Is this a "good" bread?

socknitster wrote:
I once visited an old flour mill and talked to the reinactor there about whole grain flours and he said that they used to have a saying back in the day (and I'll never forget this), "the whiter the bread, the quicker the dead."

jen

When I have eaten a large lunch out in a nice restaurant with a client, I often stop at Panera Bread on the way home in the evening. I will get a small loaf of their whole wheat bread and eat some sopped in a good olive oil for a light dinner. I usually finish off with an apple or a small box of raisins.

I am wondering if this is one of the "good" breads?

Whole Grain Loaf
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 2 ounces (57g)
Servings Per Container 10
Amount Per Serving
Calories 130 Calories from Fat 10
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 310mg 13%
Total Carbohydrate 26g 9%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Sugars 2g
Protein 6g

Ingredients: Water, unbleached flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour), whole grain base (whole spelt flour, millet, flaxseed, rye, wheat), stoneground whole wheat flour, grain mix (whole wheat, rye meal, corn meal, oats, rice flour, soy meal, triticale, barley, millet, flax), honey, wheat gluten, salt, yeast, rolled oats.


http://www.panerabread.com/menu/bakery/breads.php

rooster wrote:Ingredients: Water, unbleached flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour), whole grain base (whole spelt flour, millet, flaxseed, rye, wheat), stoneground whole wheat flour, grain mix (whole wheat, rye meal, corn meal, oats, rice flour, soy meal, triticale, barley, millet, flax), honey, wheat gluten, salt, yeast, rolled oats.


http://www.panerabread.com/menu/bakery/breads.php

If you notice, the first ingredient is "unbleached flour." This is not the same as "whole grain flour." Since it's the first ingredient, it's the largest quantity. The real thing will say "100% whole wheat (or 100% whole grain) flour. Unbleached is the same as white flour in terms of stripping off the nutrients, it's just not bleached to make it whiter. The whole grain has more fiber and also the wheat germ which has a lot of nutrients.

I can't eat bread because I'm gluten intolerant . In a former life I was a "breadie" and at times ground my own whole grains for making bread.

You also have to beware of the breads that claim to be wheat bread, but use artificial coloring to give the white bread it's brown flavor. As RosemaryB said, you definitely want to see "100% whole wheat (or 100% whole grain) flour.

What RosemaryB said!

And I would emphasize that there are many “whole wheat” breads on the market that are made mostly with regular (stripped) flour (bleached or unbleached) and just a dash of whole wheat flour.

Look for a list of ingredients that includes only “whole wheat flour,” “stone ground whole wheat flour,” etc. Any mention of “flour” in the list, without the “whole wheat” preface, means the bread was made in part from regular flour and is not as good from a nutrition standpoint as 100% whole wheat.

Wayne

What everyone else said ... you need to look for "100% Whole Wheat" or "100% Whole Grain".

Else they mislead you into thinking it really is healthy ... kind'a like McDonalds does. They don't produce anything that could be called healthy or useful.

This subject is always on my mind. My husband and I are always at odds with the bread we purchase. I want whole grain bread. It isn't always easy to find. My husband wants white bread. He compromises and buys whole wheat white. That marketing scam is the worst snow job I've ever seen.

Whole Wheat White...... What a joke.

We always purchase 2 loafs of bread. Sigh....

Regarding white whole wheat....
You really do have to read the label carefully, but there IS a hard white wheat that is nutritionally the same as the standard hard red wheat. It's lighter in color and milder in flavor than the traditional red wheat. I mill my own flour, and I have used hard white wheat for years. Folks who won't touch regular whole wheat products often find the white wheat much more palatable--and they're not sacrificing anything nutritionally. "Hard" refers to the gluten content, which needs to be high enough to develop a good loaf of bread. It's only recently that retail products made hard white wheat have started to appear on grocery store shelves. So, if your husband is enjoying products made with "100% white wheat", then he's really doing OK.

