You see so many additives in industrial breads, I figured it might be a good idea to have
a quick, convenient reference to the more common of them. In general, I am opposed to
all additives: I believe that good bread suffices to itself, and that any artificial addition,
even of naturally-occuring chemicals, is a surrender to the forces of darkness.
By the way, each additive listed here is present in at least one of the breads we have tested.
| Name |
Description |
Links |
| Ammonium chloride |
This is not a very nice chemical. It is usually listed as harmful if swallowed (oh, the irony).
Of course, that's only for large quantities.
It is used in batteries, as a fungicide on roses, as an anticaking agent, and as yeast food. |
|
| Ascorbic acid |
Ascorbic acid is just vitamic C. I don't need to tell you about that, but I don't see
why I should get vitamin C-enriched bread. |
|
| ADA (Azodicarbonamide) |
Azodicarbonamide is used to improve the gas retention and elasticity of dough. |
|
| Calcium sulfate |
Calcium sulfate is essentially plaster of Paris. Pretty much the same stuff that goes into dry walls. |
|
| DATEM |
DATEM is diacetyl tartaric acid esters of monoglycerides. Doesn't that sound good?
It is an emulsifier that is used among other things to smooth out variations in flour quality.
Ask yourself this: why would you need something like that if your ingredients are top quality? |
|
| Dextrose (alpha-d-glucose) |
Dextrose is a naturally occurring form of glucose -- in other words, it's sugar. |
|
| Folic acid |
Also referred to as vitamin B9. Folic acid has been found to drastically reduce the incidence
of spina bifida, and is therefore recommended for women who intend to become pregnant.
But we already get a lot of folic acid from any number of sources, so I fail to see why a baker
would find it necessary to throw it into the dough. |
|
| Fumaric acid |
Naturally-occuring organic acid. Commonly used in sourdough breads and tortillas to
enhance flavor and make the dough more machinable. This is not a dangerous chemical,
but I don't like the idea of having the sourness of a sourdough bread tweaked using this
sort of device. |
|
| L-Cysteine |
Although L-Cysteine is a naturally occuring amino acid, it is somewhat hazardous in large quantities.
It can be purchased as nutritional supplement, allegedly for thicker hair and stronger nails. |
|
| Monocalcium Phosphate |
Used as a dough conditioner, much like L-Cysteine. |
|
| Niacin |
Niacin is better known as vitamin B3. It is an essential part of any diet, but most people
get more than enough, so I fail to see why my bread should be thus "enriched". |
|
| Potassium iodate |
Typically used as an oxidizing agent to improve flour texture. Also listed as potentially hazardous. |
|
| Potassium sorbate |
A preservative that inhibits mold growth. Looks fairly safe to me from a little bit of snooping around. |
|
| Propylene glycol alginate |
A thickening agent, stabilizer and emulsifier, |
|
| Riboflavin |
Riboflavin is vitamin B2. Like all vitamins, it is essential to life, but deficiency is extremely rare
and occurs only in people with a grossly unbalanced diet (such as severe alcoholics). |
|
| Sodium benzoate |
An antifungal that prevents the growth of most microorganisms. Probably safe. |
|
| Thiamin Mononitrate |
Thiamin mononitrate is a common form of vitamin B1. It's a very common additive, in fact
you'll find it in just about all industrial baked products. |
|
