Bread

rodgers73

Is bread a good source or carbs for training etc? I eat loads of it but wondered if it wasnt a good idea. I'm not worried abiout my weight, just wondered if I should be swapping it for something else?

borisface

Depends on the bread. White sliced is utter sh i t e. Try wholemeal, unsliced but even that has issues, especially from supermarkets. The vast majority of bread in the UK is made using something called the chorleywood process which is an industrial process allowing large quantities of bread to be made quickly (3 hrs) and cheaply. But cheap means more additives i.e. fat, salt, flour enhancers etc. Nutrition is compromised as is flavour. Also can lead to gluten intolerances as large quantities of yeast are used to raise the bread quickly which doesn't breakdown the gluten fully. Its pretty easy to make excellent sourdough at home which is a slow natural process producing a much better loaf. Takes 12 hrs or so to make but only 5-10 mins active work. A google search will pull up some recipes. Sorry for the rant I'm a bit of a bread-fascist, especially since having discovered how to make sourdough.

rodgers73

Usually I eat Hovis granary or similar

Pokerface

The short answer is 'no'. It's not a great source for 'good' carbs.

Would be better to cut back on the bread and substitute for something a little less processed?

neeb

GOOD bread is a great source of carbs, unless you are actually gluten intolerant. But as borisface said, it's not that easy to get in the UK. Which is one of the most telling and tragic indictments on the values / priorities of our current society IMO.

Wheat does provide complex carbs that will fill you up and provide slow release, same as rice, porridge etc. And if you are eating high quality wholegrain bread you also get a lot of useful nutrients out of it. This is NOT the case if you are eating processed white bread however - the difference is like night and day.

An important thing that makes a "good" carb is being accompanied by other nutrients. Because carbs are a major part of the diet, if you eat processed carbs that have little nutritious value other than the carbs themselves, you can end up deficient in certain nutrients. Good bread is actually a much better source of nutrients than white rice, providing you are not gluten intolerant or gluten sensitive.

KnightOfTheLongTights

There is a lot of good unprocessed multigrain / wholegrain bread around if you look for it. Waitrose is especially good. Although us Londoners are spoilt with that sort of thing.

It seems expensive but actually that's what good bread maybe should cost - much like chickens, we've got used to paying a price that is way too low and has pressured suppliers over the years into substandard production values.

Something like wholewheat pasta overall is probably better, but who wants that for breakfast.

Also, don't think it's good to deny yourself things you enjoy all the time in the name of sport - it can be bad for morale.

I love a toasted teacake after a long cold ride - get 'em in the toaster, yum!

Ron Stuart

I spend some time in Portugal where most bread is made the same way as we used to here and my constitution when I am there is fine. Here, if I eat more than a small amount of the overly processed and over priced bread all these symptoms return (wind, bloated feeling, diarrhoea etc).
Take my advice either move to Portugal or cut out most bread especially the bleach white rubbish with high levels of salt aimed at getting kids hooked.
It used to be the same with so called kid’s cereals till an adverse campaign forced Kellogg’s and co to reduce the levels of salt and particularly sugar in their products which were specifically aimed at children (similar to drugs in the playground).
This is probably out of context to sum degree but the two biggest threats to civilization as we know it are oil dependency and the type and way we source our food.
One note of warning, real bread won't 'last' as long, that's why we used to and parts of Europe still buy there bread daily.
Lastly 'borisface' is absolutely right try making your own, once you have got your kit it is a simple process and you will be giving yourself and if you have kids them also a much healthier bread supply and much cheaper to.
Read about Peak Oil because in the future we are going to have to learn about looking after ourselves much more than we have been used to.

neeb

I spend some time in Portugal where most bread is made the same way as we used to here and my constitution when I am there is fine.

That's interesting - whenever I have been to Spain and Portugal I have found the bread is at least fresh and properly baked, but I have found it very difficult to get anything other than white bread. Maybe you need to know where to look?

One note of warning, real bread won't 'last' as long, that's why we used to and parts of Europe still buy there bread daily.

Of course you can always freeze it if necessary. Better to get it daily if you can, but if good bread is not so easily available and/or you are living alone and not eating it so quickly, there is nothing wrong with sticking a loaf or half a loaf in the freezer. Just take it out the night before you need it and leave it to thaw overnight wrapped in paper, and it will be fine in the morning. You should never really need to waste good bread by having to chuck it out because it is stale/mouldy.

Also, good rye bread has a much better shelf life than wheat bread.

jocksyboy

buy a cheap breadmaker £30-£40 and then you can control the ingredients

Ron Stuart

neeb wrote:

I spend some time in Portugal where most bread is made the same way as we used to here and my constitution when I am there is fine.

That's interesting - whenever I have been to Spain and Portugal I have found the bread is at least fresh and properly baked, but I have found it very difficult to get anything other than white bread. Maybe you need to know where to look?

One note of warning, real bread won't 'last' as long, that's why we used to and parts of Europe still buy there bread daily.

Of course you can always freeze it if necessary. Better to get it daily if you can, but if good bread is not so easily available and/or you are living alone and not eating it so quickly, there is nothing wrong with sticking a loaf or half a loaf in the freezer. Just take it out the night before you need it and leave it to thaw overnight wrapped in paper, and it will be fine in the morning. You should never really need to waste good bread by having to chuck it out because it is stale/mouldy.

Also, good rye bread has a much better shelf life than wheat bread.

You can get a fair variety of rolls/bread types in the Algarve and as far as I can tell it's all locally sourced. All your other comments are spot on plus you can give a thawed roll/bread slice a bit more texture by slightly warming it before use.

Ron Stuart

jocksyboy wrote:

buy a cheap breadmaker £30-£40 and then you can control the ingredients

The ingredients can be various and you can design your own loaf, lets all use our loaves and give the overly protected food industry the message. The governments won't act because the political parties have been bought by the huge conglomerates (party funds).

kieranb

don't buy a cheap one, buy a good one! It will last for years. We have had one of the brill panasonic ones for about 5 years now. We do wholemeal, rye, pecan and wallnut, cumin seed bread, etc, definitely a best buy.

Also good old irish soda bread is quick and easy to make, some salt, buttermilk, flour and soda. Mix, shape and put in oven and in under an hour it'll be ready to eat.

Ands

kieranb wrote:

don't buy a cheap one, buy a good one! It will last for years. We have had one of the brill panasonic ones for about 5 years now. We do wholemeal, rye, pecan and wallnut, cumin seed bread, etc, definitely a best buy.

Also good old irish soda bread is quick and easy to make, some salt, buttermilk, flour and soda. Mix, shape and put in oven and in under an hour it'll be ready to eat.

I agree about getting a good bread machine. We also have a Panasonic one. You can make all sorts in it. I bought it mainly to make gluten-free bread as the supermarket gluten free bread is awful and so expensive. However, I now make 'normal' bread 3-4 times a week. I haven't bought a supermarket loaf in ages. It's also a lot cheaper - it costs me about 45p + electricity to make an 800g loaf.

rodgers73

rodgers73 wrote:

Usually I eat Hovis granary or similar

Does this not fall into the "good" bread category, being wholegrain etc?

I'm not going to source my bread from Iberia with a Sainsbury's down the roads lads. That's a bit daft :P

Harry182

Apologies in advance for going off on a tangent but all this 'Hovis' talk has got me thinking:



Or rather...

rodgers73

Do you have footage of her producing a loaf?

:glasstopcoffeetable