How a Hertfordshire research lab quietly transformed an iconic British staple food, and the complexion of the countryside - without anyone actually noticing
  • kazerniel@piefed.worldEnglish
    8·
    10 days ago

    I love these long articles about topics I’ve never thought about before :) There is so much unnoticed complexity in the world.

  • Olap@lemmy.worldEnglish
    91·
    10 days ago

    Shite white. I try to avoid it. It isn’t even a guilty pleasure

    • schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works
      71·
      10 days ago

      In the US, we just call it “bread.” You have to go to an entire different section of the grocery store to find something approaching good.

      • iamericandre@lemmy.world
        3·
        10 days ago

        Most times you have to go to a completely different store to get good bread. We go to our local farmers market and get homemade sourdough bread and this great local bakery for fancier bread.

      • bedwyr@piefed.caEnglish
        2·
        10 days ago

        Or make it yourself. Factory bread is awful relative to actual good bread.

    • bedwyr@piefed.caEnglish
      12·
      10 days ago

      I never buy white either. I am worried, some of us are though, that more chemicals could be present on the whole wheat as the endosperm that is the white part is coated with the germ and whatever?

      Even people I know that used to eat whole grains now almost all eat white, not because of chemical concerns either, I don’t get it.

  • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
    81·
    10 days ago

    Part of your reason homemade bread is tastier is because of this process. Making bread at home without any additives is a LONG process that includes a good 8+ hours of waiting. That’s without any work at all, so going from flour to slices can take a good 10 to 12 hours. Industrially made bread goes from flour to sliced in under 4.

    That time to develop matters a LOT to the taste, proper fermentation creates most of the flavour.

    • CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      6·
      10 days ago

      It’s entirely possible to go flour to sliced at home in 5 hrs, with just a big dose of yeast compared to the longer recipe. It doesn’t taste as good for sure. But it’s how some people I know make bread. Personally, overnight is worth it.

      • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
        2·
        10 days ago

        True, but more yeast and less time absolutely makes for worse bread. You can even add baking powder if you’re really in a hurry…

    • bedwyr@piefed.caEnglish
      1·
      10 days ago

      You can have bread ready in less time than that, especially if you are using starter dough, if in a hurry you can just use more of it, keep it optimal temp like 90 or 100 degrees or whatever, and give it an amount of sugars to supercharge it.