In some countries, like Sudan, bread is in worryingly short supply. In others, like the US, it’s as widely available as ever, so much so that people are playing with it to create haute couture. What a wonderfully bizarre sector we work in. Here’s the latest bread news.

Bread dress causes consternation in NYC

Calling all bread-loving females… would you leave the house dressed in a frock made from bread? As reported on Cosmopolitan magazine’s website, one woman did exactly that in New York City recently, just for fun. Apparently the dress caused a ‘ruckus’ and the public gathered around to take photos. You can watch a video of the dress being created here. If you find you’re utterly fascinated by the whole idea of edible clothing, all you need to do is search Google Images for ‘bread dress’ and a slew of amazing fashion items made from bread pop up. Weird.

Khartoum’s bakeries forced to close

Search for a loaf in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and you’ll encounter the results of a serious flour shortage that’s now in its second week. People are queueing for hours at the few bakeries that are still open, but most leave empty handed. Why the shortage? Apparently it’s all down to flour shortages, electricity cuts and ‘other disruptions’.

Sudan imports more than two million tons of wheat every year. In autumn 2016 the Sudanese government withdrew from the international wheat market, cancelled restrictions on the free import of wheat and ended their control over sales of domestic wheat and flour, also abolishing the minimum weight for a slice of bread. When they ‘liberalised’ the US Dollar rate for import goods in November 2016, importing wheat suddenly became a lot less profitable and flour prices soared.

Why doesn’t bread make you drunk?

You make beer. You make bread. The ingredients are much the same. And every yeast-based bread contains some alcohol. So why don’t we end up as drunk as skunks after consuming a slice or two of our favourite loaf?

We’ve noticed it ourselves: rising dough does smell wonderfully boozy, and you can also pick up the scent of alcohol in freshly-baked bread, hiding under all that wonderful yeasty nuttiness. The thing is, baking dough removes most of the alcohol, leaving just 2% or so of residual alcohol behind. You can maximise the effect by leaving your white bread dough to rise for too long. The resulting loaf will be pretty damn boozy. But while it might sound like fun, the result is actually very unpleasant!

The World Bread Congress takes place in Mexico

In October 2017 the 77th World Bread Congress takes place in Merida, Mexico, attracting industry leaders from four continents along with a host of bakers, suppliers and bakery owners. The event will address the strategies needed to succeed in a world rich in new challenges, where globalisation is the name of the game and innovation and change are at the top of the menu.

London’s Felix Project joins the bread beer revolution

Beer made from bread? As we’ve reported in the past, it’s nothing new. But it’s a growing trend, and The Standard newspaper is jumping on bread beer’s very worthwhile bandwagon. They’ve teamed up with a craft brewery called Weird Beard to create a gorgeous pale ale, a charity beer made from bread donated by the London-based Felix Project anti food waste charity. The beer is called Bread Banger. The brewery is going to donate half the profits from their ‘incredible-tasting’ light, fruity summer ale back to The Felix Project, and the ale is on sale through a selection of London pubs and shops.

You’ve got to love bread scoring – Bread art is hot on Instagram!

What is bread scoring? It’s when you slash raw dough with a knife to create patterns, and it’s a classic baking technique. It can also make bread look like a work of art, and Instagram users have adopted it with enthusiasm. If you want to spend time enjoying the sheer beauty of artistically-scored breads, just hook up with the Instagram hashtag #breadscoring and enjoy some splendidly creative culinary art.

If you come across any interesting stories about bread, we’d love to hear them… if you’re in the foodservice sector, contact us and we’ll make you the shining star of our next news item!