Why homemade bread is so much healthier than shop bought

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The smell of freshly baked bread is one of the best – there’s a reason why it’s used to sell houses and make you overspend in the supermarket. But it’s not just the wonderful aroma that should tempt you to bake it at home. It’s easier than ever, as you can hand over all the hard work to a Russell Hobbs Compact Breadmaker, which has features like a 55-minute fast-bake option, and a 13-hour-delay timer for those tempting early morning loaves. Above all, your own bread is also much better for your health. Here are five good reasons why.

1 You can ditch the salt Cutting back on your salt intake? Shop-bought bread can contain up to 1.3g of salt per 100g (around 2-3 slices), which is almost a quarter of the 6g maximum daily amount recommended by the NHS. When you make bread yourself from scratch, you’re in control of how it’s flavoured – whether that’s with low-sodium salt or another healthy alternative such as herbs, spices or pepper.

2 Homemade bread doesn't contain additives If you’ve ever looked at the list of ingredients that go into a loaf of supermarket bread, it’s likely you'll see some you don’t recognise. These can include emulsifiers and additives to help it bake faster, and preservatives that will give it a longer shelf life. Bake your own and you can simply use the basic ingredients and experiment with a range of different flours beyond wheat, such as rye or spelt.

3 Bake what you like, when you like Homemade bread is hugely adaptable, which means you can make it with almost anything you like. Whether you’re trying to eat more fibre or cutting out gluten, everyone’s dietary needs can be catered for without scouring the shelves for an expensive specialist loaf. And if, like most of us, you don't have spare time to prove and knead the bread yourself, just add the ingredients to a bowl and let the Russell Hobbs Compact Breadmaker’s 12 dedicated programmes do all the hard work for you.

4 Lose the fat, not the loaf Even healthy looking supermarket bread can be full of fat, as much as 10.3g per 100g. Baking your own offers a really good opportunity to swap the saturated fat for good fats, such as olive oil, or reduce it altogether. Great news if you’re trying to lose weight, but still want bread to be a part of your diet.

5 Give yourself a nutrition boost It’s not always easy to get a variety of seeds into meals but homemade bread is a great place to sprinkle them without anyone really noticing. Try sesame, pumpkin, linseed and sunflower seeds in your loaves for a good hit of dietary fibre, protein, healthy fats and antioxidants.

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