Good news for humans - not so good for ducks. (Warburton's Seeded Batch Loaf)

Member Name: koshkha

Product:	Warburton's Seeded Batch Loaf
Date:	21/09/06 (954 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great taste, long lasting, good for you

Disadvantages: Expensive, not a standard slice shape so may not be suitable for all toasters

Bread's just bread isn't it?
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Like many consumers, I used to think that bread was white or brown and that was that. I was quite capable of buying a 19p white sliced when it was my turn to do the hockey club sandwiches and I never gave a lot of thought to bread quality. Then I joined a company involved in supplying ingredients to the baking industry and became a bit of a bread-anorak. Don't get me started or I'll drone on and on like a true food bore. I've left that company now so I feel it's not unethical to write about bread.

So, I'm going to stop myself reviewing every loaf I've ever known and go for gold. Start at the top and quit whilst I'm ahead.

WARBURTONS SEEDED BATCH IS THE BEST BREAD IN THE UK - BAR NONE!

There, sorry for shouting but if you don't want to read the rest of the review, go away and just buy some.

My afternoon of bread testing hell
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Imagine the scene. I'm in a large meeting room with about 30 types of Warburton's bread and rolls on the table in front of me and I have to taste all of them. After about five I'm starting to feel bloated. I've written down every possible detail on every slice - how thick, how white, how springy, slice shape, crumb texture, blah blah blah. And then, having done all the whites I still have to face all the wholemeals and the fruit breads.

I am starting to lose the will to live when suddenly up pops the Seeded Batch.

I had been forewarned that this was something special. When I joined the company and was struggling for a bit of small talk I soon found that the question 'So what bread do you buy then?' always got me an enthusiastic response. Time and time again the answer was Warburtons - and more often than not, the seeded batch.

This bread took my breath away. It's the tastiest, nuttiest, most delicious mass-produced bread I have ever tasted.

What's a batch loaf?
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Most industrial bread is made in tins - either open top or closed top tins. The closed come out with nice square slices, the open tins give a nice mushroom shaped loaf. But a batch is baked with no tin at all. So the outside doesn't get all hard and crispy on the crust and, where the loaves touch each other as they expand in the proofer and oven, the sides have no crust - just lovely softness. And the slice is rounded with no straight sides. This might be a problem if you want to make dainty triangular sandwiches for the cricket club but if you have kids who hate crusts, this might help you to get them to eat it.

Why is it a seeded batch?
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It contains lots and lots of seeds and seed bits - 5 in total - poppy, millet, sunflower, sesame and linseed. Sounds a bit like Trill bird seed but it's not - they are soft and delicious and these little seeds are just bursting with healthy omega-6 essential fatty acids. You can see and feel the seeds - some of them burst between your teeth when you bite.

Parents will no doubt leave comments that their kids won't eat bits - this is a common problem. But this bread is so good and so expensive that it's best not to encourage them - let them eat the squishy cheap white stuff and keep the good stuff for yourselves.

NUTRITIONAL STUFF
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The loaf can be bought in 400g and 800g loaves. The smaller loaf has smaller slices that weigh in at 82 calories a slice with 2.5g of fat. The larger slices have 132 cals and 4.1g of fat. If you are throwing up your hands in horror at those fat contents - fret not. They are friendly fats and they come mostly from the seeds.

Where can you buy it?
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Most supermarkets will stock Warbies - especially in the Midlands and North. There are still a few areas of the country where I think their distribution struggles - I had a neighbour in Manchester who used to take their bread to Devon because it wasn't available down there. I know it's not an entirely national brand but I think it's getting close. Warbies is almost always stocked in Morrissons and Asda - due to the geography of the HQs of the three companies.

What else do you need to know?
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The bread stays fresh for a week and stales slower than most. You can freeze it on day of purchase but the family will gobble it down and you may not need to.
It makes great sandwiches and great toast - a lot of breads are only good for one or other but this does the lot.

There has to be a catch
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The price - it's the most expensive mass produced bread I have found. The large loaf retails at around £1.20 - £1.30 and the small one around 80p. It's worth every penny in my opinion. My husband won't eat anything else.

Summary: The best mass produced bread that money can buy