Tag: Bread science

A study published in the *European Journal of Clinical Nutrition* found that freezing and toasting white bread significantly reduced its blood sugar response compared to fresh bread. This surprising hack reveals why is freezing bread healthier and how it transforms the nutritional properties of your favorite loaf.

While often mislabeled, 70% hydration is not typically considered 'high,' but rather a balanced and versatile moderate level in bread baking. This sweet spot is beloved by many for producing a beautiful, open crumb without the extreme stickiness associated with wetter doughs.

Bread, a staple food for many cultures, contains a rich and complex array of polysaccharides, with starch being the most abundant. These complex carbohydrates, which are large molecules made from many sugar units, are derived from the cereal grains used to make flour and are fundamentally responsible for bread's structure, texture, and nutritional value. During the baking process, these polysaccharides undergo critical transformations that shape the final product we consume.

According to the National Institutes of Health, bread is a solid, heterogeneous, and unstable foam. This initial definition, however, only scratches the surface of the complex physical state of a piece of bread, which challenges our basic understanding of solids, liquids, and gases.

In baking, a well-known fact is that eggs are used to create enriched doughs, resulting in a superior loaf. From adding moisture and richness to improving color and flavor, the benefits of eggs in bread are numerous and transformative for the final product.

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the belief that bread crust is more nutritious is a common myth. This leads to a popular question: does the crust on bread have more calories? The simple answer is that, gram for gram, there is no significant difference in calorie count between the crust and the inner crumb of the bread.