Publisher's Synopsis
A given loaf of bread could be both organic and fresh, organic and not fresh, fresh but not organic, or neither fresh nor organic. The term "fresh" has technical definitions (used by government agencies) and commercial definition (used by producers).Simply said, "fresh" bread means it has been baked recently (usually within a day) and says nothing about what ingredients went into making it, nor anything about the source of those ingredients. It may or may not be organic. Fresh also implies that the bread was never frozen (or canned, irradiated, salted, pickled or otherwise preserved, but those rarely apply to bread). However, producers are always inclined to bend the definitions, and we now have an in-betweener brad, which is called: par-baked or partially baked. These large industrial producers sell this bread to small bakers, grocery stores, cafes, and more, and they only require a 7-10 minute baking time. This bread is unfortunately still allowed to be called fresh, although it becomes dry within 5 hours.Most people would agree that, with a few exceptions, fresh bread has better flavor and texture than non-fresh bread. Some sourdough loaves of bread do not reach their flavor peak until 24-48 hours after baking."Organic" bread, theoretically means that the vast majority of the ingredients which went into making it is sourced from suppliers which meet the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) definition of "Organically Grown." To be considered organic, loaves of bread must have ingredients that are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms (GMO's), or ionizing radiation.