Le_Wif

Yes, Le_Wif is right on about the Red and White Hard Wheats....red does have more flavor and besides flavor with the color comes more of the polyphenols and phytonutrients (anti-oxidents) that are good for you. Not to say that the white wheat doesn't have these compounds just fewer. Also these Whole Wheat White breads use a much finer grind wheat so that you don't see the bran flecks you would typically see in a regular or coarse ground wheat. With the finer grind we have found a slightly lower fiber content. Still better for you than refined white flour....(I work in research for a food company and my group is the Cereal Science and Healthy Carbohydrates Group!) I have some great stats on the value of Whole Grains...I will pull them and stick them in this thread just so everyone knows just how good whole wheat really is for you.

my new favorite cookie is the 100% whole grain fig newtons by Nabisco. They are awesome, I can't go back to the regular old refined flour ones. Folks should give them a try.

Sara Lee "Honey" Wheat or Nature's Own "Honey" Wheat.

Suz-E-Q wrote:Yes, Le_Wif is right on about the Red and White Hard Wheats....red does have more flavor and besides flavor with the color comes more of the polyphenols and phytonutrients (anti-oxidents) that are good for you. Not to say that the white wheat doesn't have these compounds just fewer. Also these Whole Wheat White breads use a much finer grind wheat so that you don't see the bran flecks you would typically see in a regular or coarse ground wheat. With the finer grind we have found a slightly lower fiber content. Still better for you than refined white flour....(I work in research for a food company and my group is the Cereal Science and Healthy Carbohydrates Group!) I have some great stats on the value of Whole Grains...I will pull them and stick them in this thread just so everyone knows just how good whole wheat really is for you.

my new favorite cookie is the 100% whole grain fig newtons by Nabisco. They are awesome, I can't go back to the regular old refined flour ones. Folks should give them a try.

Thanks! Suz-E-Q!. Looking forward to your "stats" post. Hey, do you know of a good whole wheat cracker that isn't loaded with sodium and has no saturated fat? (Right now I'm eating Kashi's Originall 7 Grain, but that has "unbleached wheat flour" as the first ingredient. )

As far as whole wheat breads, Nature's Own 100% whole wheat is good (and you can get a sugar-free variety, too.) First ingredient is stone ground whole wheat.

Pam

Suz-E-Q wrote:.......I have some great stats on the value of Whole Grains...I will pull them and stick them in this thread just so everyone knows just how good whole wheat really is for you. ......

Please do, I would like to see them.

Sounds like I need to get away from that Panera bread.

Are there any good bread machine mixes that are whole wheat?

WearyOne wrote: ....
Thanks! Suz-E-Q!. Looking forward to your "stats" post. Hey, do you know of a good whole wheat cracker that isn't loaded with sodium and has no saturated fat? (Right now I'm eating Kashi's Originall 7 Grain, but that has "unbleached wheat flour" as the first ingredient. )....

The only cracker I am aware of that doesn't start with unbleached wheat flours, etc. is Triscuit. I think they have a low sodium variety.

Here's a link to the calories/fat/sodium in the regular ones. The main ingredient is whole wheat.

http://www.nabisco.com/Brands/ProductIn ... 4400000367

Whoa! In looking at the Nabisco website, I saw this Triscuit whole wheat thin:

http://www.nabisco.com/Brands/ProductIn ... 4400000539

I haven't seen it at the store. But I've been addicted to the fire roasted tomatoe triscuits, so I haven't looked for anything else.

Oh and these whole wheat wheat thins: http://www.nabisco.com/Brands/ProductIn ... 4400001120

definitely Triscuit is 100% whole wheat and they do have a low sodium version. They also have a bunch of flavors, my favorite is Rosemary & Olive Oil.

Wheat Thins has a 100% Whole Wheat version - don't know about the sodium level on that one....then the rest of the line has 5grams/serving.

Let me go find the stats I have...(I forgot my promise!!)