Supermarket Bread

[Jayne198]

Not making my own bread or having a local supplier of organic bread i have to choose from what the local supermarkets offer.
So far the most healthy as far as i can see is Hovis Granary. Although not being wholemeal it has no artificial preservatives.
Is this the best choice from the health point of view from the readily available commercial breads would you say ? Or are you choosing something else?

I always buy the sliced sourdough, either Tesco or Aldi own brand, or Jason’s.

It seems to have emulsifiers included.

The only bog standard supermarket bread I've found with no preservative and emulsifiers is M&S supersoft loaf.

How much bread do you eat? If just a slice or two a day then I like Hovis seeded or granary. It will only have a minute amount of any 'bad' ingredients.

I hate seedy bread as my body can't process the seeds so they all just come out the other end.

I’m a fan of Jason’s

I was recommended Jason's & bought a seedy sourdough sliced loaf. It hasn't gone down so well here & a good week in is not mouldy. I'm guessing it must have loads of preservatives in it

When I'm in the UK I buy this from Sainsbury's bakery and get it sliced.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-multiseed-loaf-taste-difference-800g-6504663-p

Jason's is great. And no @Cookerhood , it does not have preservatives in it. It does go harder over days - which is the same as when I make bread in my breadmaker. Bread without preservatives goes stale long before mould forms. However I find with the cheapo supermarket bread, it's still soft... but covered in mould after a length of time.

I use my breadmaker too and similarly, the bread goes hard more quickly (and the whiter/softer the bread in the first place, the more true this is), but it doesn't go mouldy.

Another surprisingly good option is a lot of the parbaked bread - they often also are very limited or no preservatives, E numbers etc. They cook very quickly in the air fryer so we routinely buy a few baguettes and ciabatta's as they last well in their packaging and then can be cooked when needed.

Tricky business trying to find 'healthy' bread. Even if you find a bread with no additives and preservatives other than salt you still need to consider that most are still white flour. I wouldn't define white bread as healthy because it doesn't contain the bran or germ. I also wouldn't define added sugar (including malt and other sugar extracts) as 'healthy' although some people would as long as it doesn't form a large part of your diet. So for me a 'healthy' bread would have to pass the following:

1. Be 100% wholemeal or have wholemeal flour added.
2. Not contain any additives or preservatives.

I tend to go for:
GAIL's Dark Sourdough | Waitrose & Partners
No.1 Spelt Sourdough Bread | Waitrose & Partners
Bertinet Bakery Seeded Sourdough | Waitrose & Partners
Schneider Brot German Vollkornbrot 10 Slices | Waitrose & Partners
RAYAN WHOLEMEAL PITTA BREAD 300G - خبز بيتا أسمر (ammodelivers.com)

If wheat is not organic it has been sprayed with pesticides