Why we love bread

Jules Matabuena

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Why we love bread
The perfect bread is made of the finest ingredients – and certain precious things that can’t be seen or touched

MANILA, Philippines – We Filipinos love our carbs and if there’s anything we can’t live without – apart from rice, of course – it’s bread.

Bread – that freshly baked, pillowy goodness that completes every breakfast, merienda, recess… even midnight snacking and the down times we get in between cramming tasks at work. A go-to baon for beach outings, road trips, and out-of-town getaways. When we want to fill our tummies in a jiffy or just when craving strikes, it’s often a piece or two of bread that we find ourselves reaching for.

A big part of what makes up the recipe for the irresistible, perfect bread is not only the finest ingredients used to make it, but the different intangible things that we tie to it as well.

A trigger for nostalgia

Bread has been a part of many people’s diet for as long as they can remember – so much so that they’ve come to closely associate it with some of their fondest memories.

For Justine, a writer, bread reminds him of the treats that his grandmother used to serve them. “When we were kids, my lola would always serve bread after our afternoon nap time,” he shares. “The palaman would always depend on what time of the year it was. If it was summer, it would be margarine and brown sugar. For school days, we would have egg and mayo. When someone celebrates their birthday, it’s spaghetti between two slices of loaf bread.”

For Tintin, a business development executive, bread brings to mind memories of her father and his habit.

“My dad, who is also a big fan of bread, is literally the breadwinner in the family. He would always make sure that to the very least, there’s a loaf of bread in our pantry. That’s his way of making sure that we’ll have something easy to eat as baon in school or as an afternoon snack when we get home,” she recalls. “He would always have bread as pasalubong when he comes home from work, whether it’s a plain loaf from the grocery or a variety of pastries that we can bring to school.”

And for Art, a business consultant, bread serves as a sweet reminder of the days when he was still wooing his now-wife. She loves having Gardenia bread with peanut butter, he says, so he decided to make his own version that she can also enjoy. She calls it pan de unan because of its softness.

“She loves eating Gardenia with peanut butter so I decided to make her the perfect homemade bread to go along with her favorite spread.

“After a few months of courtship, and a couple of dozen homemade breads, she became my girlfriend. I won’t say that bread was the reason for her decision to be in a relationship with me but it did certainly make the courtship sweeter,” he shares.

A versatile meal anytime, anywhere

Bread is one of the most versatile food items as it can be conveniently enjoyed in so many forms, even without palaman. Butwhen a craving for decadent flavors strike, there are so many options in the market such as black forest, ube, strawberry, chocolate, and mocha, just to name a few.

And so for Justine, bread is simply “the perfect food.”

“You want light snacks? Put butter on a bun. You want a heavy meal? Put roast beef and lettuce between two slices of wheat bread. It’s the best way to fill your stomach, however you like it,” he says.

Art shares the same sentiment. “I love bread because you can enjoy it at any time of the day,” he says, “It also takes many forms such as pan de sal, loaf bread, and croissant so it’s always an exciting food to eat. Perhaps the best reason why I love bread is because you can pair it with anything. Even bread with a bottle of wine is a delicious combination.”

But not only is bread versatile, it’s convenient, too. Petra, a writer, says that bread is her go-to snack when hunger strikes.

“It’s a quick fix for hunger. After a piece or two you feel full, like your ‘hangry’ mood lessens or is appeased a little,” she shares.

A healthy snack option

Bread is nutritious, too. Remember back in elementary when our teachers taught us about Go, Grow, and Glow foods? We learned that bread is a Go food, which means eating it fuels us to help us get through the day.

Bread is simple in both taste and in form, with only flour, eggs, yeast, oil, salt, sugar, and water making up the most basic variant. But these days, bread makers enrich their breads by opting for substitutes with less fat and cholesterol and are laden with vitamins and minerals like high protein wheat flour and iodized salt instead of the regular ones. This way, even a piece of bread now helps strengthen teeth and bones, prevents fatigue, boosts metabolism, maintains healthy blood, and promotes good vision.

In some variants, ingredients such as fiber-rich whole wheat and fruits like raisin and cranberry that are rich in antioxidants are also thrown in to help protect cells from free radical damage, lower the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and aid in proper digestion.

“I love the wheat raisin bread because I read about wheat and how it has fiber and is good for digestion. I also honestly felt its effects,” Tita Pacita, an entrepreneur, shares, adding, “It’s like my pantawid-gutom food, too, because one slice is filling enough and I know it’s good for my gut, too.”

Why do we love bread? Let us count the ways

Pan de sal, white bread, croissants, wheat bread, focaccia, baguettes, flavored rolls, loaves, and local breads with quirky names like pan de regla, just to name a fewhowever you want your bread, one thing remains true: this humble treat will always have a soft spot in our hearts.

Jean, an account manager, goes as far as to say, “I can give up rice but not bread! You can eat bread anytime of the day and it is always satisfying. Also, I love how it can be tastefully creative and unique.”

Genesis’ love for bread was borne out of a daily habit and practical reasons.

“I love bread because it’s been a staple breakfast food in our household,” he says. “My dad usually pairs it with coffee or stuffs it up with peanut butter. I personally like to have breakfast with bread if there’s no rice available. Mainly the reason I like it is habitual, and economic-wise, bread these days are still cheap.”

Tintin, who loves bread so much that she had managed to earn the nickname Tintinapay, finds comfort in fresh, soft breads that Gardenia, in particular, offers.

She shares, “Bread is so comforting. It’s like a pillow in your mouth. You can eat it anywhere, anytime. I’m actually a ‘purist’ when it comes to bread. Any kind of plain bread whether brown or white, loaf or dinner roll, cheap or not. No palaman whatsoever is the best. You’ll know it’s good bread when you can eat it on its own.

“I actually do that thing from the Gardenia TVCs where you roll up the white bread to see how fresh and un-crumby it is. That’s a really satisfying feeling.”

For over two decades, Gardenia has been delivering their masarap kahit walang palaman bread offerings to Filipino homes. It’s a beloved brand, but it’s not only because of the taste or all the memories we’ve attached to it.

Every day, freshly-baked breads that are made using high quality baking equipment sourced from different parts of the world are churned out from Gardenia’s plant. They are then delivered straight to stores and groceries to assure freshness.

The breads are nutritious, too. All their variants, from wheat to the regular white bread variant, are all enriched with vitamins and minerals in every bite.

Despite our ever-evolving tastes and preferences for new, foreign, or fusion food, nothing could ever truly beat an original, humble favorite. Bread is, and will always be, a beloved, constant mealtime companion for Pinoys. Rappler.com 

Everyday fresh, always healthy, O Gardenia na! Visit Gardenia Philippines on Facebook

 

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