Healthy bread in Pattaya -- does it even exist?

[Jingthing]

OK, I don't eat very much bread in the first place but for the bread that I do eat, I'd prefer it to be of the more healthy variety.

Here's what I'm looking for. It would be easy to find in the USA but not sure it even exists here. Also considering the bread generally doesn't have ingredient LABELS here, not sure how any of this could verified unless you owned the bakery.

100 percent whole grain

(For example a commercial rye here would almost definitely not be 100 percent whole grain)

Breads labelled multigrain are not whole grain, that's a trick to fool people.

Starts to go stale starting the next day (if it lasts "fresh" for a week, it's got lots of FAT injected into it)

No other extra chemical crap

Yes this would be a DARKER and GRAINIER bread, pretty much the opposite of factory sliced white "Wonder" style bread.

Mission impossible?

[Spoonman]

Continental Bakery do some decent breads.

The continental Bakery now produces over 100 varieties of bread, cakes, desserts,
pastries and other bakery products. We supply over 170 Restaurants, hotels and
shops with our products across Pattaya, Bangkok, Hua Hin and Koh Samui.
Our Bread is baked fresh everyday in our bakery and does not contain any chemicals
to preserve its shelf life or to change its natural great taste.

http://www.continentalbakerypattaya.com/bread/

[Jingthing]

That's good but they don't say they have any pure whole grain breads. Also saying they don't add chemicals to add shelf life is not quite the same thing as saying they don't pump in extra FATS. But thanks.

Oh, I forgot to mention no extra sugars but I guess that's implied.

If someone happens to know an owner of that place, please let them know and ask them to post here to inform if they really do sell the kind of healthy bread I am looking for.

I think there is a market for such bread. As it is, without labels or much consumer emphasis, it would be a real value for a local company to offer such bread and be explicit about it.

Cheers.

[Spoonman]

Contact them and ask if they can accommodate your palate.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Best market at north Pattaya road roundabout has a good selection of breads, especially German breads. I believe they have some wholegrain and wholewheat breads. Also, big c extra, on Pattaya klang, has a nice selection of fresh baked breads. Some new varieties of dark rye and "healthy" grain breads have showed up recently. They are not cheap, however, at around B 100 a loaf.

[JSixpack]

Best market at north Pattaya road roundabout has a good selection of breads, especially German breads. I believe they have some wholegrain and wholewheat breads. Also, big c extra, on Pattaya klang, has a nice selection of fresh baked breads. Some new varieties of dark rye and "healthy" grain breads have showed up recently. They are not cheap, however, at around B 100 a loaf.

+1 on Best.

No, there's not much market here for healthy breads as you describe. Should be, I agree, but the great majority of tourists and expats aren't health conscious.

[RabC]

Friendship certainly has a good selection of the "Healthier" breads and most delivered fresh daily, its a case of knowing which Bakeries bread you like and when they deliver. The healthier stuff is mainly what I call German bread.

[balo]

I can recomnend the bresd from German bakery Bei Otto. Its sold at Friendship market and it is the best European bread you will find in Thailand. Healthy and delicious.

[DiNiro]

I don't know their specific ingredients but there are a few places I know where the bread looks good;

LaBoulange, Naklua.

Twins Bakery, Cosy Beach.

Two Chefs, Jomtien-Chayrupruk Rd.

Over to you.

[ricklev]

Pattaya is blessed with great healthy bread!

[pattaya_girl]

I bought a huge sliced toasting loaf of bread once from a Bakers in Central. It was delicious, went back a few weeks later for more, and the shop had gone

I found similar at Friendship for a month or so, then they stopped selling the particular bread that i liked, it was ideal for toast, and very soft, and not sweet.

Nowadays i just buy the Barm Cakes from Best supermarket, and the Italian square Barm Cakes are quite nice too.

[fakename]

I like the bread from 7/11, since it can last a couple weeks, without going stale!

[Jingthing]

I like the bread from 7/11, since it can last a couple weeks, without going stale!

Yes but is it ... food?

