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Graham bread

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Graham bread
TypeBread
Place of originUnited States
Main ingredientsWhole-wheat flour

Graham bread is a name for whole wheat bread that was inspired by the teachings of health reformer Sylvester Graham.[1][2] The ingredients for Graham bread include Graham flour, milk, molasses, yeast, and salt.[1]

History

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Sylvester Graham was a 19th-century health reformer who argued that a vegetarian diet, anchored by bread that was baked at home from a coarsely ground whole-wheat flour, was part of a healthful lifestyle that could prevent disease.[3][4]: 21, 29 

In 1837, Graham published the popular book Treatise on Bread and Bread-Making, which included a history of bread and described how to make Graham bread, though the passage is absent of any exact measurements and instead calls upon the baker's "good judgment." It was reprinted in 2012 by Andrews McMeel Publishing, as a selection of its American Antiquarian Cookbook Collection.

Like Graham crackers, Graham bread was high in fiber and made from graham flour free from the chemical additives that were common in white bread at that time[5] such as alum and chlorine. He argued that these chemical additives were unwholesome.[4]: 25–26 

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Graham Bread | Traditional Bread From United States of America". TasteAtlas. Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Graham Bread, Temperance Reformers, and America's First Fad Diet". blogs.lib.umich.edu. May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "The History, Natural History, and Biogeography of Graham Bread". Alabama Heritage. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Iacobbo, Karen; Iacobbo, Michael (2004). Vegetarian America : a history. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 978-0275975197.
  5. ^ "Graham Bread or Brown Bread" (PDF). National Museum of American History. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 17, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
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