White Bread is a Plant-based food

It is estimated that 10% of the population in Ireland and the UK is either vegan (approx. 3%) or vegetarian (about 7%) for either animal rights or environmental reasons. Alongside that are the flexitarians, people who might eat vegan or vegetarian a couple of days a week or so.

One of the challenges this poses is knowing what foods are vegan and which ones are not. Not everyone is in a position to make their food from scratch, and buying ready to eat vegan or vegetarian foods is much easier. There is a really good selection of new plant-based food producers emerging in the marketplace.

So where does bread fit into a plant-based diet? All bread is made from four basic ingredients – flour, water, salt and yeast. Yeast is found everywhere, in the air even, and is definitely vegan. So what about the other ingredients that you will find on the label on a sliced pan? Well, here is a breakdown or the most commonly found, none of which are of animal origin:

Vegetable oil extracts are used as emulsifiers and provide dough stability in addition to improving loaf volume and in maintaining softness. These might be listed in the ingredients as Emulsifiers either by name or using their E number.

Ascorbic Acid is another flour treatment agent, and it’s more commonly known as Vitamin C, which is used to strengthen the dough and support the gluten structure, and it helps with the volume, crumb structure and softness of the bread. Everyone knows that ascorbic acid is naturally found in citrus fruits. The ascorbic acid used in bread is made using a combination of microbial fermentations and chemical methods.

Acetic acid (vinegar) is sometimes used as a preservative to prevent mould growth and to ensure the freshness of the bread. It also adds flavour to yeast breads.

An ingredient called L-Cysteine is sometimes used to help soften and relax the dough. L-Cysteine is a type of amino acid (the building blocks of proteins) and it relaxes the dough by breaking down the gluten structures. Nowadays, the L-Cysteine used in bread baking it is made using a sustainable fermentation process and plant-based raw materials such as corn.

Lastly, you may know that enzymes are sometimes added to bread to help to speed up the fermentation process. Enzymes are proteins that occur naturally in plants, animals and microorganism or may be produced using genetic engineering. They are destroyed during the baking so don’t appear on the label. However, just so you’re clear, commercially, enzymes are produced by fermentation. Food-grade microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi are used, also vegan. So now you know!

While the sliced white pan is suitable for vegetarians and, not all breads are suitable for vegans or those on a mainly plant-based diet. Obviously, any bread containing butter or eggs (brioche), milk (soda bread), honey (honey spelt or honey wheat), barm brack (egg) is not vegan – so it’s always best to check the label.

Everybody, no matter what their dietary preferences, needs carbohydrates for good health, so by including bread in your plant-based diet you are getting the necessary carbohydrate to give y our bodies the constant supply of energy to function properly and carry out daily activities and exercise. Carbohydrates are vital to ensure the brain, heart, nervous, digestive and immune systems work correctly. Furthermore, a lack of carbohydrate in the diet can result in tiredness, fatigue, poor mental function and a lack of endurance or stamina.

For more information and to find out which breads are / are plant-based or which are not suitable for vegans, check out these websites:

Brennan’s Bread

Irish Pride - all vegan except for the brack;

Pat the Baker all plant-based except for soda bread and brack;

Johnston Mooney & O’Brien

British Nutrition Foundation

Bakerpedia – What is L-Cysteine?

Bakerpedia – What Are Enzymes