[SICHONSTEVE]

Best market at north Pattaya road roundabout has a good selection of breads, especially German breads. I believe they have some wholegrain and wholewheat breads. Also, big c extra, on Pattaya klang, has a nice selection of fresh baked breads. Some new varieties of dark rye and "healthy" grain breads have showed up recently. They are not cheap, however, at around B 100 a loaf.

+1 on Best.

No, there's not much market here for healthy breads as you describe. Should be, I agree, but the great majority of tourists and expats aren't health conscious.

Wholewheat bread is not very good for you surprisingly.

[Jingthing]

During WW 2 British were forced to eat brown loaf only. It included whole grain elements like bran. No white bread allowed. The idea was not to waste food which was of course vitally important as highly processing the grain causes lots of waste.

The overall health of the British people improved dramatically during the war and it is attributed to the bread.

Right after the war, the country switched back to white bread.

On the matter of gluten intolerance it's real and very serious for a small percentage of people but it's massively over self diagnosed.

Anyway, like I said, I'm not a big bread eater but I like good bread when I do eat it.

I sure wish local restaurants offered BROWN RICE, on a related topic.

[CHRISTIANa9]

Most bread would have conditioners, improves, enzymes etc.

Sugar is a form of preservative.

Fats, dough fats is in as well, part of the bonding process.

If you are referring to only, whole grain flour, yeast and salt, I have yet to come across except in a book I read long time ago.

[JSixpack]

Best market at north Pattaya road roundabout has a good selection of breads, especially German breads. I believe they have some wholegrain and wholewheat breads. Also, big c extra, on Pattaya klang, has a nice selection of fresh baked breads. Some new varieties of dark rye and "healthy" grain breads have showed up recently. They are not cheap, however, at around B 100 a loaf.

+1 on Best.

No, there's not much market here for healthy breads as you describe. Should be, I agree, but the great majority of tourists and expats aren't health conscious.

Wholewheat bread is not very good for you surprisingly.

True; I'm speaking in relative terms to address JT's question.

[lemoncake]

Friendship certainly has a good selection of the "Healthier" breads and most delivered fresh daily, its a case of knowing which Bakeries bread you like and when they deliver. The healthier stuff is mainly what I call German bread.

Second that, they also have frozen imported bread

[jbrain]

Best market at north Pattaya road roundabout has a good selection of breads, especially German breads. I believe they have some wholegrain and wholewheat breads. Also, big c extra, on Pattaya klang, has a nice selection of fresh baked breads. Some new varieties of dark rye and "healthy" grain breads have showed up recently. They are not cheap, however, at around B 100 a loaf.

+1 on Best.

No, there's not much market here for healthy breads as you describe. Should be, I agree, but the great majority of tourists and expats aren't health conscious.

Wholewheat bread is not very good for you surprisingly.

While reading the internet for a a bit over a decade now I discovered that whole wheat bread isn't very good for you, but i also was made aware that white bread isn't healthy.

I found out that white rice is no good but that brown rice also isn't the solution.

I learnt that microwaving food kills all the vitamins, but traditional cooking adds to much fatties.

I read that osmosis treated water would deplete you from all the neccessary minerals, but that mineral water contains too much sodium to be healthy.

I'm actually surprised that before the digital era people were able to survive.

[Suradit69]

There's a Pattaya thread dealing with bread making machines here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/485134-bread-making-machine/

This could be the start of a project for you to undertake (Necessity being the mother etc etc).

The only bread I've found that "appears" to be healthy is at Friendship. Not the things done on site, but delivered (possibly German baker considering some of the labels ??). No guarantee concerning what goes into it, but then the bread making machine would allow you more control over that and, once you're become skilled at it, you could have everyone around for samples.

"Oh, I forgot to mention no extra sugars but I guess that's implied. "

I had once held out hope for the bakery goods section in the lower level grocery at Central Festival, but on two occasions I bought something that sounded encouraging ... multigrain or whole wheat or whatever ... and both were really sugar saturated.

[jbrain]

There's a Pattaya thread dealing with bread making machines here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/485134-bread-making-machine/

This could be the start of a project for you to undertake (Necessity being the mother etc etc).

