Now here's a little addendum (is that the right word?) question about the white bread in the USA (I didn't want to start a new thread, it seems a bit silly, but...) The last time I was in the states was 30 years ago, I was a vegetarian and lived mainly on bread, cheese (and budweiser
Now I'm a vegan and am wondering if all, or some, or none, of the standard american loaves of white fluffy bread contain milk, egg or animal fats? Anyone care to check the ingredients in their pantry?
cheers!
It depends. I'm a vegan myself (and a German dark, seedy bread fan) and if I'm buying bread for the first time I always check the ingredient list. I'd say the chance is 50/50 that any particular bread will contain some animal ingredient. I've seen baguettes that had something called eggwash, I've seen bread with lard, with fish-derived ingredients, etc. When you're on the east coast, bagels are a good and safe choice. Other parts of the country could be more tricky. On the other hand, the stereotype that Americans only have fluffy white sponge bread is probably less true than it was 30 years ago.