Emulsifiers also reduce the rate at which the bread goes stale. PRESERVATIVES Calcium propionate is widely used, as is vinegar (acetic acid). Preservatives are only necessary for prolonged shelf life - home freezing is a chemical-free alternative. EMULSIFIERS Widely used in bread improvers to control the size of gas bubbles, emulsifiers enable the dough to hold more gas and therefore grow bigger and make the crumb softer. SOYA FLOUR Widely used in bread "improvers", soya flour has a bleaching effect on flour, and assists the machinability of dough and the volume and softness of bread, enabling more water to be added to the dough.

REDUCING AGENT Used as L-cysteine hydrochloride (E920), cysteine is a naturally occurring amino acid used in baking to create stretchier doughs, especially for burger buns and French sticks It may be derived from animal hair and feathers. FLOUR TREATMENT AGENT L-ascorbic acid (E300) can be added to flour by the miller, or at the baking stage. It acts as an oxidant, helping to retain gas in the dough, which makes the loaf rise more and gives a false impression of value. It is not permitted in wholemeal flour, but permitted in wholemeal bread. BLEACH Chlorine dioxide gas is used by millers and makes white flour whiter. It has some "improving" effect on the flour - bleaches have been used as a substitute for the natural ageing of flour. Hydrogenated fats have commonly been used, though large bakers are phasing them out, possibly replacing them with fractionated fats.

These don't contain or produce transfats, which have been associated with heart disease. More and more people are taking control over their lives and health by making their own bread - bread you can trust and believe in. What's in our bread FAT Hard fats improve loaf volume, crumb softness and help it to last longer. Above all, the baking industry must respond to the growing body of research that is charting the profound unhealthiness of making bread quickly. From wheat to finished loaf, industrial baking needs to be reconstructed from first principles, of which the most important is a proper respect for time.