The only bread I've found that "appears" to be healthy is at Friendship. Not the things done on site, but delivered (possibly German baker considering some of the labels ??). No guarantee concerning what goes into it, but then the bread making machine would allow you more control over that and, once you're become skilled at it, you could have everyone around for samples.

"Oh, I forgot to mention no extra sugars but I guess that's implied. "

I had once held out hope for the bakery goods section in the lower level grocery at Central Festival, but on two occasions I bought something that sounded encouraging ... multigrain or whole wheat or whatever ... and both were really sugar saturated.

Correct, with a bread machine you produce the bread as you require it overnight, and all appliances and ingredients needed are available in Thailand.

[Jingthing]

Actually I don't know where you could actually even buy 100 percent whole grain flour to make the bread here!

My understanding for example is that the rye flour sold at stores like Villa is not all whole grain.

Honestly I don't eat ENOUGH bread to make a bread machine and the bother of using it worth my time.

[koo]

Go to German, Austrian, Scandinavian or Finnish bars and ask for "black bread". Although it might not be all rye or all full grain, normally these breads have no additives (except the obvious like salt) and have a pretty good shelf life. Some of these are also available as crackers and then the shelf life is measured in years. If the bar does not have them, they surely will give you some hints where to get it.

[jbrain]

Actually I don't know where you could actually even buy 100 percent whole grain flour to make the bread here!

My understanding for example is that the rye flour sold at stores like Villa is not all whole grain.

Honestly I don't eat ENOUGH bread to make a bread machine and the bother of using it worth my time.

A bread machine doesn't require time, you just insert the ingredients and the machine does it all, and even if you have to throw away half of the bread it will have cost you less than what you ever could purchase in a supermarket.

[Jingthing]

Actually I don't know where you could actually even buy 100 percent whole grain flour to make the bread here!

My understanding for example is that the rye flour sold at stores like Villa is not all whole grain.

Honestly I don't eat ENOUGH bread to make a bread machine and the bother of using it worth my time.

A bread machine doesn't require time, you just insert the ingredients and the machine does it all, and even if you have to throw away half of the bread it will have cost you less than what you ever could purchase in a supermarket.

I believe you but I eat such a small amount of bread I would be happy if it was sold by the slice. What I buy, I have to freeze.

[thaitero]

Go to Finnish bars and ask for "black bread".

Finnish bars and guesthouses have the best bread you can find in Pattaya. Regular customers of these bars when they arrive to Pattaya bring this ryebread directly from From Finland to the owners and after that this bread go to freezers and sold to the customers

[bangkokstick]

Any supermarket have them in Pattaya and even BigC Klang ex-carrefour.

Maybe not so many additives added because this bread cannot be kept more than few days.

But actually i don't believe myself when saying no additives because i think it just doesn't exist anymore anywhere in the world, the bastards give us <deleted> to eat being bread or any other food.

[Chicken George]

Just to say the bread made by the government for the British people in WW2 was not good for you as it had a huge amount of salt in it. This was the way at the time to get your salt intake which was extremely high and set a trend for that generation in the future. Jing make your own bread we fo. Its not hard and then you can be sure of what you are eating. Its not as if you dont have enough free time is it? Lol

[Spalpeen]

Making bread at home using yeast is too slow and time consuming, but there are breads made using baking powder that can be made in less time than it takes to go to the shop. My personal favorite is the Irish soda farl. Flour, milk, salt, baking powder. Nothing else. Takes about 15 minutes to make and you make it on a hot pan, not an oven.

[KittenKong]

Entirely whole-grain bread would be rather heavy but supermarkets like Tops in Central and BigC in Klang (not the one on Sukumvit/Tai) do it, as do most of the specialist bakers. Friendship in Tai seem to have an assortment of different loaves from various bakers, so that might be a good way of trying several. They all cost the earth though.

All those places also do other "proper" bread that isnt whole-grain but doesn't seem to contain too many additives. Some sort of "flour improver" is an almost foregone conclusion though, even if it's only ascorbic acid (vitamin C).