20 kinds of bread red and black list: these 4 kinds are really not recommended

Many friends choose bread for breakfast, but there are many types of bread, especially those products from bakeries without nutrition labels. How should they choose?

This article divides the bread on the market into three levels: more recommended, generally recommended and least recommended, for your reference.

Bread recipes vary from source to source, and the following only represents general trends. Please refer to the product label for specific nutritional content.

Too long to read

Recommended: regular toast/sliced ​​bread/staple bread, whole wheat bread, hard bread (baguette, lye bun, Prussian knot, bagel, etc.)

Recommended: Milk stick bread/Egg bread, Red bean paste bread, Hokkaido toast/Hand-torn toast/Puff pastry toast

Least recommended: Chocolate sandwich bread, croissants/croissants, Danish bread, hand-torn buns, puff pastry, coconut bread, pork floss bread

Note: The data in this article is based on the United States Department of Agriculture database and the nutritional composition table of commercial products.

These 4 types of bread are not recommended

Let’s talk about the types that are not recommended first. The following 4 types of bread may have a high fat content that may surprise you↓

1. Chocolate Sandwich Bread (Fat Content: 30%)

First of all, chocolate sandwich bread is the first bread that is not recommended, with a fat content of up to 30%. If you eat a chocolate sandwich bread (about 120g-150g) for breakfast, your fat intake for the day will easily exceed the standard, because you have already consumed nearly 40g of fat during breakfast.

It is worth noting that the chocolate sauce in this kind of bread is not real chocolate, but a compound of a variety of vegetable oils, animal oil products, sugar and flavors to imitate the chocolate flavor. Most of its fat content comes from these additives, and it does not contain the healthy phenolic antioxidants found in real chocolate.

Chocolate, Image source: piqsels

I compared all 40 types of bread on the shelves of a comprehensive supermarket. Among them, the fat content of three types of chocolate sandwich bread was the most exaggerated, as high as 30%. The calories of a 120g bread were over 600kcal.

2. Croissants, croissants, Danish bread, etc. (fat content: 13%-20%)

The production process of these breads requires a lot of butter and repeated folding, which makes their fat content quite high, reaching 13%-20%, second only to chocolate sauce bread.

Taking croissants as an example, if you want a crispy texture, the amount of butter can even reach 50% or 70% of the flour.

Croissant, image source: piqsels

Be careful when you see bread with the word "Danish" in its name in the supermarket, such as "Danish pineapple bun". The characteristic of this kind of bread is that the surface is not smooth and does not look full, but has layers of shiny wrinkles. If you see this kind of bread in a bakery, even if there is no nutritional information attached, you can realize that it is a "calorie bomb".

Danish bread, photo source: Gu Zhongyi

In addition, some breads are also sold in supermarkets, and their product names usually include "croissant", "hand-torn bread", "puff pastry" and "crispy bread".

These breads are usually not made with butter, but with vegetable oil instead. The traditional recipe uses butter, and some bakeries also use butter, but there are also products that use vegetable oil instead to reduce costs, depending on the ingredient list.

In order to make these cheap vegetable oils have a similar effect to butter, most of them need to be processed by processes such as hydrogenation. Although manufacturers now pay attention to reducing the content of trans fatty acids, these finished products still contain a lot of saturated fat and are still unhealthy.

For example, a 160g bagel of torn bread may not seem like a big deal, but it contains 566 calories and 20g of fat, making it a very greasy breakfast choice.

3. Coconut Bread (Fat Content: 18%)

Coconut flakes are the dried residue left after the coconut meat is squeezed to make juice. The fat content is very high, up to 45% to 60%, and most of it is saturated fat. In order to neutralize the taste of coconut flakes and make the bread more delicious, more oil is usually added during the production process to further increase the fat content of the bread.

Coconut bread, image source: piqsels

4. Meat floss bread (fat content: 15% to 19%)

The fat content of meat floss bread is also relatively high, ranging from 15% to 19%. Some people may ask, can't meat floss supplement protein, why is the fat content also high?

