White bread#White bread fortification

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White bread contains half of the magnesium found in whole-wheat bread, and it is generally considered to be less nutritionally dense.

The milling process can give white flour a longer shelf life by removing the natural oils from the whole grain. Removing the oil allows products made with the flour, like white bread, to be stored for longer periods of time avoiding potential rancidity.

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Bread made with grass grains goes back to the pre-agriculture Natufi proto-civilization 12,000 years ago.{{Cite web |url=https://www.pnas.org/content/115/31/7925 |title=Archaeobotanical evidence reveals the origins of bread 14,400 years ago in northeastern Jordan |access-date=2020-04-12 |archive-date=2022-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228113212/https://www.pnas.org/content/115/31/7925 |url-status=live }} But only wheat can feasibly be sifted to produce pure white starch, a technique that goes back to at least ancient Egypt.{{Cite web |url=https://www.loiscaughlan.com/the-history-of-white-flour |title=THE HISTORY OF WHITE FLOUR |access-date=2020-04-12 |archive-date=2021-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021102625/https://www.loiscaughlan.com/the-history-of-white-flour |url-status=usurped }} Because wheat was the most expensive grain to grow, and the process to sift it labor-intensive, white flour was generally limited to special occasions and the wealthy, until the mid-19th century. Then industrial processes eliminated the labor cost, allowing prices to fall until it was accessible to the middle class.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rachellaudan.com/2017/01/why-did-our-ancestors-prefer-white-bread-to-wholegrain-bread.html |title=Why did our ancestors prefer white bread to wholegrains? |date=29 January 2017 |access-date=2020-04-12 |archive-date=2023-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207231057/https://www.rachellaudan.com/2017/01/why-did-our-ancestors-prefer-white-bread-to-wholegrain-bread.html |url-status=live }}

In the US, corn meal was the standard grain for bread until closing in on the 20th century, while in Europe it was other grains.

But once accessible, white bread became very popular in industrialized countries for a number of reasons:

• It was easier to see as pure and clean, at a time when some foods could be poorly made and adulterated.
• The lack of both coarseness and complex flavor profile made it a popular medium for the delivery of flavorful condiments.
• It is more easily chewed and digested. This allows it to be a source of more calories. It also does make some micronutrients more digestible, some studies finding that the added nutrition in whole grains tends to pass through the body unabsorbed.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bonappetit.com/story/whole-wheat-is-no-healthier-than-white-bread |title=Whole Wheat Is No Healthier than White Bread, Food Scientists Claim |date=13 November 2017 |access-date=2020-04-12 |archive-date=2023-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207231056/https://www.bonappetit.com/story/whole-wheat-is-no-healthier-than-white-bread |url-status=live }} For some body types and diets, white flour may have been a nutritional benefit.{{Cite web |url=https://www.thedailymeal.com/healthy-eating/white-bread-may-not-be-bad-you-after-all/060917 |title=White Bread May Not Be Bad for You After All |date=9 June 2017 |access-date=2020-04-12 |archive-date=2023-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207231054/https://www.thedailymeal.com/healthy-eating/white-bread-may-not-be-bad-you-after-all/060917 |url-status=live }}
• Once it could be easily produced, it went from the most expensive to among the cheapest kinds of flour.
• It can last longer. The wheat oil in whole grain breads can go rancid over time, spoiling its flavor.

However, there was a backlash from the popularity of white flour, giving rise to whole grain alternatives popular to this day, such as graham crackers and corn flakes, which (in their original whole grain form) have more fiber and micronutrients. Eventually, the transformation of white bread from an elite to a common foodstuff became symbolic of the success of industrialization and capitalism in general, especially paired with the advent of machine sliced bread in the 1920s.{{cn|date=February 2023}}

