With all of the latest diet trends, many seem to have placed a negative stigma on bread. However, what most people have been eating are really refined, fast-process breads that doesn’t have any nutritional value.
At The Bread House, we take the time to freshly mill our own flour, and we have plenty of reasons why we do this, the main one being that the grains key nutrients aren’t stripped away.
Milling fresh flour is equivalent to grinding fresh coffee, or fresh spices, and it’s a much stronger, fresher, flavor and aroma. Depending on what grains we’re using and which kind of bread we’re making, will give you this very flavorful, really digestible, and highly nutritious loaf of bread in the end.
The ‘whole wheat’ found on the shelves of your local grocery store are usually milled many weeks, and even months before arriving at the store. Therefore, these wheat flours are usually altered to extend the shelf life. The perishable parts of the grain, the bran, and the wheat germ are removed, leaving the most nutritious parts of the bread out. Preservatives may also be added to some whole wheat flours which can negate the nutritional benefits of whole grains.
Freshly milled flour, on the other hand, loses most of its nutrients if it is not used within 72 hours of milling. Freshly milled whole wheat does not have a long shelf life, and usually around 7-10 days it begins to become rancid. The bran is packed with fiber and the wheat germ is the vitamin and mineral rich embryo of the kernel. Wheat germ is full of vitamin B6, folate, thiamin, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and vitamin E.
Repeated studies have documented the benefits of whole grains, including:
- Type 2 diabetes risk reduced by 21-30%
- Stroke risk reduced by 30-36%
- Heart disease reduced by 25%
- Healthier colon reducing the risk of colorectal cancer
- Better weight maintenance
- Prevents gallstones
- Reduces the risk of asthma
- Reduction of inflammatory disease risk
- Less gum disease and tooth loss
- Eases digestive disorders
- Slows the build up of plaque in arteries
- Lowers triglycerides
- Lowers blood pressure
- Improves insulin control
The 2 most important benefits of freshly milled whole grain flour are that the nutritional value is maintained at its maximum capacity and fresher flour equals fresher flavor. Really, all you have to do is come into The Bread House and order any sandwich made with our fresh bread, or buy a loaf in the store, and it’s pretty easy after that to see for yourself the difference in taste.
