The Real Bread Campaign asks all of us to try to buy a loaf from a real baker, who gets up in the early hours to make proper bread made with water, flour, salt and yeast. It says that most ‘fresh bakery’ stores in supermarkets are little more than ‘loaf tanning salons’ that simply buy in part-baked bread and heat in the oven, before sale. Most of these bread loaves also contain palm oil and are wrapped in plastic packaging.
If baking bread yourself, keep fresh dough away from young children & pets, as it can expand in the stomach. Many bread ingredients like salt, garlic & dried fruits are also unsafe near pets. Don’t give crusty/stale/mouldy bread to birds (salt is also toxic and buttered bread can smear on feathers, affecting waterproofing/insulation).
The Real Bread Campaign’s Real Loaf Mark lets real bakers display a logo for a small annual fee, to further promote the baking and selling of real bread (includes sourdough loaves). You can also search their website for real independent bakers near you.
what we can learn from French boulangeries
In France, real bread is the norm. Bakers get up at 3am or so, and make dough from scratch. In fact, bakers are so important in France that they are not allowed to take holidays at the same time, they must be staggered so everyone can buy good bread.
In England, try to seek out a local bakery or farmers’ market, or try baking your own bread (you can cheat and get a small bread-making machine if you use it often). This mean the bread will be free from chemical improvers and other nasties. Even if you can’t afford to shop at swanky farm shops, supporting your local indie bakery just once a week with a good loaf of bread makes all the difference.
Cities like New York also have a strong tradition of indie bakeries and cupcake shops, and not just uber-expensive deli bakeries like we have in London. Brownstone buildings in urban areas often sell home-baked treats, which you can smell early morning, the scents of homemade breads and pastries, wafting through the city air.