Bread

Is organic bread the best thing since, well, sliced bread?

Since bread is an everyday staple for many, switching over to organic bread can make a big overall difference. Truly organic bread consists of certified organic grains, seeds, and other ingredients produced without pesticides or herbicides, and should be preservative-free. You may notice that some breads labelled as “organic” include non-organic ingredients. This is because a product can only be labelled organic if it contains at least 95% certified organic ingredients. This rule exists because there are certain ingredients that are not available in organic form (salt is one of these). In Canada, there is an additional stipulation that the non-organic ingredients can be used only if no organic option exists.

The only way around this labelling rule is to state the actual amount or percentage of organic content, and this only works if there is at least 70% organic content in the product. According to the standards, multi-ingredient products with less than 70% organic content may only use the word organic in the product’s ingredient list. These products cannot use the organic logo.

An important issue to note is that bakeries often produce many different types of bread and other baked goods, but only certain varieties are organic. This means that a producer who may have a reputation for organic products may also have non-organic offerings, which can be confusing. So make sure that you carefully read the name of your bread, and keep an eye out for other organic products such as pizza dough or muffins.

There’s another thing to look for in healthy, earth-friendly bread: the presence of stone-ground, whole-wheat, unbleached flour. Many ‘Wonder’-ful supermarket breads contain enriched white flour, which is milled and bleached, with lost nutrients reintroduced afterwards. When grains are stone ground to create flour, the germ, fiber, starch, and most vitamins and minerals remain in the flour. Milling, on the other hand, removes the bran and the germ and keeps only the endosperm, which gives white flour a longer shelf life since the bran contains oil that could go rancid. This flour is often bleached using potassium bromate or chlorine dioxide gas, and the process further removes nutrients (and may leave behind chemical residues).

Given the vast increase in processing—milling, bleaching, and the reintroduction of synthetic nutrients—unbleached, stone-ground flour is more environmentally friendly because there are fewer steps in its creation. Of course, it is slower and more expensive to make bread with l00% stone-ground whole-wheat flour, so you will pay a premium. Note that breads made with stone-ground flour tend to spoil faster than those made with white flour and preservatives, so we recommend storing them in the refrigerator and eating them soon after purchase. As bread freezes well, you can also freeze portions of preservative-free and stone-ground bread as needed.

Some breads include “unbleached white flour.” This is milled flour with the bran and the germ removed, but without chemical bleaching. The majority of nutrients in the flour have been removed since only the endosperm remains.

We found seven brands of organic breads widely available in Toronto supermarkets, but if you check your local bakery, you may find some others.

• Articles

  Select Category Energy Math    Energy Math Column    Rebates and Incentives Fall 2009 Issue Fall 2010 Fall 2011 Green Appliance Guide    Dishwashers    Refrigerators    Washers and Dryers Green Grocery Guide    Beer    Bread    Cereal    Cheese    Chocolate    Cleaning Products    Coffee and Tea    Dishwashing Detergents    Eggs    Hallowe’en Candy    Ice Cream    Light Bulbs    Milk and Cream    Nacho Chips    Recipes    Salsa    Soap    Spirits    Wine Green Guides    Sustainable Selections Green Scene Column Spring 2010 Spring 2010 Advertorial Spring 2011 Summer 2010 Summer 2010 Advertorial Summer 2011 Uncategorized Videos    Green Scene Heroes    Green Scene Videos Winter 2012

• What’s New!

  The off-peak and on-peak winter hours in our Fall issue are no longer current
  More Information on Toronto Hydro Rates

• Follow us!