for you. Embth
Is banned in the UK. Who on earth would want their flour bleached anyway? Give me the colour the grain is supposed to be any day and the goodness that comes with it.
Europe does ban the bleaching process used in the USA. Some of the chemicals used are carcinogens. The Europeans have moved quickly to eliminate trans-fats as well. In the USA, you should read labels carefully. Most grocery store baked goods here contain bleached flour. Many people I have talked with about home baking have not noticed that a flour sack reads "bleached" or "unbleached." I strongly recommend using unbleached/un-bromated flour and/or whole grain flour. The bleached flour is often priced lower and has well-known brand names like "Gold Medal." King Arthur flour is always "unbleached/un-bromated" except their Queen Guinevere Cake Flour which is bleached. A 2 lb. loaf of "industrial white bread" can be bought for around $1.00, and it never goes stale….which seems the scariest part of all.
embeth
I read recently that the US government is banning trans fats in food, with a 2 year phase in. Thank God.
Now, if they would only do the same with 'bleached' flour.
It's interesting how in the last 20 years or so, the EU has replaced the US as the forerunner in standards that favor citizen safety (rather than business profitability) in many areas.
dobie
Not the bleached flour or the controversy. Bleached flour makes lighter, fluffier cakes. I think it has its place in the baking world. Perhaps tightening up on the chemicals used would be helpful, but maybe not. Often time reveals that our "new improved" is actually worse than the old. We have the luxury of walking into a well stocked grocery, reading the labels, and making our choices. Many people in the world would surely trade places.
embeth
Good points all around.
My reaction might be a bit 'knee-jerk' in essence, generally seeking fewer and fewer chemicals that I am exposed to.
I'll do more reading.
dobie
Bleaching is done 1) to whiten the patent flour, and 2) to strengthen the gluten bonds and 3) to speed the natural bleaching that aging brings. Bleaching is not a Bad Thing itself. The methods used are a different matter.
Flour, other than whole grain, should be aged to oxidize it, also known as bleaching for reasons 1 and 2 above. Whole grain flours should be used fresh to avoid the germ's oils becoming rancid (oxidized).
See [url=http://www.thefreshloaf.com/comment/138741#comment-138741]Stan Ginsberg's post[/url] in a 2010 thread. The thread has a good discussion of aging and bleaching along with several links to authoritative (and not so authoritative) resources.
cheers,
gary
There you go again Gary, bringing science back into it.
Just kidding, thanks for the insight.
And thanks for the link, I will check it out.
dobie
A good book on the subject at hand: "White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf" by Aaron Bobrow-Strain, Beacon Press (2012)
...other loaf that the home baker can produce to create an 'industrial white' loaf. That might be because mass-produced sliced white is arguably not bread at all. It's hard to say otherwise if you only add yeast to give it a 'bready' flavour rather than to ferment it. It's the polar opposite of hand-made bread.
I guess this all depends upon how you approach bread colour. I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of the bakers on TFL would describe their bread crumb as 'gorgeously creamy', 'nutty brown', etc. rather than use 'off-white'. And I'm equally willing to bet that the most of us started out saying the same things as you. I know I certainly did. :) It just depends upon from which direction you approach it. These days I would be disappointed in the extreme if my baguettes (the whitest bread I bake) turned out industrial white. In fact, it's a good visual test of baguettes (and all bread). If it's bright industrial white, then it's probably not very good bread. Real bread is better. And creamy white too.
Anyway, I hope you come around to our way of thinking.