Indeed, meat floss is mainly a product made of meat powder and bean powder, and its protein content is relatively high. However, in order to make the meat floss powder adhere firmly to the surface of the bread and form a delicious taste, a large amount of salad dressing or custard sauce is usually added during the production process of meat floss bread.

For example, a certain brand of meat floss bread clearly states that the salad dressing content is ≥ 23%, which means that the amount of salad dressing used far exceeds that of meat floss powder. Therefore, the fat content of meat floss bread is also high, and it is also necessary to pay attention to eating in moderation.

Three types of bread generally recommended

The first four types of bread are best eaten as occasional treats, and people who are losing weight should avoid them.

Relatively speaking, the following options are more recommended:

1. Milk Bread/Egg Bread

Oil, eggs, milk or milk powder are added during the production process of this type of bread, giving it a soft and dense texture with a rich egg and milk flavor.

It is characterized by being relatively fluffy and easily squashed, but will return to its original shape once you let go.

Milk stick bread, Image source: Gu Zhongyi

Compared with the first four types of bread, this type of bread has a lower fat content, about 10%. At the same time, due to the addition of eggs and milk powder, its protein content is also increased.

2. Red bean paste bread

Red bean paste bread is a very popular type of bread. Its crust is ordinary custard bread, and the filling is rich red bean paste.

Thanks to the addition of bean paste, this bread is relatively low in fat, only around 3%, and due to its small size, it is perfect for sharing with others.

Each bun has only about 100 kcal, which is moderate in calories. However, it should be noted that the sugar content in the red bean paste is usually not low, so you should be careful to eat it in moderation.

Red bean paste bread, Image source: Gu Zhongyi

3. Hokkaido toast/hand-torn toast/crispy toast

If you like bread with rich layers, it is wiser to choose torn toast or puff pastry than croissants and puff pastry. Although the layers of torn toast are created by adding fat, the amount added is much less than that of croissants.

Recommended types of bread

1. Ordinary toast/sliced ​​bread/staple bread

Although sliced ​​toast is a refined carbohydrate compared to whole-grain staples, compared to other breads that have a lot of sugar and oil added, ordinary toast has a lower fat content of about 3%-4%, and each slice has about 150kcal, which is low in fat and calories.

Sliced ​​toast, image source: piqsels

2. Whole wheat bread

Whole wheat bread refers to bread made with whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour is considered healthier because it contains more dietary fiber, B vitamins and protein than ordinary wheat flour.

However, many breads on the market that claim to be whole wheat bread are not necessarily made entirely with whole wheat flour. Some may only add a little bit for the sake of taste, while others may even add a lot of sugar and oil.

Whole wheat bread, Image source: piqsels

When choosing whole-wheat bread, we should choose products that have whole-wheat flour listed first in the ingredient list, especially those that clearly indicate the amount of whole-wheat flour added. At the same time, we should avoid choosing whole-wheat bread that has a lot of added sugar or sugar listed relatively high in the ingredients.

3. Hard bread

Crusty bread, also known as hard European bread, is the healthiest type of bread. Its raw materials are very simple, including only flour, yeast or soda, salt and water. This kind of bread does not add any additional ingredients such as oil, sugar or eggs during the production process, and only needs to be simply baked.

Baguette, Image source: piqsels

Hard bread is known for its crispy and chewy crust and soft filling, and the aroma of wheat is very strong when it is freshly baked.

Here are some common types of crusty bread:

Baguette

French Country Bread

· Italian Ciabatta

German lye bread and bruschetta (Pretzel)

Bagel

Bagel bread, image source: piqsels

Please note that bagels are not doughnuts. Doughnuts are soft bread that is fried, while bagels are hard bread. When purchasing, be sure to read the product name carefully to avoid confusion.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to find pure hard bread in bakeries nowadays, because many bakeries add some butter during the production process to increase the taste. However, compared with the least recommended and generally recommended breads, this type of bread is still relatively good. If you don't have time to make hard bread as a staple, you can consider buying commercial products.

Which bread is your favorite?

Author: Gu Zhongyi, Director of Beijing Nutritionist Association

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center