Today's article in the Daily Mail, though useful in the campaign against factory produced bread, is slightly misleading in its headline that implies that all bread in 2011 is unhealthy.



Sourdough loaves from the loaf

Bread made by the growing number of bakers like us at the loaf, as pictured here, is nothing like the bread described in this article. To illustrate this point, let's simply take the 1911/2011 comparison and go through the 2011 points one by one:



1 White wheat flour - more than half of the bread available at the loaf contains wholegrain flour, some of our breads are 100% wholegrain

2 Excessive salt - All bread at the loaf is below the current FSA (Food Standards Agency) standard for salt content, 95% of our bread meets or exceeds the targets for salt reduction set by the FSA for 2012

3 Sugar - The only bread we make which contains any sugar of any kind is our 100% spelt sourdough loaf which has a small amount of Derbyshire honey in its ingredients

4 Hydrogenated and fractionated fats - We do not have any hydrogenated or fractionated fats on the premises, let alone in any of our breads

5 Soya flour 'improver' - We do not have any soya flour on the premises, let alone in any of our breads. Softness in breads you buy at the loaf comes from the care and gentle processes which we use to make them

6 Flour treatment agents - We do not have any flour treatment agents on the premises, let alone in any of our breads. Fluffiness in breads you buy at the loaf comes from the care and gentle processes which we use to make them

7 Reducing agents (for baguettes) - I don't even know what these are!!! Our baguettes get their authentically French crunch and taste from the flour we use and the authentic recipe and process we use to make them

8 Emulsifiers to give the illusion of freshness - No bread made at the loaf needs to have anything added to give the illusion of freshness because it is all baked fresh every day. Unlike supermarkets, we do not sell yesterday's bread and claim it is fresh. There are no emulsifiers on our premises or in any of our breads

9 Preservatives including mould killers - Every loaf sold in our shops is fresh. We do not add preservatives of any kind and are very happy to discuss with customers which breads keep for several days, and which are best on the day they are bought. 'Give us this day our daily bread' - the clue is in the Lord's prayer, bread is a daily product not one that should be given an artificially lengthened life by adding chemicals

10 Enzymes - No bread at the loaf contains enzymes of any sort, we do not have enzymes on the premises and never will

There are many breads available at our shops and at an increasing number of other artisan producers across the country which are a health asset, not a health hazard. All of our breads are 100% additive free. We have many, many customers now who have been suffering for years from so-called 'gluten intolerance' who are able to eat the majority of our breads with no problems at all. What they may well have been suffering from is 'process intolerance', 'chemical intolerance' and 'factory intolerance'.

We look forward to welcoming any customers who have had dietary problems that have been linked to factory bread consumption and I am happy to discuss which of our breads might be most suitable to try first. Ask for Andrew when visiting Crich.

Please don't be misled by today's article - there is much wonderful, healthy, crusty, palatable, digestible and additive-free bread being made here in Derbyshire and right across the country. Visit the Real Bread Campaign site and look at their bread finder or come and see us in Crich and Matlock.

NB If you are a coeliac, it is unlikely that our breads will be suitable for your diet as coeliac's disease is an immune reaction to gluten. Gluten is a natural component of wheat and rye and it is flour from these two cereals which we use to make our bread. We do not currently offer a 100% gluten-free loaf.