Beware of Bromated Flour

Many people in the US bake bread at home to avoid purchasing expensive commercially baked bread. When I started to bake bread for my family, I was not aware of the difference between bromated and unbromated flour. Then I started to buy King Arthur Flour after reading about health issues concerning consumption of bromated flour.

According to NowPublic.com,

'Potassium Bromate is typically added to bread and other flours as maturing agent which promotes gluten development in doughs, making the bread stronger and more elastic. Commercial bakers use bromated flour because it yields dependable results and can stand up to bread hooks and other commercial baking tools. It is also used to render inferior flour with low protein levels more useable since these flours do not develop enough gluten on their own.

Bromate is also considered a category 2B carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), meaning that it may be harmful when consumed. In theory, the substance is supposed to bake out of bread dough as it cooks, but if too much is added, or if the bread is not cooked long enough or not at a high enough temperature, then a residual amount will remain.'