The iconic American sliced loaf that all great things are compared to as being the greatest thing since has taken a beating in the past few years. I speak of the much maligned white bread.
I do not begrudge the explosion in artisan types of breads that are far more available now than they used to be when I was young. The variety is wonderful. But in my view, plain white bread is wonderful too.
The softness of white bread comforts the mouth and soul as no other bread can. It yields a delicate background to any spread. Even mayonnaise may shine on its own on white bread. When white bread is dipped in soup, it is saturated fully, not merely coated as with other, thicker breads. Thicker breads leave a chewy mouthful instead of enhancing the flavor of the soup, as dipped white bread does.
The toast made from white bread is crisp, light, and firm. It melts with gentleness in the mouth unlike tougher wheat breads. If you have dental problems, white bread will be much kinder to you. It also pairs well with tea to soothe the stomach.
My best memory of my grandmother is from when I was about ten, sitting at the table with her and a loaf of white bread. She and I nibbled out different shapes out of several slices, laughing at the odd little animals we created. The bread was flat and white as cut out paper, soft and sweet as love.
I buy other breads, whole wheat, raisin, a Bosnian bread with a crust as hard as granite. But I still grab a loaf of white bread. It holds a slice of my heart.
I never/rarely got to eat white bread as a kid, so it was quite the treat when I was lucky enough to get it. Since I regarded it as such a special-occasion thing from such an early age, white bread has remained a rare treat for me to this day. But I recognize it as junkfood tho. Delicious junk food.
Toast and grilled cheese for me. I prefer a soft rye for both, but I typically have a loaf of white or its very similar cousin honey wheat on hand all the time in the house. Not a fan of it for soups, though. Falls apart too easy. I like something a little heartier for that.
For peanut butter and your sidekick of choice, white bread is the only bread to use. It’s also the perfect vehicle to transport meatloaf or BLT goodness to your mouth without contributing other flavors to the sandwich.
I believe the saying is “the greatest thing since sliced bread”; not specifically white bread.
But I agree that certain sandwiches just aren’t “right” on anything other than white bread (Wonder bread, specifically). Grilled cheese, bologna, and PB&J are the ones that come to mind immediately. A few months ago I started bringing a sandwich to work every day, but I use wheat or multi-grain breads for calorie reasons. I miss white bread.
I’ve mentioned this before, but husband loves white bread, but only the soft, sliced white bread found in any grocery store in the land labelled “Italian”. It’s NOT Italian bread which has a soft white inside and crispy crust. This stuff is identical to Wonder bread, even if the label says ‘Italian’. I don’t get it. There’s no difference in taste or texture from any other kiddy white bread. I know Italian loaves, and French batards, and artisan sourdough loaves. this ain’t it.
I’ve found there is little difference between white and wheat or multi-grain bread in terms of calories (or the difference is negligible, like 5-10 calories per slice.) And, depending on the brand, the multigrain may even have more calories, since it’s usually a more substantial bread. Most of the soft American breads are around 70 calories per slice (unless you specifically get the “light” breads, like Healthy Life, which are around 35-45 per slice, even the white.)
For carp fishing I used to make dough-balls by kneading a piece of white bread (sans crust) while gradually incorporating vanilla [del]flavoring[/del] extract.
True. Bread that’s labeled merely “wheat” has almost no value over that labeled “white”. There is a difference between “wheat”, “whole wheat” and “whole grain”, of course. The advantage to whole grains and honest whole wheat is the fiber.
Each time when I end up eating a piece, within an hour I’m jonesin’ for more. Egad. What evil stuff. Basically a sugar delivery system. Many brands of whole wheat have this effect on me as well. But the “right” brand doesn’t. Tastes better and no sugar rush afterwards.
I guess toasted white bread is passable – though I always go for toasted rye or toasted whole wheat or whatever, so that’s just long-ago memories talking.
But so long as my long-ago memories are talking, the stuff’s no good untoasted.
we used to use it as bait, take a pinch and ball it up, stick it on the hook, watch the minnows peck away at it.
peanut butter sandwich, sliced american cheese food product with butter and mustard, leftover meatloaf cold with ketchup, crumbled for bread crumbs. Yeah it’s still good
I like a good white sandwich bread, but have gotten spoiled by buying it at Asian bakeries. Has anyone been to one of these? They make French pastries and French-inspired Asian pastries, and different kinds of sandwich bread. The plain white bread is superb - not floppy and spongy like grocery store bread. It makes perfect toasted cheese sandwiches and BLTs. It’s even more brilliant toasted.
Here’s a link to the products of one of these bakeries. Sogo Bakery.
