From the most remote times, bread has been an important part of the diet of mankind. It is to-day probably more generally and extensively used than any other one food-stuff, with the possible exception of milk. It is therefore extremely important to know what constitutes good bread and what are its nutritive properties.

Composition

The ingredients of bread are very simple -flour, water, yeast and salt. Any cereal, cleaned, crushed and sifted to a powder, may serve as the flour, but wheat flour makes the most satisfactory bread, because its proteins in the form of gluten have more elasticity than those of other cereals.

"Bread contains from 34 to 40 per cent. of water, and the remainder, about 60 per cent. at least, is nutritive material. It contains a large amount of carbohydrates, a moderate amount of protein, a small amount of mineral matter, and almost no fat. Owing to the excess of carbohydrates and deficiency of protein in wheat, bread could not serve alone for the proper nutritive of the body, because an amount of bread sufficient to supply the requisite protein would furnish much more carbohydrates than necessary. In a mixed diet this discrepancy is of little importance, as it is supplied by the other protein foods eaten. Most methods of increasing the protein contents of bread have a tendency to increase the cost, but skim milk can be used in place of water in the mixing with little added expense, and it will add about 2 per cent. increase as to protein."1

Digestibility And Nutritive Value

"The nutritive value of bread depends, not only on its chemical composition, but also on its digestibility, and digestibility in its turn seems to depend largely on the lightness of the loaf. It is the gluten in a dough which gives it the power of stretching and rising as the gas from the yeast expands within it, and hence of making a light loaf. Eye has less gluten proteids than wheat, while barley, oats and maize have none, so that they do not make a light, porous loaf like wheat. It is possible that of the various kinds of wheat flour those containing a large part of the bran - entire wheat and graham flours - furnish the body with more mineral matter than fine white flour; but it is not certain that the extra amount of mineral matter furnished is of the same value as that from the interior of the grain. They do not yield more digestible protein than the white flours, as was for a time supposed. It seems safe to say that, as far as is known, for a given amount of money, white flour yields the most actual nourishment with the various food ingredients in good proportion.

1 From Fanner's Bulletin No. 389, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. For further information, read " Bread and Bread-Making, ' Fanner's Bulletin No. 389.

"It should be remembered, however, that all kinds of bread are wholesome if of good quality, and the use of several kinds is an easy means of securing variety in the diet." 1 As compared with most meats and vegetables, bread has practically no waste, and is very completely digested. Few foods yield so much energy for so little money. A diet of bread and milk can be perfectly balanced and will be tired of less easily than any other equally simple diet.

All bread-stuffs should be eaten slowly and thoroughly masticated, in order that time may be given for the saliva to act upon the starch. For if the stomach is hampered with quantities of unchanged starch it cannot perform its work without effort. Fermentation results or the intestines have more than their share of work to do and rebel. If these foods were eaten slowly much of the resultant dyspepsia would be avoided.