Grainswest - Winter 2026

Winter 2026 grainswest.com 27 Internationally, evidence suggests white bread is having a moment. U.K. Flour Millers reports that nearly 100 per cent of British households buy bread of some sort and 60 to 70 per cent of it is white. A whopping 76 per cent of Brits say they regularly eat white bread. In 2024, New York Times Magazine declared white bread is back, at least as a restaurant trend, and evidence of this can also be seen in Canada. Fashionable restaurants in this country are trading tweedy multi-grain bread baskets and sourdough for shokupan (Japanese milk bread), brioche and Parker House rolls, all breads made with white flour. OLD FASHIONED REMAINS OUT OF FASHION Of course, restaurant menus and food trend stories in consumer magazines only tell part of the story. While certain types of white bread may be hip, it’s not necessarily dominating in Canadian homes. Martin Barnett, executive director and general manager of the Baking Association of Canada points to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada data that indicates white pantry bread sales in Canada are forecasted to gradually decline between now and 2028. Canadians are turning to whole grain or artisan breads that carry perceived health benefits. White bread production became popular as an inexpensive method to feed families in the mid-20th Century, said Barnett, but large-scale bakers are meeting public demand for healthier and more flavourful alternatives. “We didn’t do a very good job in the ’60s and ’70s of making sure white bread products were as healthy and nutritious as they could be, but we did a really good job of feeding hungry people after the war. That’s worth celebrating,” said Barnett. “But it meant moving away from traditional ways of baking with longer fermentation and breads made by hand,” he added. “Large commercial bakeries are now responding by making products with healthier ingredients and using clean label inclusions to enhance production and increase the shelf life of pantry bread.” ELEVATION ANDMULTICULTURAL BREADS LEAD THE PACK While many Canadians may turn their noses up at classic white pantry breads, it doesn’t mean white bread faces extinction. Both smaller bakeries and large grocery store chains continue to display white pan loaves alongside their sourdough and multi-grain selections. White flour items such as hotdog and hamburger buns are typically not popular in whole grain form. While white bread on its own may not be terribly exciting, its sturdiness and mild flavour earn it a place as the favoured vehicle for peanut butter, sandwich meats and other high- flavour ingredients intended to be the star of the show. “A customer told me their best-selling breads are things people can spread peanut butter on. They call it the peanut butter test,” said Jonathan Aleong, director of bakery research and development at Puratos Canada, an international baking industry supplier based in Belgium. “If you want a neutral carrier for hamburgers or hotdogs, you want that neutral flavour and texture.” Though customers may prefer tried-and-true white bread hotdog buns and sandwich bread, innovations are being made within the larger white bread category. Aleong’s colleague at Puratos, vice-president of marketing Adriana Fazzina, said while she doesn’t see much movement in the realm of standard grocery store pantry breads, white bread products in the artisan or globally influenced categories are on the rise. “ A customer told me their best-selling breads are things people can spread peanut butter on. They call it the peanut butter test.” – Jonathan Aleong Thewords “white bread” don’t tend to stir excitement in the hearts of Canadian consumers. The term itself is used as shorthand for “boring,” and typical grocery storewhite bread is often considered a junk food, inferior towholewheat counterparts. But despitewhite bread’s second-rate reputation, squishy snow white breadhas long been a staple of diets around the globe.While trendsmay ebb and flow, refinedgrainbreads continue tohave a place inour ever-changing culinaryworld.