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In the United States, consumers sometimes refer to white bread as "sandwich bread" or "sandwich loaf". It is often perceived as an unhealthy, bland, and unsophisticated menu item.{{cite news |last1=Borrow-Strain |first1=Aaron |date=4 March 2012 |title=The rise and fall of white bread |language=en |work=Salon |url=https://www.salon.com/2012/03/03/the_rise_and_fall_of_white_bread/ |access-date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207231052/https://www.salon.com/2012/03/03/the_rise_and_fall_of_white_bread/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Clark |first=Georgia |date=9 February 2022 |title=Bizarre 'Anglo men' white bread claim triggers backlash |work=The Daily Telegraph |publisher=News Corp Australia |location= |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/bizarre-anglo-men-white-bread-claim-triggers-backlash/news-story/64a9e92174d6eb91ee82cfae0f546276 |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 February 2022 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207231053/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/bizarre-anglo-men-white-bread-claim-triggers-backlash/news-story/64a9e92174d6eb91ee82cfae0f546276 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=de Graaff |first=Jane |date=9 February 2022 |title='In defence of white bread: It's not a political statement' |url=https://kitchen.nine.com.au/latest/white-bread-is-not-a-political-statement-opinion/2e98c730-fdb7-4593-b3fd-8273ccc624ae |access-date=10 February 2022 |website=9Kitchen |publisher=Nine Entertainment Co. |quote= |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207231056/https://kitchen.nine.com.au/latest/white-bread-is-not-a-political-statement-opinion/2e98c730-fdb7-4593-b3fd-8273ccc624ae |url-status=live }}

Japanese milk bread, a type of soft white bread, is popular in Asia, particularly in Japan, and has artisan status there.{{Cite news |last=Moskin |first=Julia |date=22 April 2014 |title=Three Recipes to Savor to the Last Crumb (Published 2014) |language=en |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/dining/three-recipes-to-savor-to-the-last-crumb.html |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730154724/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/dining/three-recipes-to-savor-to-the-last-crumb.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Imada |first=Kaila |date=13 February 2023 |title=What makes shokupan so popular – and where you can buy it |url=https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/restaurants/whats-the-deal-with-shokupan |access-date=30 July 2023 |website=Time Out Tokyo |language=en-GB |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730154724/https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/restaurants/whats-the-deal-with-shokupan |url-status=live }} Bread was not a traditional food in Japan, but it came into culinary use there after the American response to post-World War II Japanese rice shortages included relief shipments of wheat.{{Cite news |last=Krader |first=Kate |date=18 September 2019 |title=Japanese Milk Bread Is Coming for Your Lunch |language=en |work=Bloomberg News |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-18/what-is-japanese-milk-bread-shokupan-sando-coming-for-your-lunch |access-date=30 July 2023 |archive-date=2 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702233913/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-18/what-is-japanese-milk-bread-shokupan-sando-coming-for-your-lunch |url-status=live }} The style of bread became popular outside Asia in the 2020s.{{Cite news |last=Beckett |first=Lois |date=11 December 2022 |title=LA's 'orgasmic' $18 Japanese milk bread sells out in seconds every day |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/dec/11/japanese-milk-bread-ginza-nishikawa-taste-test |access-date=30 July 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730154724/https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/dec/11/japanese-milk-bread-ginza-nishikawa-taste-test |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Trinh |first=Jean |date=9 November 2022 |title=LA's Latest Hot-Ticket Food Item Is a Plush Loaf of Japanese Bread Baked in a Ghost Kitchen |url=https://la.eater.com/2022/11/9/23449499/ginza-nishikawa-shokupan-japanese-milk-bread-sawtelle-colony-ghost-kitchen |access-date=30 July 2023 |website=Eater LA |language=en |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730170117/https://la.eater.com/2022/11/9/23449499/ginza-nishikawa-shokupan-japanese-milk-bread-sawtelle-colony-ghost-kitchen |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Sims |first=Alex |date=28 December 2022 |title=That hyped £11 milk bread has arrived in London |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/news/that-hyped-11-milk-bread-has-arrived-in-london-122822 |access-date=30 July 2023 |website=Time Out London |language=en-GB |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730170117/https://www.timeout.com/london/news/that-hyped-11-milk-bread-has-arrived-in-london-122822 |url-status=live }}

