The daily (legume) bread

Bread and cereals have been the symbol of nutrition for the world's population for many centuries. In terms of cultural history, various finds have already been localised which are closely linked to the symbol of grain, such as coats of arms or poetic representations. The emphasis is often on the preservation of life. During its development, bread went through various forms, starting with roasted grain, through mash to flat bread, to the classical bread of today.

Bread is therefore still considered to be one of the basic foodstuffs of all. However, this also applies to legumes like for example peas, beans or lentils. Historically, legumes, previously a collective crop, were cultivated with the beginning of arable farming and the domestication of cereals. Due to their high protein content, legumes were of great importance in the human diet at that time.

Independently of this, Plinius the Elder, a Roman scholar, wrote: "The soil on which field beans were cultivated is immediately happy, as if it had been fertilized". This is an important criterion in the age of today's monoculture cultivation. 

Even in past times of need, bread was baked from milled legumes and various types of grain. At that time, however, this resulted in bread that was not very tasty.

Thanks to the progressive development of technology, it is now possible to combine the best of both worlds by processing the legumes into flour and then working them into a dough, thus producing a tasty and qualitatively improved bread. By adding legume flour to the bread, it is possible to produce a bread richer in protein and fibre than conventional bread.  This is of particular importance in today's world where many highly processed foods are consumed.

During the TRUE project various baking tests were carried out by the IGV. The aim was to develop a bread with legume content. It was found that the volume, the freshness but also in some cases the taste was positively influenced. However, this varied with the use of different types of legumes (e.g. white bean, green bean, red lentil). The comparison was always carried out on a neutral sample. 

The results show us that it is possible to combine these two important nutritional factors (bread and legumes) and get the best out of both. For the environment and enjoyment.