10 Best Breads in India 2021 (Theobroma, Bonn, and more)

Bread is the way of life because it is something we consume every day with various fillings, dips, and sauces. Most people pick random bread in the grocery store without checking its ingredients, serving size, and nutritional facts.

So, we’re here to take you through our list of 10 best bread, consisting of all the right ingredients, including grains, fibre, and all the other good stuff.

You may be surprised to know that bread that says 'whole wheat' or brown is not the healthiest option. Instead, bread made with whole grains carries the most nutritional value. So, always pick the one that says '100% whole grains' or 'whole sprouted grains'.

There are many more factors to consider and ingredients to look out for before choosing a bread. Therefore, we present an all-inclusive buying guide to help you understand the different terms mentioned on the packaging.

When you're on your next grocery run, look for bread labelled as '100% whole grain' or '100% whole wheat' as they're naturally low in fat and are cholesterol-free. Whole-grain bread is primarily made with wheat, but you can check the ingredient list for other grains, like oats, flax seeds, barley, buckwheat, etc.

Different grains have different benefits as they offer healthy fibre, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and at times, phytoestrogens (plant estrogens). Whole-grain bread loaded with all these nutrients offers many health benefits. It protects from diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and stroke.

Many bread manufacturers use terms like 'wheat' and 'multigrain' and don't mention a percentage to lure you into buying a bread that looks healthy but consists of 75% all-purpose flour. So, make sure the packaging says 100% and whole grain or whole wheat as the first ingredients on the label.

Make this a general rule of thumb when buying any food item; the shorter the list of ingredients, the healthier is the food. Bread should have only four ingredients – flour, yeast or a starter, water, and salt. Other ingredients you might find are olive oil, nuts or seeds, and sprouted or unprocessed whole grains, which are acceptable ones.

You might also find sweetener (sugar, corn syrup) and preservatives in a store-bought bread to give it longer shelf life. Though it is best to avoid preservatives and artificial colours and flavours, natural preservatives like honey, vinegar, cultured wheat, glycerol, and ascorbic acid are not harmful.

Any additive that you find is hard-to-pronounce is best to be avoided. Also, stay away from partially hydrogenated oils, added sugars, and fats and bread with high fibre content, leading to bloating and gas discomfort.

Most brands add a dose of sodium to control the yeast activity and add flavour to the bread. The amount of sodium an adult should intake per day should be less than 2000 mg and at least 1500 mg for kids. So, you must consume within the limit, especially if you have high blood pressure.

A slice of whole-grain bread has around 200 mg of sodium, so if you eat three slices of it, you'll be consuming 600 mg sodium. There are brands like Britannia and Bonn that make bread with 200 mg or less sodium per slice.

Bread is a staple food for many people; from breakfast toast to sandwiches at lunch and artisan bread for dinner, they rely on bread for their daily diet. Therefore, keeping a check on the fibre content in your bread is an essential factor. Eating plenty of fibre lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, etc.

Your bread should have 2-4 grams of fibre per slice, implying that it is indeed a whole-grain product. The packaging might mention the grams of fibre the bread has per gram of carbohydrates. An ideal count would be – 1 gram of fibre per 10 grams of carbohydrates.

A single serving of bread is considered approximately 28 gm, which is equivalent to one slice. While some pieces are thicker than others, some vary in their size, making it challenging to keep a note of how many servings you are eating. Why is it important to keep a check on the serving size?

It helps determine your nutritional intake, including calories. For instance, if you eat a slice of whole grain bread, it forms the part of the whole grain you eat during the day, which should be around 30% of your daily food intake. Ideally, two slices (200 calories) will be good enough and the rest of the whole grain intake should come from other food items.

You can check the serving size information on the label. For instance, Harvest's family pack (700 gm) has a serving size of 26.92 gm, and hearty brown bread (400 gm) has 28.57 gm. If the serving size is not mentioned, you can use its net weight as the basis.

Whether you're an everyday bread eater or an occasional one, it's good to understand the difference between different bread types available in the market. By choosing one of these bread, you'd know that you're eating the healthiest one. So, let's take a look!

Whole wheat is the most common type of whole grain bread you'll find in the market. However, there are other options to choose from, like whole barley, whole rye, brown rice, and whole-grain oats, to name a few. Whole-grain bread is unrefined; therefore, it retains most nutrient-rich components like bran, germs, and endosperm.

On the other hand, refined flour in white bread is milled to give it a finer texture and improve shelf life, but it takes away all the dietary fibre, vitamin B, and iron. This makes whole-grain bread a healthier alternative to white bread. So, if you're on a diet and looking for something nutritious for snacking, whole-grain bread is the way to go.

As the name suggests, sprouted loaves of bread are made from sprouted grains. The process of sprouting breaks down the starch in the grains, thus lowering the carbohydrate content and making the bread healthier than conventional ones. The sprouted grains are also rich in fibre, vitamin B, vitamin C, folate, etc.

Sprouted bread also decrease the anti-nutrients (substances inhibiting the absorption of minerals) in our body, making it easy to digest. If you want 100% sprouted grain bread, you'll have to check the store's frozen section because these loaves of bread do not contain preservatives and are more susceptible to spoilage.

Sourdough bread has a characteristic tangy flavour that comes after its starter ferments the sugar in the dough. A starter is a wild yeast cultured at home, using flour and water and added to the bread at regular intervals to help it rise, get the fluffy texture, and acquire the fermented taste.

And, the process of fermentation makes the bread easy to digest and have a better effect on sugar levels because of the low glycemic index. The lactic acid in sourdough makes important minerals like magnesium, iron, and zinc easily digestible. It also lowers the bread pH, thus breaking down phytates and making minerals easy and quick absorption.

Multigrain bread made with 100% whole grains is rich in fibre, making it a nutritious option. However, manufacturers mix refined flour with wheat flour and add synthetic nutrients to replenish nutrients lost in the milling process. And these additives are not suitable for our health.

Multigrain bread contains different grains like wheat, oats, millets, and quinoa, which are beneficial for your health if used with their bran and germ. If you find terms like bleached and enriched mentioned in the ingredients list, the bread is not entirely whole grains. So, try and avoid getting those multigrain bread.

The process of making bread at home is not as difficult as it seems. You need the right set of ingredients and a few tips and tricks to get that perfect homemade bread. In this video, we learn how to make whole wheat brown bread with fewer ingredients.

• Add dry yeast, caster sugar, and lukewarm water in wheat flour
• Add water as required and form a dough
• Add vegetable oil and salt and knead the dough for around 10 minutes on a flat surface
• Once done, grease a bowl and place the dough in it, cover it with a damp cloth, and keep aside for 45 minutes, contd.

You can check out the video for the complete recipe. And do share your thoughts with us when you try it.

Whenever we for grocery shopping, we're always looking for ways to add healthy food items to our cart. But once in the store, every aisle looks like a maze and we end up picking all the wrong stuff. To help you choose the best food items, we've some articles with recommendations from the best brands available in India.

So, let's get reading!

The market is flooded with dozens of bread options, making it difficult to choose the healthiest one. In the article above, we tried to cover all the aspects that'll help you pick the best bread in India. We hope that it will be of help to you and your family.

Author: Srishti Sikka