Travel for Food Hub The Food Blog for Travel Lovers
Last Updated on February 17, 2023
Bread is one of the key sales drivers in supermarkets today. In fact, the demand for this product has surged exponentially, with the global bread sale surpassing the 83-billion-kilogram mark in 2021. Besides physical bakeries, people have also turned to online stores for their bread and other baked goods. Another trend that has become more apparent in 2021 and beyond is the demand for healthier baked goods. This article will serve as your guide for shopping healthy bread in an online bakery in the UAE.
5 Types of Bread
When shopping for bread, you need to know what you are looking for. Below are five types of bread you may often find in online bakeshops:
1. Baguette
This French-made bread comes from a combination of yeast, flour, salt and water. Using those basic ingredients alone, the French developed this bread into an iconic part of their cuisine. It is characterized by a feather-light interior, a chewy crust, and some slashes on the top for gas expansion.
2. Multigrain bread
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As the name suggests, multigrain bread is made from multiple types of grain, which may include anything from oats to flax to barley, or just refined flour and wheat. If you want nutrient-dense multigrain bread, be sure to check the label (more on this below).
3. Pita bread
Pita is a kind of flatbread, like naan and tortillas. It is soft, round, and slightly leavened. Cooked at high temperatures, the dough puffs up to create an interior pocket that can be filled once it cools down.
4. Rye bread
Crucial to deli sandwiches like pastrami, rye bread can be dark, medium, or light, depending on the rye berry part used to make the flour.
There are also different variations of rye bread across the world:
- In Europe, rye bread is made from 100 percent rye flour.
- In the United States, rye bread can be a product of wheat flour.
- Other recipes sprinkle dill or caraway seeds on top of the rye bread.
5. Whole Wheat
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One type of bread considered to be among the healthiest is whole wheat. It is one of several whole grain types of bread that is deemed better for your body.
Whole wheat bread is usually made of entire grains, like germ or bran, and comes with more proteins, vitamins, and protein than regular white bread. As a bonus, it also has a richer aroma and taste.
Bread Packaging: What the Labels Mean
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Besides the different types of bread, you should also learn all those words on bread labels to know exactly what the product offers. Unlike plain terms, these phrases can sometimes be a “marketing” tactic and may have been put there just to entice you to buy that particular bread.
To ensure you make a smart buying decision, here is a quick summary of what those bread packaging labels really mean:
1. Whole grain
Contrary to what most people think, whole grain isn’t the same as whole wheat. When you find this phrase in a bread label, it can mean a few different things, such as:
- The bread contains all three parts of the kernel: bran, germ, and endosperm.
- The bread is made from at least 51 percent whole-grain ingredients per serving.
2. Multigrain
Made from multiple types of grain, a bread with this word on the label is made of flour that may contain a combination of the following gains:
- Wheat
- Spelt
- Rye
- Barley
You may also find other terms with similar meaning to multigrain, such as seven-grain or 12-grain, though these also do not specify whether the flour is whole grain or refined.
3. Wheat bread
As you may already know, “wheat bread” is not the same as “whole-grain bread.”
Wheat is a type of grain that can be used in part or in whole to make flour for wheat bread. This means that only some wheat breads can be whole grain.
If you’re after whole wheat bread, seek out products labeled “100% whole grain” or “100% whole wheat” instead.
4. Gluten-free
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Gluten isn’t necessarily a bad thing when it comes to bread. In fact, if you’re not gluten-intolerant or you don’t have a sensitivity to the ingredient, you may not get any additional health benefits if you switch to this kind of bread.
That means you might just be spending more without getting anything out of the added cost. Sometimes, gluten-free products can come in smaller servings and may even have fewer nutrients as well.
5. Made with ancient grains
“Ancient grains” refers loosely to any grain that hasn’t changed over a few centuries. Some examples of this are:
- Kamut
- Spelt
- Buckwheat
- Sorghum
- Teff
- Millet
- Quinoa
- Amaranth
It is believed that baked goods made from these grains are healthier, though not all bread products with this label have 100 percent ancient grains in them. That means it can be mixed with refined flour, so be sure to check the ingredients list first.
6. Diet
“Diet” bread refers to bread that contains fewer nutrients. A healthier alternative is to choose other types of bread with 80 calories or less in total, or that come with at least 2 grams of fiber in each slice.
7. Enriched
Bread with this label is made from enriched flours that contain additional vitamins and minerals. However, some enriched bread may have lost phytonutrients and fiber because they have been stripped to the germ and bran during the milling process.
Know Your Bread to Shopping Healthy Bread Online
Whether you prefer online or brick-and-mortar bakeshops, buying bread is an important decision everyone makes for their health. Make sure you choose the right one for you by learning more about bread before your order appears on your doorstep.
