Bakery breads, whole wheat bread

[Night Elf]

Does brown bread in my grocery store bakery mean whole wheat bread? There aren't always label on them. Do you think they are healthy? I've heard that not all brown bread means healthy. Maybe I could ask the person working behind the counter to point out breads made with whole wheat? I'm used to buying simple white bread like italian style. Oh, I think I remember the bakery selling 9-grain bread. Would that likely be healthy?

[Orthodox6]

There should be a label listing ingredients. If from the behind-counter display, a label probably will be printed before the worker bags the bread. If you are shopping at a mainline grocery store, the "brown bread" generally has a small quantity of whole wheat flour, a long list of unnecessary chemicals, and caramel colour to provide the "look" of healthy brown bread. Plus the usual HFCS.

 

Try to find a label that states "100% whole wheat." I don't think the label "whole grain" helps, necessarily. A product might contain only a small amount of "whole grain." I don't know the law permitting use of that label.

[Night Elf]

 

Ah, yeah. It's so confusing!

 

I know! I'll try looking today.

[regentrude]

No, the fact that a bread is brown does not mean that it is healthier or has whole grain. Many bakeries simply add color to breads.

You need to read the label. Even if the bakery does not label all ingredients, they would label a 100% whole grain bread as such because it is a strong selling point.

9 grain or multi grain bread does not have to be whole grain either; you could have a white wheat with simply a few other grains added.

[bookfiend]

Do you have a Great Harvest Bread Company nearby? They grind their wheat daily and only use the whole kernel which adds to the protein content of the bread. When I have a piece of their toast for breakfast, I'm not hungry until 11:30. When I eat grocery store bread, I'm ravenous at 10:00.