White bread is often criticized for being less nutritious than many other breads. Most of the vitamins inherent in wheat are removed along with the germ or destroyed in the bleaching process. In the United States, by law, white flour must be enriched with the addition of vitamins which replace most of the major vitamins removed by bleaching - though critics claim that valuable trace minerals removed by bleaching are not replaced in the enrichment process.
Counter-arguments to this claim note that the amount of trace minerals in bread is minuscule to begin with and their supply is easily substituted by other common dietary constituents such as fruits and vegetables. In addition, most commercial white bread contains little dietary fiber when compared to bread which includes bran.
American bakers have attempted to respond to these criticisms with some modifications to their basic recipes and with the proliferation of a group of “specialty” bread products; many of these are essentially white bread with a few additives. Most commercial “whole-wheat” or “brown” bread produced in the U.S. is primarily composed of bleached white flour with the addition of enough brown flour to be brown in appearance.
White bread is bread made from wheat flour from which the bran and germ have been removed, in contrast to whole wheat bread made from whole wheat flour, in which these parts are retained and contribute a brownish color. In addition, this white flour is generally bleached using potassium bromate or chlorine dioxide gas to remove any slight yellow color and make its baking properties more predictable.
Nutrient Analysis per serving
Calories 292 kcal
Protein 3 g
Fat 2 g
Carbohydrate 19 g
Sodium 296 g
Cholesterol 1 mg
Fiber 1 g
Now, let us see how to make white bread a bit tasteful and nutritious one.
White bread
Ingredients
1 1/2 package dry yeast
1 1/2 cup water
5+ cups bread flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup milk
2 egg
Way To Cook
In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the milk, the butter or margarine, 4 cups of the flour and the salt; stir until well combined. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.
Mist loaves with water and bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and the bottom of a loaf sounds hollow when tapped.