Dear bread industry: we don't need dough conditioners or soybean oil either

You're doing better than I expected, bread industry. Everyday I see another loaf of processed bread has shed its preservatives. But allow me to stimulate your collective memory: perhaps you remember a recent controversy involving a chain of restaurants and yoga mats?

I have made bread many times. I've have had the homemade bread of others. Not once did I think, "hey, this bread stuff is hard to eat!" (well, the bad loaves maybe.) It's bread- one of the most easily (to our benefit and detriment) consumed of all foods. Go on, bread industry- go into the stores and check out your products. Some of them don't have conditioners. Guess what, they are eminently consumable. You really have nothing to fear. Avoid future embarassment and get rid of the dough conditioners!

Our friends at Fooducate [fooducate.com] (ok, we aren't friends yet, but hey Fooducate, we would never let you down) have listed a few things you never, ever want in your bread, and dough conditioners figure promimently on that list. Some of them have been known to cause adverse reactions in rats, such as "heart muscle fibrosis and adrenal overgrowth." I don't think that would be an awesome thing to hear from your doc.

 I know it's presumptuous to assume we have your attention, but in case we do- please consider putting something in your product other than soybean oil. We know it's cheap, but it isn't good for your customers. Remember them, the people who buy your stuff? The thing is, it's in so many of those center aisle foods, so some people are eating a lot of it. Why even put it in there? The best bread I have eaten only contains flour, water, salt and yeast.

Eating a lot of soybean oil is making us unhealthy and likely contributing to the rise of obesity and metabolic syndrome in the west. Is it just a coincidence that a graph detailing how the abandonment of natural fats in food in favor of processed vegetable oils looks just like the rise of obesity in society [authoritynutrition.com] ? Add an increase of sugar and calories, you've got yourself an epidemic. So, please take this under consideration, bread industry. Bread is a very old food. We figured out the best way to make it millennia ago.  Respect the tradition.

Even troubling is being ok with a known endocrine disruptor and supected carcinogen [livestrong.com], bromine, used as a dough strengthener. It's completely unneccary unless your goal is complete automation and consistency. Which brings me to this: the burden really is on the consumer to stop expecting complete uniformity from food prducts. Learn to appreciate the crust and structure of real bread. I think we are pretty much there: Google image search "sandwich" and you are more likely to encounter artisanal bread than the wonder slices of yesteryear.

This last bit is for supermarkets. Stop charging premium prices for breads thart are more fundamental in structure than the laboratory loaves you think we expect. This isn't the 1950s. Stacks of bread no longer have to  possess the outer contenance of a seamless, impregnable fortress. So how to charge less? Simple: engage in your community. Ditch the mass produced junk, hire more bakers, research recipes, make it yourselves. You are in the commodities market- you get the best possible price for these very basic ingredients. Pay bakers, not food conglomerates. Really! I am not kidding.

I do see some evidence of this. It might even be a trend: a growing percentage of grocery store bread is made right there in the store. Bread companies supply the materials, and in-store bakeries finish it up. The preservative argument really doesn't fly any more. It only takes a little more effort to stop paying others for your dough and start making it yourself. I'd rather know the person who makes my loaf. Take the bad stuff away, and leave only the truly needed ingredients. Just take it under consideration, ok?

Thanks.