In his new “Buying guide to eat better“, Dr Jean-Michel Cohen sifts through 700 common supermarket foods. In the brioche and pastries section, a soft milk bread with no added sugar clearly stands out from its comrades.
Brioches and milk breads: products that are not always good for your health
Although they are part of practical everyday foods (who has never slipped a Pitch into their child’s bag?), brioches and milk breads are not really recommended from a health point of view.
They often contain excess sugar (invert sugar syrup, glucose syrup, etc.), a mess of additives (flavors, thickeners, colorings, etc.), bad fats (like palm oil), powdered milk or egg yolks (and not fresh, whole ingredients) and sometimes processed starch.
So many superfluous ingredients of poor quality, light years away from homemade preparations (requiring only milk, eggs, flour, butter and fresh yeast).
On the shelves, therefore ban “products filled (with chocolate or fruit puree), topped with pastry cream or marbled”, advises Dr. Jean-Michel Cohen. “In terms of quality, budget brands, whatever the brand, are quite disappointing. If brioches reach 10 to 15% lipids, pain au chocolat and croissants are closer to 20% and contain on average more additives. warns the medical expert.
So many warnings that also apply to our famous milk breads.
As for the presence of gluten, often viewed negatively, it should not worry you: only your personal feelings count.
“Industrial products frequently contain added gluten which makes the crumb more airy and the product softer. This excess gluten can make digestion more difficult. This does not necessarily make you intolerant to gluten, but these excesses in many products and cumulatively can end up bothering you,” specifies the doctor.
This milk bread, rated B, would be the best on the shelves
Against all expectations, it was the fresh milk breads without added sugars from the “La Boulangère” brand that won the match. These little golden breads are in fact made up of fresh, quality ingredients: whole eggs (from free-range chickens), butter (not hydrogenated fats), fresh pasteurized skimmed milk… All from French fair trade.
“The great idea of offering a product without added sugar here! The choice of ingredients follows this quality approach. We appreciate the use of sourdough and not yeast. It’s a good basic to have in your cupboards for breakfast or snack”, confirms Dr Jean-Michel Cohen.
So many good points which allowed these little loaves to obtain the Holy Grail: the “B” grade on the NutriScore scale.
However, be careful not to devour the whole bag! Each bun contains on average around a hundred calories… and some saturated fatty acids. Like any “pleasure” food, they must therefore be part of a balanced diet.