Check your bread
Posted by wayneshep! on Feb 26, 2009 · Member since Nov 2008 · 379 posts
Most of you probably do this already but I feel I should say it anyway check the ingredients of your food. I was making my morning toast the other day and I looked at the ingredients in the bread and it contained milk products. This didn't bother me too much b/c although I do not drink milk I do consume a few things w/milk products in them (thats why I'm not vegan). But to reiterate (think I spelled that wrong :-[) check your ingredients.
It pisses me off that there's so little bread available here which is not made with milk powder. I don't even understand what benefit milk adds to bread. Shelf life? Flavr? ugh. ::) >:(
actually, I think it helps w/ the texture/sponginess of the bread
People at the grocery store probably think I'm crazy because I stand in the bread aisle forever....I love trying new breads, but I feel like every one I pick up has milk or honey in them...its so frustrating because they look so good....and sometimes my frustration is apparent and the bread I'm holding gets roughly shoved back onto the shelf while I mutter to myself...and I'm sure I look mildly insane, which isn't entirely untrue.....
People at the grocery store probably think I'm crazy because I stand in the bread aisle forever....I love trying new breads, but I feel like every one I pick up has milk or honey in them...its so frustrating because they look so good....and sometimes my frustration is apparent and the bread I'm holding gets roughly shoved back onto the shelf while I mutter to myself...and I'm sure I look mildly insane, which isn't entirely untrue.....
I'm guilty of the same. I've also been known to hover over the chocolate chips looking for ones without milk. :>
Yeah, a lot of the weird ingredients added to bread are dough conditioners that help with consistency, rising, whatever. It's not that the same results can't be achieved by just using flour, water, yeast, sugar, and salt, but it's not really a cheap or efficient way of doing bread in a factory :-\ On the other hand, the only dough conditioners I've seen for sale from baker catalogs are ascorbic acid (vit C), citric acid, and xanthan gum (all vegan).
I've mostly given up hope on "regular store" breads, save for the occasional sourdough loaf (I guess since all the cultures of sourdough eliminate the need for adding other conditioners?). But even at Trader Joe's, several breads have milk powder, and most have honey. I'm tired of the old idea that honey is some sort of wholesome sweetener, natural/good for you/good for your throat/blah blah blah. It has wound up being the traditional sugar source in whole wheat and other whole grain breads, and I just wish someone would use friggin' molasses or cane sugar or whatever instead of honey. Yeast don't care what sugar they eat; the only main thing a whole wheat loaf needs that refined flour loaves don't is extra gluten.
So, even for TJs it's mostly sourdough loaves, some rye, and that one multigrain loaf. It seems stupid that I have to go to Whole Foods to get vegan whole wheat bread.
Honey is the one thing I am ok with, its a personal choice. Plus I know someone who raises bees and sells honey and those bees are his babies.
What I hate is HFCS, its in everything. I know its cheap, but does any one really need to eat that. Ugh.
Plus, the best breads are hand made, and in small batches, ie expensive. We go through a couple of loaves a week and its 4 times the price of a store brand wheat bread.
My step-uncle-in-law (does that make sense?) was a bee-keeper as well and yes, they were his babies. But, unfortunately, mass producers of honey don't give the bees that same respect.
hmm. I've never noticed milk ingredients in store bread...unless there's some weird technical name for it that I don't recognize?
My step-uncle-in-law (does that make sense?) was a bee-keeper as well and yes, they were his babies. But, unfortunately, mass producers of honey don't give the bees that same respect.
sad, but true
The grocery store near my house has the Ezekiel frozen bread and they also have a new type of rice bread or something in the health food section. I have not tried the rice bread.
I buy store bread, Hovis Best of Both, Hovis soft white and Co-op's own brand all have 'suitable for vegans' on the wrapper.
I would like to recommend Matthew's Whole Wheat bread (and English Muffins too!). My HFS does not carry it but they order me a case (then i get a discount) and we just keep it in the freezer. Its 10 loaves. It only has about 6 ingredients and its vegan (and no HFCS). The EMs are awesome too! Its a super plain bread with no seedy-nutty things in it, which is important to my family.
I was craving the worst pumpernickel awhile back, and all the loaves had some sort of milk in it! I was so mad.
Wow, how annoying. As begbie said - in the UK quite a few brands have 'suitable for vegans' on them so we're ok.
Eeeek it scares me what Heli said - no unmilk bread in NZ!! What will I do!?! Not that i eat that much bread but I am well crap at baking it myself. Oh noes!
Wow, how annoying. As begbie said - in the UK quite a few brands have 'suitable for vegans' on them so we're ok.
Eeeek it scares me what Heli said - no unmilk bread in NZ!! What will I do!?! Not that i eat that much bread but I am well crap at baking it myself. Oh noes!
Oh, not none, just not most. ;) But I would say that most bought bread is fluffy, good-for-nothing crap anyways. If you find bread which doesn't have milk, it's usually the good stuff with texture and flavour and less or no chemicals, too. Never fear - the farmers' market has good bread! :iloveyou: