Can we get Soft supermarket bread?

moneysaver

Hi,
My wife has asked me to post this question about supermarket own brand bread. Every time she goes into Asda or Tesco to buy bread if she wanted to buy the own brand bread which is cheaper than the Big brands, why is it not always as soft as the leading brands?. I thought it was just cheaper because of the make, I didn't think it was because the cheap stuff was not as fresh. I know that all the bread cheap or otherwise is made at the same bakery so why are we getting bread that is not as fresh? just because it is cheaper does not mean it should be older. Can anybody enlighten me on this or give any tips about getting fresh own brand bread?

I think the Supermarkets should tell us if bread is not fresh everyday, at least we could have a choice wether to buy it or not.

Thanks
Monesaver

naomi123

Supermarket own brand bread may use a cheaper flour than Big Brands- it may also not have the best improvers etc and may be made to a different recipe. Just because it is made in the same bakery dosnt mean it is made the same way or with the same ingredients!

moneysaver

I don't think you got my point naomi123. I am not talking about the taste of the bread I am talking about the freshness i.e. how soft it is. On some days it is fresh & soft and other days(most) it is not. So this means the recipe they use can be made soft & fresh.


Moneysaver

angeluk69_2

hi I tend to buy tesco stayfresh bread, it claims to stay fresh for up to 7 days and it is very nice and soft and only costs 50p per loaf, also good aftre being frozen

rchddap1

If you want really fresh bread then why not make it yourself. Only way round your problem from my point of view. You also have to remember that anything resembling a rectangle in a printed plastic bag will not be 'fresh' as it has been mass produced, pumped full of air (the 'softness' you refer to) and preserving chemicals before being sent to distribution centres, and then finally to the stores to be sold. So by the time it gets to your sandwiches (or whatever else) the chances that it is wonderfully fresh are slim if non existent.

Personally I have a breadmaker so I stick the ingredients (flour, oil, sugar, salt, yeast, milk powder) in the pan and a few hours later.....a nice genuinely fresh loaf.

angeluk69_2

good idea, and it does work out cheaper in the long run cos you can make all sorts not just bread loaves but rolls and bagguettes too!!

Paul_D__2-2

It's not that the cheap stuff is not as fresh it is as someone touched on, the quality of the ingredients, a lower quality flour is used, and flour treatment agents that are added to breads such as Kingsmill and Hovis' own brand bread are not used in say the tesco value bread. There is also an element of sugar added to the cheaper bread to lower the cost of making it. The value bread still comes in daily with the rest of the bread.

On a bit of a tangent, for the true date on the bread you need to look at the number in the bracket after the date as that tells you the mimimum amount of time the bread will keep for.

I.e on a loaf of bread if the date says for example 15th Jan (2) then that loaf of bread has to be sold by the shop on or before 13th Jan, giving you two days use of it. Notice the stayfresh ones will have a (7) after the date.

vansboy

I understand the convenience of 'stay fresh longer' bread, but I'd prefer buying something soft, in the first place too!!

Then keep it in MY freezer, rather than a store/bakery chiller!!

VB

DSmiffy

I;ve always found that the cheaper bread is not on ly less soft but seems to off much faster. The slices have mould on them in no time, why is that?

richardsimkiss

DSmiffy wrote:

I;ve always found that the cheaper bread is not on ly less soft but seems to off much faster. The slices have mould on them in no time, why is that?

Again, cheaper and lower quality ingredients! With regards to own brand bread, I'd say it's fine if you're going to use it within two days, or toasting it.

Otherwise making your own is the best scenario, can't get much more fresh than that! Obviosuly that's an inconvinence for many people so really then you're looking at needing to buy branded goods where the ingredients are sure to keep the loaf nice n soft, for longer.