While a bran- and wheatgerm-discarding milling process can help improve white flour's shelf life, it does remove nutrients like some dietary fiber, iron, B vitamins, micronutrients{{cite web|url=http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/grains.html|title=Grains - What foods are in the grain group?|publisher=USDA.gov|work=ChooseMyPlate.gov|date=2009-10-01|access-date=2012-01-06|archive-date=2023-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207231058/https://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/grains.html|url-status=dead}} and essential fatty acids. The US government has mandated since 1941 fortification of white flour-based foods with some of the nutrients lost in milling, like thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron. This mandate came about in response to the vast nutrient deficiencies seen in US military recruits at the start of World War II.{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.jada.2005.06.009|pmid=16182650|title=Position of the American Dietetic Association: Fortification and Nutritional Supplements|journal=Journal of the American Dietetic Association|volume=105|issue=8|pages=1300–1311|year=2005|author1=American Dietetic Association}} This fortification led to nearly universal eradication of deficiency diseases in the US, such as pellagra and beriberi (deficiencies of niacin and thiamine, respectively) and white bread continues to contain these added vitamins to this day.{{cite journal |last1=Rajakumar |first1=Kumaravel |title=Pellagra in the United States: A Historical Perspective |journal=Southern Medical Journal |date=March 2000 |volume=93 |issue=3 |pages=272–277 |doi=10.1097/00007611-200093030-00005 |pmid=10728513 }}

Folic acid is another nutrient that some governments have mandated is added to enriched grains like white bread. In the US and Canada, these grains have been fortified with mandatory levels of folic acid since 1998 because of its important role in preventing birth defects. Since fortification began, the rate of neural tube defects has decreased by approximately one-third in the US.Williams, L.J., et al. [http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/ Decline in the prevalence of spina bifida and anencephaly by race/ethnicity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205085248/https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/ |date=2023-02-05 }}: 1995-2002. Pediatrics. 2005; 116: 580-586.{{cite web|url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=phn|title=Cambridge Journals Online - Public Health Nutrition|publisher=Journals.cambridge.org|access-date=2010-11-07|archive-date=2023-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207231100/https://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=phn|url-status=live}}Grosse, S., et al. [http://ajph.aphapublications.org/ Reevaluating the benefits of folic acid fortification in the United States: economic analysis, regulation, and public health] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514164604/https://ajph.aphapublications.org/ |date=2019-05-14 }}. Am J Public Health. 2005; 95: 1917-1922. Folic acid supplementation was mandated in the UK in September 2021, joining more than 80 countries in the world with this public health measure.{{cite news |last1=Knapton |first1=Sarah |title=Flour will be fortified by folic acid to help reduce spinal birth defects |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/09/19/flour-will-fortified-folic-acid-help-reduce-spinal-birth-defects/ |publisher=Telegraph Media Group Limited |date=19 September 2021 |access-date=20 September 2021 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207231056/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/09/19/flour-will-fortified-folic-acid-help-reduce-spinal-birth-defects/ |url-status=live }}

{{Portal|Food}}

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• Brown bread, a whole grain bread sometimes made with molasses or coffee
• Chorleywood bread process, another common process for mass-produced bread
• Flour treatment agent
• Graham bread, an early reintroduction of an unbleached bread
• Maida flour, a bleached flour typically used to make a white bread in India
• Plain loaf
• Pullman loaf, bread baked in a lidded pan, responsible for square-shaped slices
• Rye bread, a bread that can be darker or neutral in color
• Sliced bread, pre-sliced and packaged bread, first sold in 1928
• Vienna bread, baking processes that lead to lighter, less sour breads
• Ultra-processed food
• Whole wheat bread, one common alternative to white bread
• Wonder Bread

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{{Commons category|White bread}}

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite book | last=Mercuri | first=B. | title=American Sandwich | publisher=Gibbs Smith, Publisher | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-4236-1192-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6tsfBwoTn8C&pg=PA9 | page=9 | access-date=2016-03-13 | archive-date=2023-08-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804104950/https://books.google.com/books?id=k6tsfBwoTn8C&pg=PA9 | url-status=live }}

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{{Wiktionary|white bread}}

• [https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/?query=white%20bread%20unenriched "white bread unenriched" search results at FoodData Central]
• [https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/167532/nutrients Bread, white wheat]
• [https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/339504/nutrients Bread, white]

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Category:Wheat breads