Parchment paper, grease or butter are not required because with the BrightSpring baking mat's silicone-coated fibreglass design food slides off leaving no burnt-on residue for a more even bake and easier cleaning.
(Food-Beverage-News.Com, August 16, 2013 ) Brighton, East Sussex -- Buying bread. How hard can it be? Well if you're looking for the healthier option then it is more difficult than you might think.
It is well documented that white bread is unhealthy and if you intend to keep your waistline down then it should not be consumed regularly. So the answer is brown bread then? Not necessarily.
White bread is made with refined flour which means that the bran, germ and endosperm are removed during the milling process extracting the fibre, vitamin B and iron content leaving few of its original nutrients. In addition, many manufacturers will also bleach the refined flour with chlorine dioxide, benzoyl peroxide or potassium bromate to give the flour the desired white color. The purpose of doing is that removing the natural oils will increase the shelf life of the loaf.
The white bread that is made from this refined flour is unhealthy and is one of the prime weight gain foods. White bread is proportionally high in carbohydrates that cause sugars to be quickly released into the bloodstream which get stored by the body as fats. To digest white bread your body will actually require more enzymes, vitamins and minerals from the other foods you consume.
Many people choose to eat brown bread as the healthier option but caution should be taken when selecting your brown bread as many actually offer no nutritional advantage to that of white bread.
When buying brown bread you should looking for a bread that is high in wholegrain flour, normally wheat or rye. True brown bread will show wholemeal/wholegrain as the main ingredient and not enriched wheat flour. A lot of the brown bread that you find on the shelves is simply white bread that has been dyed by the manufacturer with ingredients such as caramel to give it a healthy ‘brown bread' appearance. Do not be fooled. Other manufacturers will add a seeded crust or granulate the loaf in a half-hearted attempt to re-enrich the bread with some of the nutrients that were extracted from the original grain, but this is no substitute.
Some healthy alternatives to white and brown breads are rye bread, spelt bread and wheat-free bread. These breads are harder to find but the grains used to make them have not been subjected to the same level of treatment as the popular white and brown options commonly purchased and are therefore far healthier.
The only way to truly ensure you are enjoying the healthiest option is to bake your own bread. Colin Matthews of bakeware retailer, BrightSpring, commented, "white bread is very unhealthy and it is essentially nothing more than starch after the whole grains have been removed. Contrary to common understanding, brown bread is often not much better so people are turning to baking their own bread instead. As well as the health benefits you also get to enjoy delicious freshly baked bread made the way you like it".
So the next time you're standing in the bread isle considering which loaf to get, check the label. Or better still, just bake your own - it's the best thing since sliced bread.
About BrightSpring
BrightSpring are a supplier of silicone kitchenware and bakeware, bringing professional quality products to the home. The BrightSpring silicone baking mat will become the kitchen accessory that you cannot live without.
In their blog, BrightSpring explore the endless possibilities of their silicone baking mats.
