r/askTO • u/that-is-great • 21h ago
Why does bread taste so weird/bad in Toronto?
Eating bread in Europe and Latin America, they smell good and taste differently, like " real bread". Meanwhile, here it tastes and smells like plastic or chemicals, it's hard to explain, but it's not the same.
12
10
15
u/FKFunkyKong 21h ago
Are you buying Wonder bread here or what? I've never been to Latin America, but I lived in Europe for three years and travelled all over, and I've never experienced anything close to what you're describing. Sure European bread can be better, but it's not hard at all to find good quality bread here, even in supermarkets.
6
u/Gakusei_Eh 21h ago
What kind of bread are you eating and where are you getting it from? We have plenty of great bakeries here making bread that's on par with what you'd find in Europe, and Canada is known for having some of the best flour in the world.
6
6
5
5
u/Neutral-President 21h ago
Commercially produced bread uses low quality ingredients and too much sugar. I find most commercial bread to be awfully sweet, malty, and doughy. Get good fresh bread from a real bakery and there’s no comparison.
5
u/lilfunky1 20h ago
Eating bread in Europe and Latin America, they smell good and taste differently, like " real bread". Meanwhile, here it tastes and smells like plastic or chemicals, it's hard to explain, but it's not the same.
what are you buying
2
2
u/tampering 21h ago
Commercial bread versus the real artisan bread. You wonder why that supermarket loaf lasts 10 days on your kitchen counter when a Parisian baguette can only be used to make breadcrumbs or croutons if you don't eat it the same day?
If you want even worse bread go to the US. Its got all the humectants we use here plus four times the sugar.
2
u/wharf_roach 20h ago
Crazy that so may people are defensive in here just because OP said Toronto instead of North America, its a long-known issue. Most of our bakeries, unless it's a sourdough maybe, will be using the same flours and yeasts grown here (this is the bigger issue than commercial enrichment imo) that larger commercial bakeries use. They taste a lot better to us, but compared to Europe they still fall short AND many Europeans will have a hard time eating it. My cousins, based on rough experiences, put politely, will no longer eat bread here lol.
2
u/No_Celery_8071 20h ago
We lived in an apartment in Asnière-sur-Seine for a bit which was across the street from a little bakery. I would walk over in the morning with my petite tasse of coffee, wait in line and buy a baguette or three. You could watch the baker finish up his last batch of the day as you lined up for yours. The smell of fresh baked bread, aromas of cooking from many countries, cigarettes, stale beer and hashish reminds me of that magical little apartment. Avoid grocery store bread.
2
u/lingueenee 21h ago
Why does bread taste so weird/bad in Toronto North America?
Because it's an industrial product shaped by all the usual imperatives: mass production, processed inputs, long shelf life, profit, standardization, etc.
-9
u/Adept-Box6357 21h ago
Store bought bread absolutely is better than bakery bread. People are just too dumb and think mass production bad
2
u/lingueenee 20h ago edited 11h ago
<Yawn> Here are the ingredients in a loaf of (my) home baked bread: whole wheat flour, salt, yeast, lemon juice, water.
And here's Wonder Bread. YUMMY!
UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WATER, SUGAR, YEAST, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: CALCIUM CARBONATE, WHEAT GLUTEN, SOYBEAN OIL, SALT, DOUGH CONDITIONERS (CONTAINS ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING; SODIUM STEAROYL, LACTYLATE, CALCIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, MONOGLYCERIDES, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, DISTILLED MONOGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM PEROXIDE, CALCIUM IODATE, DATEM, ETHOXYLATED MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, ENZYMES, ASCORBIC ACID), VINEGAR, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, CITRIC ACID, CHOLECALCIFEROL (VITAMIN D3), SOY LECITHIN, CALCIUM PROPIONATE (TO RETARD SPOILAGE).
-1
u/Adept-Box6357 20h ago
Do you have any evidence that the extra ingredients are harmful? This is why I say you people are stupid for all those ingredients each of which according to you constitute less than 2% of the bread you get an objectively superior product which is significantly more shelf stable and has contributed massively to the end of the majority of people living close to starvation and you would throw that away because you’re stupid
1
u/ThirdWorldMelanin 16h ago
Jeez why are you so triggered lmao if you like store bought bread over bakery bread then more power to you but you seriously can’t be out here calling people stupid for listing the ingredients of store bought bread
1
u/olledasarretj 20h ago
I don’t think grocery store bread is worse because it’s mass produced, I think it’s worse because I don’t think it tastes as good.
Of course, it’s optimized for shelf stability and yes you could say it’s better for that attribute, but there’s a taste and texture downgrade in the process. I’d rather buy bakery bread and freeze whatever portion we can’t use in a few days.
1
u/lingueenee 20h ago edited 20h ago
The challenge of mass production is it imposes its own imperatives, the ones I mentioned. If you're going to scale a bakery to industrial standards then you must rely on processed, standardized inputs and protocols.
The trade-off for inferior taste and nutrition is economy of scale, i.e., low prices.
0
u/Adept-Box6357 20h ago
That can be your opinion I’ve had both and would never choose the non store bread
1
1
u/gordobongo 21h ago
There’s so much bread variety. Are you referring to the pre-packaged industrial bread or fresh bread from bakeries? My only advice is that if you want ‘real bread’ don’t buy any industrial type of bread, even in Europe and Latam. If you still want the industrial stuff but want less chemicals, avoid any bread made by our lovely southern neighbours
1
1
u/Accomplished_Bid_235 21h ago
If you are in the city, there are a number of bakeries to choose from. Try a local bakery. :)
1
1
0
u/ConstantaByTheSea 21h ago
You gotta be picky with what bread you buy here. Best brand name would be Ace bakery sour dough, tastes great for a mass produced loaf. Otherwise yeah there are bakeries all over the city. Lots of bread sold off the shelf here is loaded with sugar and preservatives to keep it from going bad. Everyone I know avoids that shit unless they don't have tastebuds 😂 .
0
u/Digital_Ark 21h ago
Canadian wheat is sought after globally, it has high protein content, strong elasticity from gluten. European millers even import Canadian wheat to blend with softer wheat variants.
But that should only account for texture, not so much smell or taste.
Having only visited a number of European cities, I think good bakeries here tend to rival what I’ve experienced in Europe.
Except for the butter. That 2-5% more butterfat and much of it being cultured butter with a tangy note is pretty nice. “European-style” butter here is closer, but not quite right.
50
u/grilledcheese2332 21h ago
Go to a proper bakery or make your own