Back Bread


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Whether you’re a dough addict or a dabbler, bread at its best is true pleasure. From challah to injera, here are 11 reasons to fall back in love with loaves


WORDS: REBECCA SEAL, CAROLYN BOYD & JOEL PORTER


Approximately 14,400 years ago, a Natufian baker burnt a round of unleavened bread. In 2018, it was found — charred and initially unidentifiable — in an ancient fireplace in Jordan. Up until this moment, bread consumption was thought to have begun much later, after the advent of grain farming around 10,000 years ago. However, this discovery suggested hunter-gatherers were making bread long before they settled around arable farms. In short, it shook up accepted notions of just how long bread has been in our lives. Having been crucial to our survival for so


long, these days bread is having a hard time of it, thanks to the fashion for low-carb diets and the rise in allergies and intolerances to wheat or gluten. Although it’s thought only 1% of the UK population suffer from coeliac disease, more and more people are keeping wheat at arm’s length, with 2019 research from Mintel finding 27% of people had purchased or eaten gluten- free products over a six-month period. Various factors are blamed for the apparent


increase in wheat allergies and non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, including the use of highly refined white flours; flours made from under- germinated grains; pesticides and fertilisers; emulsifiers, additives and enzymes added to factory-made breads; and lowered levels of good bacteria in the human gut microbiome. Some analysts think modern bread-flour


wheats — all developed since the 1950s — are more likely to trigger immune responses; others point out that many mass-produced


36 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/FOOD-TRAVEL


breads are made with added ‘wheat protein’ (typically gluten). Studies also suggest species of ancient wheat, such as einkorn or spelt, have relatively low allergenicity, but the science is still so new that conclusions are hard to reach. Some people with mild symptoms claim


they fare better with sourdough breads — possibly because the long fermentation process involved in its production decreases and de-intensifies the gluten content. British supermarkets have seen demand soar in recent years — Marks & Spencer saw a 98% rise in 2017, Asda 50% — although the Real Bread Campaign argues these are rarely true sourdoughs, as many are industrially produced with added baker’s yeast. Sourdough’s growing popularity has


coincided with the renaissance of the artisan UK bakery, with brands such as Gail’s, Paul, Le Pain Quotidien and Ole & Steen leading the charge in London. Meanwhile, a recent study by insurer Simply Business showed a 48% rise in the number of independent UK bakeries between 2016 and 2018, a boom that neatly coincides with the ongoing ratings success of The Great British Bake Off. All of which suggests that, despite our increasing wariness of wheat, there’s a growing appetite for bread at its best. So, if you’ve lost your love of loaves, here are


11 ways to rekindle it. Taking inspiration from bread-loving destinations across the globe, we bring you everything from the best baguettes in Paris to the joys of Ethiopian injera. All sure to blow a Natufian baker’s mind. RS


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