bread and pasta---vegan or not????

Hi everyone:

I have a question regarding bread and pasta.  I was basically wondering if they are considered vegan or not.  I've received mix responses.  Some people tell me that bread and pasta are not always made with eggs, and so they are vegan foods.  Others tell me that there are almost always eggs or dairy components in these foods.

I'm really confused.  Does anyone know for sure?

Thanks!

Plenty of bread is vegan. Grocery store Italian and French breads are often flour, water, and air, nothing else. Sliced breads often have milk, but if you check the label, you can find plenty of vegan breads. Typical pastas are vegan; more specialty pastas are not. Again, check the box.

Look at the ingredients.  All the pasta I buy is whole wheat and the only ingredient is whole wheat flour.  I guess some pasta could be made with eggs but I am not sure.

Most bread will probably have some dairy/egg in it but the only way to know is to look at the ingredients.  I think the Ezekiel brand is safe, but I am not sure about any others.

I have yet to find a bag of sliced, non-fancy, bread which is not vegan, though I suppose such a thing probably does exist.  Same with the pasta.  The only way to be sure is to read the labels.  Even if you can't find pre-made vegan bread and pasta, is is certainly possible to make your own.

Trid

I've wondered about the yeast aspect. Yeast is not a vegetable - it's really a simple animal life form. To be strictly vegan, shouldn't one avoid any food made with yeast, such as breads and alcoholic beverages?

Yeast is fungi, not animal.

Yeast is fungus-like, and classified as such. But it is not a vegetable. Here's a descriptive piece I pulled from medigenesis:

"On the other hand, mushrooms and their relatives, the yeasts, have some very animal-like behavior when it comes down to chemistry. Unlike plants, which only need sun and soil to live, animals need to consume other beings to survive. So do molds, mildews, mushrooms, and yeasts. It's a big difference. Because burning fuel, such as sugars and fats, with oxygen to produce a "smoke" of carbon dioxide (bubbles) and water is yeast's obvious activity, yeast is not plant-like at all. So, yeast is neither animal nor vegetable. The question is resolved scientifically by making a separate category for fungi.

Seen through the microscope, yeasts look as docile and simple as vegetables. But the more we know about the aggressive side of their chemistry, the more they resemble animals."

And unlike plants, or even fungus, yeast is very animal-like in its protein content. Baking and brewing aside, yeast foods like Vegemite and Marmite are quasi-meats. As a vegan food, yeast is a better source of protein than most grains and nuts.

as far as anything i've ever heard, bread and pasta are considered vegan if they don't have egg, milk, butter, honey, etc. in them. i've never heard the yeast-as-animal argument before, but every book i've read doesn't mention anything about it. you could be right. anyone out there with a definitive answer?

you could also make your own bread. hell, you could even make it unleavened - just to be safe!

but really, if you're going to go balls-to-the-wall vegan, you've got to make label reading a habit.

I went to the grocery store and checked - just about every commercially available bread contains butter and/or whey/milk.  So, contrary to previous posts, I would say most breads are NOT vegan.  Most pastas are OK, though - simply flour and water.  To be sure, you just have to check the ingredients.

Thank you all for your responses.  I've been checking the labels, but I was still confused.  Alot of the labels also warn that the product is manufactured in a facility that also manufactures dairy products.  That doesn't mean that I wouldn't eat the product if it itself was vegan, but that warning seems strange to me for some reason.

Thanks again!

that warning is put on there mainly for people with allergies. that way, if someone who is allergic to dairy eats the product and has a reaction, they can't sue the company, since it's shown on the label that the food was made in a plant that also processes dairy products. it's just a precaution.

I read up a little bit more on yeast.  Old cookbook recipes for bread almost always use warm milk to dissolve yeast powder.  Yeast thrives in it, and it makes a good sugar source to get it activated again.  I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of bakeries used milk to activate their yeast, too.

The yeast itself is not made using dairy products.  The Red Star site says that it is propagated in molasses.

I worked in a small country bakery for years.  We never dissolved yeast in milk.  Some of our breads were dairy free, like the french, foccacia and anadama.  Some did contain powdered milk.  If there is not an ingredient list, just ask.

Pita bread is usually safe too.

 

Also, you can make your own bread, I use some of my favorite old-recipies and just substitute a non-dairy soy or nut milk if regular milk is called for, and substitute SOy Garden spread or olive oil for butter.

Don't know if this will help but here is a list of vegan foods found in regular supermarkets: I can't believe it's vegan!

Italian, French, and many of the Whole Grain type breads are vegan.  Foccacia contains milk, or at least my recipe for it does.  Milk is why the crumb stays so moist.  (Mmmmm I miss my homemade foccacia!)  I believe milk is also used in Challha.  Some breads (and pretzels) use egg wash to give it a glean.  Sometimes breads that have seeds on the exterior use egg wash or milk to hold the seeds.

The short answer is:  Read the label.  You will soon become familiar with the brands you like and know to be vegan.