Wholemeal bread: flours that aren't, and loaves at €4-6 a kilo

Wholemeal bread: flours that aren't, and loaves at €4-6 a kilo

Where can you buy wholemeal bread that is genuinely wholemeal? The question, seemingly simple, hides a problem widely discussed in consumer forums. According to several participants, the bread sold as wholemeal in most supermarkets and bakeries is not: it would be white flour with a bit of bran added to darken it. And the "wholemeal" flour sold for baking at home is often not fully wholemeal either, according to the debate.

The underlying problem, participants say, is the lack of regulation. There is no rule requiring bread labelled as wholemeal to contain a minimum percentage of wholemeal flour. Any bread with a bit of bran can call itself that. The industry knows it and takes advantage, they claim.

The price of good bread: from €2 to €6 a kilo

Real wholemeal bread is not cheap. At El Corte Inglés, a German wholemeal rye bread costs about €4 a kilo, according to one user. At artisan bakeries in Madrid such as Panic (Conde Duque), sourdough loaves sell for €5, and by nine at night there is a queue and a "sold out" sign, another participant recounts.

At the other end, Lidl's rye bread costs around €2 a kilo, though its exact composition is a mystery, according to comments. And industrial white baguettes, at 60 cents for 250 grams, work out at €2.40 a kilo, according to a calculation circulating in the thread. The price gap between bad and good bread is more than double, but the good one nourishes while the bad one merely fills you up, some argue.

Some maintain that genuinely good bread in Spain starts at €6 a kilo, the kind made by a few artisan ovens. Others argue that with a bread machine and good flours you save money and control the quality.

Wholemeal flours that aren't wholemeal

The fraud is not only in the bread but also in the flour, participants say. Many flours labelled as wholemeal are not: part of the whole grain is missing. Malted flour, toasted to darken it, is used to fake wholeness. Modern wheat, moreover, is a variety loaded with gluten and genetically modified to increase yield, it is argued in the forum.

For those who want total control, the solution is to bake at home. With a bread machine (Lidl's is popular) and quality flours such as those from El Amasadero or Rincón del Segura, you can get authentic wholemeal bread, some users recommend. Laziness, however, is the main enemy.

Alternatives: rye, spelt and organic

Rye and spelt partly escape the problem of modern wheat, it is claimed. A German wholemeal rye bread, dense and dark, is a safe option if bought at places like El Corte Inglés or organic shops such as Veritas (Lagasca, 54, Madrid), according to one user. At Carrefour, the organic food section offers certified rye, kamut and spelt breads, according to another.

Organic certification, however, does not guarantee the bread is sourdough or that the flour is truly wholemeal. It only ensures the ingredients are organic, the debate notes. There are industrial organic breads that use commercial yeast and refined flours, one participant maintains.

The industrial bread business and fake sourdough

Many bakeries that boast of sourdough buy premixes from multinationals such as Puratos, the largest maker of industrial bread, the thread denounces. That "sourdough" would in fact be an industrial product with additives and selected yeasts. The resulting bread would not have the properties of artisan bread, they claim.

Demand for quality bread has grown. In Madrid, bakeries such as El Panifiesto (Lavapiés), Panic, El Horno de Babette or 3 Letras Pan have loyal customers, it is mentioned. In Galicia, Panadería O Agro sells 100% wholemeal village rye bread, according to one user. Good bread exists, but you have to look for it and pay for it.

In the end, the question still has no easy answer. Is it worth paying €6 for a kilo of bread? It depends on how much bread you eat and how much you care about what you put into your body. What is clear is that real wholemeal bread is not found on the supermarket shelf next to the sliced loaf, participants conclude.