American bread has an insane amount of sugar when compared to bread from other countries. This can make for a shock whenever people are visiting and take a bite of some fluffy, very sweet Texas Toast. American bread has been tailored to American tastes.
American bread is super sweet due to its sugar content. Its sugar content is comparable to that of a snickers bar.
The history of bread in the USA was very affected by the depression. Bread is a carb-based food, which makes it great for long term sustenance during famines. When the 30’s rolled around and the Great Depression hit, bread was viewed as a type of dessert and even a luxury item. Farmers that were struggling to make ends meet would sell extra wheat, and after the Great Depression had passed, the transformation of bread from necessary sustenance to a staple of the American dream was complete.
After this transformation of white bread, World War 2 came about, and millions of families were separated due to the war. As the military fought against the axis powers, white bread was making its transformation. The high amount of sugar made it perfect for toast, and a sustainable source of food for living on a military check.
When the war ended and people started coming home, a new era of gastronomy had hit across the United States. We saw experimentation and a lot more heavily processed food. At this point, white bread had finally hit its high sugar content that we see today, and American bread had changed forever.
Unfortunately with this new experimentation with bread, we have tricked a lot of Americans into thinking that the bread they are eating is healthier than a snickers bar. In some respects it absolutely is, and provides more nutritional value, but bread has a higher sugar content per 100g than a snickers bar.
The average sugar intake for a snickers bar per 100g is 11.25g, which is not great for you but not abhorrent either. White bread has about 13.06g for the same amount, which is astounding considering that it is a carb, and not really recognized as a dessert food.
When you compare American bread to bread across the world, it will taste much sweeter. The best way to avoid the high levels of sugar is to buy whole wheat and look at the sugar contents to make sure you’re okay with the amount of sugar that you’re eating.
