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Thread: dairy free bread in US

  1. #51
    Mahk
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    Default Re: dairy free bread in US

    Quote veganwitch View Post
    I would love it if I could get Whole Foods breads but the labels always say enzymes and how do you know if the enzymes are animal sourced or not?
    According to this UK site, "enzymes" (which are an iffy ingredient for us) may be used but are not legally required to be listed because they are "burned off" in the baking process:

    Enzymes are modern baking's big secret. A loophole classifies them as 'processing aids', which need not be declared on product labels. Additives, on the other hand, must be listed. Not surprisingly, most people have no idea that their bread contains added enzymes.

    An enzyme is a protein that speeds up a metabolic reaction, and are extracted from plant, animal, fungal and bacterial sources...

    A whole host of enzymes are used in baking. Their status as processing aids is based on the assumption that they are 'used up' in the production process and are therefore not really present in the final product. This is a deception that allows the food industry to manipulate what we eat without telling us...

    Manufacturers have developed enzymes with two main objectives: to make dough hold more gas (making lighter bread) and to make bread stay softer for longer after baking. Many bakery enzymes are derived from substances that are not part of a normal human diet. Even if such enzymes are chemically the same as some of those naturally found in flour or bread dough, they are added in larger amounts than would ever be encountered in ordinary bread.

    And now the safety of bakery enzymes has been radically challenged by the discovery that the enzyme transglutaminase, used to make dough stretchier in croissants and some breads, may turn part of the wheat protein toxic to people with a severe gluten intolerance. This development is important because it suggests that adding enzymes to bread dough may have unintended and damaging consequences. Surely no one can seriously suggest that bakery enzymes should be omitted from bread labels.

  2. #52

    Join Date
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    Default Re: dairy free bread in US

    There are so many vegan breads to choose from here, but we usually buy Matthew's All Natural at the regular grocery store, or something from Trader Joe's, or something from the bakery counter at Whole Foods (there's a touch-screen with ingredient info for all the bread products right at the counter).
    mama to Ryan (7), AJ (6), Nate (3), Maia (1), all born at home.

  3. #53

    Default Re: dairy free bread in US

    I usually get a sprouted bread from the local store on campus (yay for vegan bread in ten minutes walking distance!)

    It's pricy, though, and I definitely have to make concessions in other things to afford it. Maybe I can get to the store that's a 30 minute bus ride, see if they have cheaper vegan breads (I did see one other type of vegan bread at least that I bought, but there's a ton of breads and I usually can't stand to stay in a store for more than about 30 minutes without getting very worn, and I hate looking at a whole wheat bread that looks pretty good to see that it got ruined with honey or something). However, I'm happy with my 16 grain and flax breads, just not so happy with the price.

  4. #54

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    Default Re: dairy free bread in US

    Regular supermarket bread in America is horrible, All the preservatives make it taste so weird. When I lived there I was totally shocked that a loaf of bread would stay 'fresh' for weeks on end. In the UK, most bread will only last a few days before it starts to go mouldy. The longest you can expect is about 5 days. In the end I started going to Garden of Eden (I think it's a New York chain) just to buy bread and it cost a ridiculous amount of money.

  5. #55
    Mahk
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    Default Re: dairy free bread in US

    More on "enzymes" for those that care.

    Bread in the US at least has to list the word "enzyme" in the ingredients (I think? ), which can be any of a number of different ingredients just like "natural flavoring". Having to write/email companies weekly to ask "Which enzyme/natural flavoring are you using this week?" isn't 'practical or possible' if you ask me. I think I'm going to give both of them a "free pass"; that is I will allow myself to eat them unscrutinized.
    ---
    I've just returned from the store and couldn't find a single loaf of whole wheat bread, including lots that were organic, that didn't contain either honey, mono and diglycerides, natural flavor, or "enzymes", after spending almost a half hour reading dozens of breads, rolls, buns, etc.

  6. #56

    Default Re: dairy free bread in US

    Euk. Sorry to hear that. Fortunately, I will be able to make bread at home with the breadmaker and my parents during the summer, and currently have access to a vegan bread (even though it's expensive and I have to make concessions on other things, especially since my cereal is $5 a box too - though not too much more expensive than bread my parents get, which is around $3 a loaf). Making it at home would also be cheaper than running a gas bill looking through the Whole Foods and Trader Joes and Mothers Market stores to see if they've got vegan bread (especially without enzymes -- the bread I ate during winter vacation had enzymes, but I thought they were always vegan at the time, poo).

    Of course, that's not practical or possible for everyone either, breadmaker or no, but if it is an option for you, it would probably be cheaper, and given all the time many of us are spending in the bread aisles anyway, maybe not too much more time consuming (especially if you've got a breadmaker, or can invest in one). And it does taste so nice homemade!

  7. #57
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: dairy free bread in US

    I was thinking the same thing, QM, that it would be quicker to make one's own, even by hand, than wander the shops looking, but I was embarrassed to say so because I use a bread machine myself

    There are some pretty fast-sounding recipes for handmade bread around. Letting it rise overnight as suggested here sounds quite a good idea as I think it was the hanging-around that put me off making it by hand.

    http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2...sy-white-bread

  8. #58
    Mahk
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    Default Re: dairy free bread in US

    We could also simply bring our own homemade bread to omni friends' houses and when we eat at omni restaurants:

    "Omni restaurant wait staff person, would you please make my hummus sandwich with this special bread I brought from home? Thanks. Oh, and one more thing, please use this knife and cutting board I brought from home too, I wouldn't want you to accidentally contaminate my vegan sandwich with your omni utensils and surfaces."

    Being vegan in America is so simple and easy, you just have to think things through.

    [joke]

  9. #59

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    USA
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    Default Re: dairy free bread in US

    Here's a link to When Pigs Fly Bread. They will ship but I think you need a minimum order. Not all are vegan. They are a very heavy, filling bread.

    http://www.sendbread.com/main.htm


  10. #60
    Mahk
    Guest

    Default Re: dairy free bread in US

    I buy "when pigs fly" at times in stores but their prices are double to triple what the other brands are . $10 for a loaf of bread!? Granted, I think most stores charge a bit less, but still.

    I also don't like that when I once emailed them to ask which varieties were vegan their prompt reply was "We don't know. Read the ingredients yourself."
    Which of course provides no clarification of what the "enzymes" are, if they use them but consider them "burned off" and therefor don't state their presence, if the sugar is filtered through bone char, etc. Watch out for honey, too, found in some.

    They provide no ingredients disclosure at their website but if memory serves their rye bread is OK for us. Double check though.

  11. #61

    Default Re: dairy free bread in US

    Yeah, I personally find it impractical to avoid bone char filtered sugar, and I hardly eat any junk food at all apart from vegan ice cream. If getting store-bought bag sugar, I would get the sugar that is not supposed to be filtered through bone char (turbinado sugar? I forget). But otherwise, in the US...and the enzyme bit is tricky, too.

    I've found one that doesn't list them (but then again, how do we know they aren't there?), but I personally don't think it's doing anyone any favors to be worrying too much about it. Yeah, I'd like a better labelling rules so if there was some sort of campaign I would support that, but it is not something I lose sleep over. The world isn't vegan, and there are these chances that traces of non-vegan things would be used in the development of foods anyway, and so sadly until the world progresses towards a vegan lifestyle that won't change much.

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