Bakery products, unfortunately, nowadays leave much to be desired. It's not about appearance - that's just fine. But the quality of these products has significantly decreased over the past few decades. Bread, rolls and other products in this category are perishable. Mold appears on them very quickly. And taste is not always good. Why is this happening and were flour products really much better in quality in Soviet times?
1. Distinctive characteristics between the bakery products of our time and the Soviet
Until 1980 inclusive, bread was considered the best for the entire period of the existence of the Soviet Union. It was baked for people using a special technology. After some changes were made to GOST, the standards of all flour products became even more stringent and high. The problem was based on an accepted standard, which became much more complex, which entailed the need for additional costs. If the cost is higher, then the profit is lower. The main GOST concerned the grade of raw material - flour.
In the manufacture of bakery products, manufacturers are required to comply with certain standards. Flour is taken that contains a minimum of gluten, and these are the fourth and fifth grades. Gluten is a special substance responsible for the elasticity of the product and the duration of its storage. In the USSR, bread baked from third-class flour was considered the most unsuccessful.
In fact, we get the following result. Soviet bakery products were perfectly stored for up to seven days. The current ones, on the third day after the acquisition, are almost impossible to use.
2. Quality
Modern ingredients cannot be called high quality. This is especially true for the water used during the kneading of the dough and the yeast. In addition, a special baking powder is now added to the dough, which provides it with a porous structure, lower weight and, at the same time, the release of a larger volume of products.
All this makes the production process cheaper, but the shelf life is significantly reduced. Taste is also not great, well, every resident of our country knows it. Bread was bought in the Soviet Union in bakeries or bakeries. Now it is on sale almost everywhere, even in places where alcohol and tobacco products are sold.
3. Low content of useful elements in bakery products
40 percent of Soviet bread was enriched with auxiliary components useful for humans, such as proteins and vitamins. The bakers did not worry about the cost price at all - the health of the Soviet people was a priority.
Now the authorities are raising prices, and manufacturers, not thinking about the quality of products, are reducing their cost. People themselves also prefer those products, the prices of which are low, without even being interested in the composition.
4. What is the reason that flour products were much better at that time?
Production technologies play a huge role: the type and quality of yeast, what sourdough is made, the amount of time during which the dough is left, the type of oven, the temperature regime for baking and the time during which the product will be baked. Even when purchasing yeast, bakers and workers do not forget about saving. Imported "work" at an accelerated pace, respectively, there is a saving in energy and time.
In the USSR, there was no such savings, they did everything conscientiously so that people ate delicious rolls and bread. Nowadays, the emphasis is on appearance, and no one thinks about the value of the finished product. The main thing is to get more income at lower costs. All this led to the existing result.
Continuing the topic read, how to store bread correctly so that it stays soft for a long time and does not mold.