0:00:02 > 0:00:06Here in Britain we love our daily bread, munching our way through
0:00:06 > 0:00:0812 million loaves every single day.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12Believe it or not, come August, the green shoots in this field
0:00:12 > 0:00:18will provide enough wheat to make 300,000 loaves of bread.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23From field to factory, it's a nonstop processing line,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26but how do they do it?
0:00:26 > 0:00:29We've come to West Bromwich, to one of the biggest
0:00:29 > 0:00:32bakeries in the country, to find out.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38'I'm Gregg Wallace and I've been given exclusive access to
0:00:38 > 0:00:42'reveal the secrets behind this epic production line.'
0:00:42 > 0:00:46Rolling it up like a cigar and cutting it into four,
0:00:46 > 0:00:50- and that's the professional secret? - That's the professional secret.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54'I'm going to follow the entire process over 24 hours.'
0:00:54 > 0:00:55Wahey!
0:00:55 > 0:00:59'To show you the amazing technology that goes into making
0:00:59 > 0:01:02'the perfect loaf every time.'
0:01:02 > 0:01:06That may be the most incredible thing I've seen since I got here.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10'I'm Cherry Healy and I'm heading into the nation's kitchens to
0:01:10 > 0:01:13'uncover the surprisingly simple tricks
0:01:13 > 0:01:16'we can all use to make our loaves last longer.'
0:01:16 > 0:01:20- I keep my bread in the fridge. - Don't keep it in the fridge!
0:01:20 > 0:01:24'And I'll come face to face with the mind-boggling machines...'
0:01:24 > 0:01:25I can feel it on my face.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30'..that are working around the clock to provide enough flour to
0:01:30 > 0:01:31'bake for a nation.'
0:01:31 > 0:01:33That's insane.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Along the way, historian Ruth Goodman will reveal
0:01:36 > 0:01:40the hidden killers that used to lurk in our bread.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Oh, my goodness! Look at that fizz up. That ain't flour.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47This place just gets weirder and weirder.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52You'll never look at a loaf of bread the same way again.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56This is the incredible story of the factories that feed Britain.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Allied Bakeries in West Bromwich is one of the largest
0:02:14 > 0:02:16bread makers in the country.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21Each week, this one factory produces 1.3 million muffins
0:02:21 > 0:02:25and up to 5 million rolls.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29At the heart of the factory is the giant bread-production line, which
0:02:29 > 0:02:36bakes, bags and dispatches 1.5 million loaves every week.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38And tonight, I'm going
0:02:38 > 0:02:41to follow every stage of that process by helping them
0:02:41 > 0:02:46bake the bestselling white and wholemeal mixed loaf in Britain.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48But it's not about baking one of them,
0:02:48 > 0:02:55it's about baking 140 of them perfectly every single minute.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58Before I can get anywhere near a mixer,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01we need to get our ingredients together.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Starting with the flour.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09420 tonnes of it stored in these giant silos,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12trucked in from mills across the country.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Every year, over two million hectares of wheat
0:03:17 > 0:03:21are grown in the UK, in a land area the size of Wales.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Because of our climate, wheat can only be planted once a year,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31so the annual harvest in August has to provide enough wheat to
0:03:31 > 0:03:33feed the nation for the year ahead.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40It's kept in stores around Britain and then trucked to mills like this -
0:03:40 > 0:03:44the Coronet Mill in Manchester - and this is where your bread begins.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Right, let's see what's inside this truck. Ready?
0:03:55 > 0:04:00Around ten varieties of wheat are grown for bread making in the UK.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04A mill will buy a selection of them and mix them together.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13For manager Steve Britton, this is the key to making the perfect flour.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17How much of this comes through your mill every day?
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Well, we bring in up to 50 wheat vehicles a day,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23about 6,000 tonnes a week.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27- 6,000 tonnes a week?!- Mm-hm.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34The wheat could have been sitting in storage for up to a year,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38so before a truckload is allowed anywhere near the mill itself,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42a probe sucks up a sample...
0:04:42 > 0:04:45and sends it to the on-site lab.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48The truck has to wait while they test the quality of the wheat
0:04:48 > 0:04:50and check for any impurities.
0:04:52 > 0:04:5520 minutes later, they get the green light,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59then the wheat is cleaned before embarking on a violent journey
0:04:59 > 0:05:02through a six-mile-long network of pipes.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Which race it from silos to machinery
0:05:07 > 0:05:13all over the ten-storey mill at speeds of up to 60mph.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18This is where we will store that clean wheat
0:05:18 > 0:05:22and it's basically filling up these silos as we speak.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25I can hear it. So, it's all going through these tubes?
0:05:25 > 0:05:26Well, open the door and have a look.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29Oh, wow!
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Oh, my goodness.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Coronet Mill combines various types of wheat
0:05:37 > 0:05:43to make over 100 different kinds of flour, each for a specific product,
0:05:43 > 0:05:48from doughnuts to pasties, to bagels to cakes and bread.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52But to unlock the flour inside a kernel of wheat,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55first you have to take the whole thing apart.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57All wheat is basically the same.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01It's made up of three constituent parts. It's got the bran layer
0:06:01 > 0:06:04on the outside, it's got the white endosperm,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07and it's also got the germ.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12In a wholemeal bread, the flour used has combined all these
0:06:12 > 0:06:14elements, as they use the whole of the grain.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19But in a white flour, it's just the endosperm -
0:06:19 > 0:06:23this white central part - they're after.
