A healthier white bread is in the works: here's how scientists say it would be made
closeup sliced bread sheet pile stacked on white dish in the kitchen
A new type of white bread could be on its way, but with a twist – it would be healthy.
In fact, scientists said it would be just as healthy as wholemeal but would look and taste like its white counterpart.
The research project funded by the Government to make food in the UK more healthy is aimed at white bread fans and is still in its early stages.
It would be made by adding small amounts of peas, beans and cereals to the bread mix, as well as bran and wheat germ that are typically removed from white flour.
Both wheat germ and wheat bran contain protein. And they’re great for getting your vitamins and minerals too – while wheat bran is a good source of niacin, wheat germ is a good source of folate.
Bread makers have added bran to their white loaf flour in the past, but customers weren’t fans of the taste and texture.
Dr Catherine Howarth of Aberystwyth University, one of the project’s leaders, said scientists have been looking at the detailed chemical composition of existing white flour.
Howarth said boosting its nutritional values to the levels of wholemeal bread while trying to replicate the taste and feel of white bread was a delicate balancing act.
How do scientists plan to make healthier white bread?
The recipe process involved adding back smaller quantities of the wheat germ and part of the bran that are removed in the milling process, she said, as well as adding other grains that are richer in vitamins, minerals and fibre such as quinoa, teff, sorghum and millet. Green peas and chickpeas would provide extra protein.
“We want to find out exactly what vitamins and minerals are lost during the milling process,” said Dr Howarth.
“Using other cereals we can enhance the iron, zinc and vitamin levels and most importantly the fibre content, because white bread has very little fibre, which is so important for good health.”
Once the possible recipes have been drawn up, Chris Holister, a product development manager for Gloucestershire flour producer Shipton Mill, will turn them into bread.
“Most people know that wholemeal bread is better for you, but a lot of them are put off by the flavour, or because it’s not what they are used to and they are simply not interested,” he said.
Next, it will be testing time, where consumers will be able to taste the bread to see if they can tell it apart from sliced supermarket white loaves.
The research team believe the project will be successful because they are adding only the inner layer of the bran, which is less strongly flavoured and coloured. They add that they will need to add less of it because they are using other grains that have more subtle flavours, but higher levels of nutrients.
“The British have had a love affair with white bread for more than a century and nutritionists have longed to get more people to eat the whole grain,” said Tim Lang, a professor of food policy at City University. “The new research seems like a really interesting approach to doing that.”
“Critics would say that it is tricking people into improving their diet but nutritionists would say it doesn’t matter how it’s done – it’s important to get it down people’s throats to improve their health.
“But the jury’s out as to whether this new approach will work.”
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