White Whole Wheat Bread?

A relatively new type of bread has been popping up on grocery store shelves. Some stores stock it with the health breads, and some put it next to white bread. It's labeled as "White Whole Wheat Bread," which seems an oxymoron to health food aficionados. We know that whole wheat means the entire grain is used in the flour, including the brown parts of the wheat grain. Whole wheat flour gives baked goods an earthy, full-bodied texture. It is packed with nutrients, fiber and natural sweetness. And it is brown.

Most bread flour in the U.S. is milled from hard red winter wheat. Winter wheat is planted in the fall to grow and set roots to overwinter. The immature plants are dormant until spring, when they start growing again and set grain heads for early summer harvesting. Typical all-purpose white flour is milled by separating the nutritious germ and brown bran from the white endosperm. The further processing of milled white flour removes additional healthful benefits.

All regular white flour undergoes a natural bleaching process through normal oxidation in storage. Unbleached white flour is essentially milled endosperm that oxidizes naturally over time to a fairly white color. However, bleached white flour has benzoyl peroxide added to speed up the oxidation process and to create a more consistently white flour. Yes, it's the same benzoyl peroxide that is used in acne medication. Benzoyl peroxide eliminates fatty acids on the skin when you apply it topically, and the chemical has the same effect with fatty acids in flour. Unbleached regular white flour retains some nutritional value even after the germ and bran have been removed. Bleaching regular white flour with benzoyl peroxide strips away the natural fatty acids and much of the remaining nutritive value.

So that's a little about regular white flour and whole wheat.

Now, how about that white whole wheat?

Over 60 million acres in the U.S. are planted with the different types of wheat. Only about 300,000 acres are planted with a relative newcomer, hard white wheat. Hard white wheat is not a genetically modified grain, but a natural albino mutation. Phenolic acids and tannins in the bran (the outer shell of the grain) give traditional wheat its brown color; some people think bran adds a slightly bitter taste to whole wheat flour. Because these color compounds are not found in the bran of hard white wheat, it has a much sweeter, milder flavor. White wheat is a favorite grain in Great Britain and other European countries, but it is just beginning to make its way into the U.S. food supply.

Whole grain flour milled from hard white wheat has fiber and nutritional values that equal traditional American whole wheat. The only difference is that the white wheat does not have the color genes; even the bran is white. So when you see White Whole Wheat bread on the grocery shelf, you can buy it for the white bread lovers in your family, knowing that they'll have the nutrition and fiber they need and the color they like.

And don't forget to buy white whole wheat flour for baking. Three online sources are listed below if your grocery does not carry it. King Arthur even has organic white whole wheat flour, my personal favorite.

Buy white whole wheat flour online at:
King Arthur Flour
Hodgson Mill
American White Wheat Producers Association

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Resources:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0146.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/whole-wheat-bread/AN01512
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-03-16-white-wheat_x.htm