How Different Are Industrial, Artisanal and Homemade Soft Breads?

Soft bread has a significant relevance in modern diets, and its nutritional impact on human health can be substantial. Within this product category, there is an extensive range of ingredients, formulations, and processing methods, which all contribute to the vast diversity found in the final products. This work compared the impact of three different processing methods (industrial, artisanal, and homemade preparation) on the technological (formulation and processing, as they are interconnected in real-life conditions), nutritional, and physicochemical properties of soft bread. In total, 24 types of soft bread were analyzed: 10 industrial, 6 artisanal, and 8 homemade. Although production diagrams were similar among the three methods, industrial recipes contained on average more ingredients and more additives. Industrial bread was lower in saturated fat compared to the other two groups, but contained more sugar than homemade bread. The physical properties of all loaves were comparable, with the exception of higher crumb elasticity in industrial bread compared to homemade. An analysis of volatile molecules revealed more lipid oxidation markers in industrial bread, more fermentation markers in artisanal bread, and fewer markers of Maillard reactions in homemade bread. Chemical reactions during processing seem to be the principal criterion making possible to discriminate the different processing methods. These results offer a quantitative assessment of the differences within a single product category, reflecting the real-world choices for consumers.