Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

I have just stopped work for a quick cup of tea, before settling back down to the rest of my tasks before I can go home this evening. I find a proper pause from work refreshes me no end, and I can zip through the rest of my to-do list.

Whilst I was sipping my tea, I took a look at the BBC news website, and was so horrified by a story I had to pop over here to share my outrage with you!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20540758

I cannot for the life of me understand how making processed bread even more processed is good for anyone at all, or how bread can possibly be such a 'problem' that it needs such a 'solution'.

Something I would dearly like to do is to work baking my own bread into my routine, but utnil I have the time to do that, I will continue to do as I do currently - to buy good quality bread, and treat it well. After the first day, I put my bread in the freezer, then defrost individual slices as I need them. I never have stale or mouldy bread as a result.

I whizz the crust-ends to breadcrumbs to use in all manner of dishes. And if I were to find myself with some slices to use up, well there is bread and butter pudding, both savoury and sweet, bread pudding, and apple charlotte, pain perdu (or French toast) and that is just off the top of my head.

I have read several articles which suggest that many people who find themselves intolerant to bread may in fact be intolerant to the pesticides used on the wheat, or find the bread indigestible because of the way it has been processed.

There is not only more nutrition to be found in a loaf of artisan baked-by-hand bread than a white sliced 'stay fresh' supermarket bread, but it will fill you up for longer, and be more sustaining - for body and soul. There is so much more pleasure to be found in good bread.

In percentage terms, good bread may cost quite a bit more in terms of time or money, whichever it is you spend to procure yours. But becuase the sums we are talking about is so small to begin with, it is an investment I hope most of us would try to afford at least once or twice, to taste the difference.

I remember my step-brother expressing surprise at how deliciouss the bread is when he goes to lunch with my Mum - a world away from his 'stayfresh' bread. But that is because it is proper bread.

I remember when I was a little girl, walking down to the bakery with my grandad to buy the bread for lunch. The crust would be almost sharp as it was so crunchy, and the inside so soft doughy, it was almost sweet. Some of the fresh bread smell would transfer to the paper bag we carried it home in, and my hands.

I remember buying the bread at a bakers with my Mum, when I came out of playgroup, standing with my nose pressed to the counter watching it go into the slicing machine. A big long handle with a black knob on the hand would be p-u-l-l-e-d down, and then it would wobble and judder back up as the blades sliced the bread.

I can't imagine having such happy memory associations with a 60-day-fresh loaf of bread.

Incidentally, who needs to keep bread for 60 days anyway? If you ate just one slice a day for toast, you would zip through it much faster, and if you made sandwiches for lunch...

Anyway, that is my gasp of horror over...I just had to share! I feel like I have been on my soapbox a lot this week, with my thoughts on voting and now bread. But it is a lovely feeling to set the world to rights. And now, back to my work, before I can go home.

It is ever so cold out there today, so wherever you are, wrap up warm!

Love Mimi xxx