1961. The Berlin wall went up. The Russians sent a second dog into space. The Vietnam war began. Elvis had a wooden heart, and Helen Shapiro was walkin’ back to happiness.
And in a research centre in Chorleywood, Buckinghamshire, men in white coats were busy messing up British bread. It’s never been the same since.
Or at least 95% of the bread sold in the UK hasn’t. The Chorleywood process is now used in bread factories and large bakeries all over the country, using a ‘no-time dough’, in which a combination of high- speed mixing, chemical additives and enzymes replaces traditional fermentation.
Many people are starting to wonder if this is why so many people are now ‘wheat intolerant’.
The enzymes are used mainly to either increase the volume, elasticity or shelf-life of the bread. They come from a variety of sources, including genetically manufactured bacteria and the pancreas of pigs. Yum.
Andrew Whitely, a brilliant traditional breadmaker, is starting a campaign to bring back real bread. If you want to eat the real stuff, why not sign up for the newsletter of the Campaign for Real bread. To find out more visit www.breadmatters.com
