Ben there, done that for Aug. 31, 2022
The best thing since unsliced bread
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Ever heard the common superlative that something can be “The best thing since sliced bread?” While, I will admit to using this phrase on occasion, my opinion has begun to change since moving to Europe. Perhaps this commonly held wisdom isn’t so accurate. Let me explain.
Bread is one of the oldest human foods, having been prepared across the world for many thousands of years. While the actual form bread takes varies widely from culture to culture, the basic idea is essentially the same. Wheat or other cultivated grains are milled into flour. That flour is then mixed with water and a couple of other simple ingredients into a dough. The dough then gets cooked over a heat source and the result is bread.
This process is so universal because of its utility. Dried grains, which can be stored well but not eaten plain, are baked into something that can be easily digested. On top of that, the hard exterior crust serves as a natural freshness seal for the softer interior, extending the life span of the bread. The seal of the crust also prevents mold and other harmful bacteria from taking up residency on the inside of the loaf. In a way, the crust is a built-in packaging for the bread. In most of the world, including Europe, bread is made and sold crust intact. However, in the US, the industrialization of food and obsession with convenience led down a totally different path.
An inventor, Otto Frederick Rohwedder created the first industrialized bread slicing machine. One of his first clients, the Chillicothe Baking Company in Missouri would on July 7, 1928, sell the first-ever pre-sliced bread loaves to the public. The convenience and novelty of pre-sliced bread took off like a rocket. By 1930, the Wonder Bread company was selling pre-sliced loaves nationwide. And by 1933, 80% of bread sold in the US was pre-sliced - just 5 years after the first machine became available.
The pre-sliced revolution came with some unexpected effects. First of all, consumption of bread rose significantly and along with it, the sales of jams and other spreads. Secondly, the crust could no longer serve as a layer of protection from mold and bacteria. As a result, the pre-sliced bread was spoiling faster. The solution? Additives. Additives that made the bread last, additives that increased the fluffiness of the interior, additives that made the bread whiter, and the list goes on and on. They raised the increased perceived quality of bread while also making it very uniform. Soon consumers grew accustomed to these standards, making them essential. However, including these in the bread was a bit of a pandora’s box.
For the most part, these chemical additives are seen as generally safe, not something that will kill you on the spot for eating. However, some of these additives are questionable, as evidenced by a number of them being banned in other countries. Take, for example, Potassium bromate and Azodicarbonamide (ACA), which are not allowed in most of Europe, Brazil, and even China. Both of them are artificial leavening agents that increase bread fluffiness and have been linked to cancer and digestive issues in lab animals. ACA is also used as a foaming agent in vinyl plastic products such as yoga mats - yum!
Not only leavening agents are suspect, but growing evidence pinpoints to preservatives that are less than ideal. Two that are heavily regulated in the European Union, BHA & BHT, have been strongly linked to accelerated tumor growth. Additionally, these ingredients make it more difficult for natural bacteria to break down the food. The natural bacteria in our digestive system have more difficulty, too. All of this has me wondering if the added convenience of industrial pre-sliced bread is worth the health risks long term.
While this was the case in the US, Europe didn’t follow down the same path. The culture of bread and bakeries was much more deeply set on this side of the ocean. Most people here visit their small, local bakery every couple of days to buy fresh bread. The various baked goods are all made with relatively simple ingredients and do not come pre-sliced. Bread doesn’t last as long-going bad in several days after being cut- but with a bakery on nearly every corner, fresh bread is easily accessible. In my opinion, fresh bread tastes incredibly wonderful! Sliced bread? Maybe not all it’s cracked up to be!
