Or the so called white bread. It is characterized by light brown, shining crust that is especially crusty and aromatic for a warn, just baked bread. Unlike the other breads, it is easy to chew, it has gentle flavour, yet it has less valuable nutrients – fibre, mineral substances and vitamins.
To prepare the wheat bread, we use not less than 90% wheat flour that can be white and obtained only from the core of grain or darker with particles of external grain membrane. If courser wheat flour is used for preparing, the soft part of the bread is not so white, instead it is darker or greyish. Wheat dough is supplemented with yeast, salt, sugar, fats, milk and other auxiliary raw material. Shelf life of the bread is 2 – 3 days.
To prepare the wheat – rye bread, we use what flour – not less than 51% of the total amount of flour used. These bread products are bigger and the soft part is more porous that the rye-bread. The more wheat flour is used the softer and neutral is the flavour and aroma of the bread.
Wheat brown bread is a favourite product of this group in Latvia. Rye flour is used for parboiling, but the rest flour that is added to the dough is wheat flour. The consumers like breads of this group with some seeds addition – sunflower seeds, linseed, pumpkin seeds or their mixture because the bread is porous and light, but the added seeds enrich the flavour. Shelf-life of the bread is 3 -5 days.
Rye-bread is baked from course and pearled rye flour, it has a darker and quite thick crust. Traditionally the rye-bread is baked on a hearth, its soft part is denser, with larger and smaller pores, flexible and a bit moist. Rye-bread has a characteristic aroma and sourish taste. It depends on the rye-bread making technology where barm has an important role. The real rye-bread is kept fresh for longer, it is rich with fibre, vitamins and mineral substances. Shelf-life of the bread is 5 – 10 days or even more.
Most part of the total used flour must be rye flour, but not less than 51% must be rye flour, yeast and barn are used as raising agents. Rye flour and barm ensure a specific pleasant taste, longer storage period, but the wheat flour ensure the porous, flexible soft par and volume of the bread. Rye – wheat bread can be baked both on a hearth and in shapes. Popular and favourite bread of this group in Latvia in the moulded bread or "Brick" bread.
If more rye flour is used when making the rye-wheat bread, in the result the bread is more aromatic and sour. Shelf-life of the bread is 4 – 7 days.
