Odd bread

Halfhidden

Untouchable
Administrator
We use to buy fresh bread from a local baker in town. A fresh sliced loaf (normally a tin) would do us fine. We've stopped buying our fresh bread from this particular baker because the bread became... well odd!
The first thing we noticed was when you toast the bread it became very brittle and often broke in to small pieces whilst trying to butter it. The toast would also be light and very dry indeed... almost like eating dust. The bread also dried out very quickly and a loaf would only really last a day.
We switched bakers as there was one just up the road. There bread is what I would call normal. It toasts like it should and eating toast has the same consistency as you would expect from a fresh loaf of bread.
So I wondered what is this other baker up to with their bread.
Well quite by accident I think I've found the answer.
In a hurry shopping the other day Sparky picked up two loaves of bread. When we got home we made beans on toast and realised that the bread had the same problem as the fresh loaves we'd been buying from that popular baker in town. A quick look at the label tells me that the loaf was made of 19% oat.
So is a popular baker cutting wheat flour with oat to reduce cost and make a higher profit?
Have you experienced anything similar?
 

treeve

Major Contributor
I suppose you either get a bread for the taste and wholesomeness, or buy it specifically for toasting, I have breads and crackers (matzo meal etc) and bake the bread as I like it. I have noticed over the years the phenomenon you have mentioned. The thing is it always depends on what you like and use for ingredients. 19% seems to me to be an odd percentage to choose to make any financial benefits? For a few pence, anyone can bake their own loaf which tastes better.
 

Halfhidden

Untouchable
Administrator
hmm, yes but this baker put the price up from £1 a loaf to £1.20 and cut the ingredients so has actually made a possible 30% profit.
Perhaps they should try and eat the stuff.
Yes I would love to bake my own at home but can't find a decent prover.
 

sparky

Authoritarian
Staff member
Administrator
cook#Just thought I'd mention that HH used to make our bread, bread rolls etc, but without a proover this does make the rising of the dough very difficult!
so with different sizes of bread being turned out, sometimes not risen at all, he has stopped making them, shame because I thought they were good and very tasty!!::7:::15:
 

treeve

Major Contributor
Used a normal oven for years, when the small electric baker came along, that was it - make your bread the way it should be with what you want, about time I got back to that ....
 
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