It's interesting to note the relationships different nations/cultures have to bread. For example, a lot of bread (French, Italian, Turkish), while tasty enough

It's interesting to note the relationships different nations/cultures have to bread. For example, a lot of bread (French, Italian, Turkish), while tasty enough, is very dainty compared to the rough, rustic, whole-grain stuff we eat in Scandinavia: http://imgur.com/a/OD8Jt http://imgur.com/a/OD8Jt In Norway, where I'm from, supermarkets carry a couple of types of white bread (refined, processed wheat), which is no longer popular. And even in the tiniest grocery stores, almost all breads were made fresh the same day. This comes from tradition, but also from government guidelines that have always held whole-grain flour to be healthier than the more refined kinds, as is other kinds of wholesome, unrefined, down-to-earth stuff. Meanwhile, in NYC, where I live, it's difficult to find fresh bread that isn't just white bread. The shelves are bulging with dozens of types of plastic-wrapped, pre-sliced, mass-produced, mind-numbingly boring bread with long shelf lives and containing preservatives and even sugar (!) or high-fructose corn syrup (!). In Oslo, one of my favourite places is this: http://i.imgur.com/CeOUqoE.jpg http://i.imgur.com/CeOUqoE.jpg Notice the "coarseness" chart on the right, showing the percentage of whole-grain flour in each product. I live a kilometer away from a Danish bakery that does a decent rustic loaf, but it's still frustrating.