Bread: calories, types of bread and benefits of sourdough bread

When the bread is of quality and is made with natural mother yeast, it becomes an ideal food as a source of energyin the form of carbohydrates, fiber and minerals.

When there is no quality in the flour or it is very refined, or when it is full of additives and on top of that it has not undergone a long fermentation, it often results in an unbalanced food, rich in empty calories and hard to digest.

Regarding nutritional values, whole wheat bread has fewer calories than loaf or baguette (220 per 100 vs. 260), less protein (7 vs. 9 g), more fat (2.9 vs. 1.5 g), and more fiber (7.5 vs. 3.5). It also provides B vitamins (B1, B2, B3 and folic acid) and numerous minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, selenium or iron.

What is the best bread?

The best bread is the one that is made by hand with ingredients that are as natural as possible, such as whole wheat fermented with mother yeast (natural). It has a lower quality when the yeast is not natural, or when the process of extracting the bran from the flour is very high (an adequate whole wheat bread must contain at least 75% of the bran from the original whole wheat flour and its germ).

Natural white bread hardly exists, and traditionally made wood-fired ovens have almost been forgotten, except in some rural areas. Baguette bread is often frozen and made from standard flour blends that have been refined, bleached, and have uninteresting additives. At the lower limit we have long-life sliced ​​bread, which contains milk solids and other non-bread elements, such as aromas, preservatives, etc.

The multigrain breads that are sold in any bakery would be in an intermediate range, because they are also usually breads with a high degree of bran extraction, which makes them similar to white bread, although with a little more fiber due to the seeds.

What are the advantages of mother yeast bread?

The first advantage it offers is gastronomic, because the flavor is incomparable. Chemical yeast causes the bread to acquire, through the simple formation of gas, a texture similar to that of a sponge, while the fermentation process with natural yeasts also has a modifying effect on the flour, making it more digestible. Thus, it is known that certain substances such as phytates, present especially in cereal bran, unfold thanks to yeast, forming much healthier compounds. The ideal bread, baked with sourdough, has some inhomogeneous air lumps and can be kept for several days without becoming hard.

Why are there naturopathic doctors who restrict bread?

White and wholemeal bread must be restricted in cases of diabetes or other diseases, as well as weight reduction diets. The classic naturopathic doctors considered that a diet excessive in carbohydrates was a producer of mucus, and in patients with catarrhal symptoms it will not hurt to restrict or eliminate bread for some days.

bread in history

The Egyptians, who were great farmers and bakers, are considered to have laid the foundations for fermentation, both for bread and beer, and invented the oven.