0:06:23 > 0:06:24The wheat is soaked in water
0:06:24 > 0:06:29and left for up to 24 hours to loosen the outer shell.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Then it's ground through steel rollers, which shear open the kernels
0:06:34 > 0:06:36and separate the bran from the endosperm.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41So, this is after the first time it's been ground?
0:06:41 > 0:06:44It is, so what I need to do now is separate it into its constituent
0:06:44 > 0:06:48parts, so we need to separate the bran from the endosperm.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50So, what we do is we sieve it.
0:06:59 > 0:07:00I can feel it on my face.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07That is insane.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13The Coronet Mill sifting floor is a disconcerting
0:07:13 > 0:07:17maze of seven giant sieves that work 24 hours a day,
0:07:17 > 0:07:22processing more than a tanker-load of flour every hour.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29The crushed wheat kernels pass through increasingly
0:07:29 > 0:07:33finer sieves, which remove more and more of the course
0:07:33 > 0:07:36material, releasing a small amount of flour each time.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44This course material is sent on to yet more steel rollers to be
0:07:44 > 0:07:50re-ground and the process is repeated again and again and again.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Until eventually...
0:07:54 > 0:07:56- flour.- Flour.- Really soft...
0:07:56 > 0:07:59- It's really fine. - ..and smooth flour.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Our finished flour is now ready to be trucked to the bakery.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11Flour dust is combustible and, in a confined space, can create
0:08:11 > 0:08:15an exclusive environment where any electrical spark could ignite it.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20So, the mill has to take great care while they're loading.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23The truck has to be earthed to prevent any static build-up,
0:08:23 > 0:08:28while powerful air ventilators prevent the dust from escaping.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33How much flour is now going through this funnel into this truck?
0:08:33 > 0:08:36This is a 28-tonne delivery now.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41- And how many loaves of bread will that produce?- About 60,000 loaves.
0:08:41 > 0:08:47- 60,000 loaves of bread from this one truck?!- Yep.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51And how many trucks of flour do you send out of your mill every day?
0:08:51 > 0:08:55We're producing a tanker-load of flour every hour.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57And is that 24 hours?
0:08:57 > 0:08:59- Yes.- That's a lot of toast.- It is.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08That is now on its way to the bakery in West Bromwich
0:09:08 > 0:09:10where, in just 24 hours,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14the contents of that truck will become the bread on your table.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26The flour supply is the lifeblood of this bakery.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29They rely on it arriving in vast quantities every day
0:09:29 > 0:09:30for everything they make.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34And before I head in to start baking,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37I need to offload that flour Cherry has been milling
0:09:37 > 0:09:42and find out how exactly you get 28 tonnes of white powder
0:09:42 > 0:09:43out of a truck.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49That's the first challenge for driver Tony Jarman.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53- Can I help?- You can, yeah.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58I don't want to appear stupid, but flour is a light, dusty thing.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01How do you get it out of an enormous vat?
0:10:01 > 0:10:05- We pressurise the tank using a land-based blower.- You blow it out?
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Yeah, we pressurise the tank and blow it out.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10I came here to see the flour unloaded
0:10:10 > 0:10:12and now I feel like a fireman!
0:10:21 > 0:10:25This is where the nonstop process of large-scale bread making begins.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30Wahey!
0:10:30 > 0:10:32It's trembling through my arm.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37It's incredible to think that just 24 hours from now, this flour
0:10:37 > 0:10:42I'm pumping off this truck will be a loaf on a supermarket shelf.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45- Where is this going? - It's going into the silos above.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51This one bakery takes in close to 1,000 tonnes of flour a week.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55And they use white and wholemeal flour
0:10:55 > 0:10:57for their Kingsmill 50/50 loaf.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01That's the loaf they're making now.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05In fact, every hour they're making over 8,500 of them.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07And just like baking at home,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10the first step is getting your ingredients together
0:11:10 > 0:11:13and here that's all being done by computer,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16under the watchful eye of general manager John Jackson.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19This is the fun bit, right?
0:11:19 > 0:11:21This is the bit that we start making the dough.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26So, what we have here is the flour line
0:11:26 > 0:11:29coming right from the silos.
0:11:29 > 0:11:30- There!- There it is.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36And it's delivering the flour at about two kilos a second
0:11:36 > 0:11:38into a holding bin here,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42ready to drop into the mixer when the mixer calls for it.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47This hi-tech mixer can automatically call on ingredients
0:11:47 > 0:11:49from all over the factory.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53Right now, flour's being delivered directly from the silos outside,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57while the nearby ingredients store room is also
0:11:57 > 0:12:01pumping in the other dry ingredients we'll need to make our loaf.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- We've got kibble.- Kibble?!- Kibble. - What is kibble?
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Kibble is like wheat bran, that gives you texture.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13Hang on a minute, Hang on a minute. I make bread - flour, yeast, salt.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15We add it to give it a bit of texture,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17particularly to our wholemeal products.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Tell me about soya. That surprises me.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Soya, we add soya, which enriches the process
0:12:24 > 0:12:28- and gives a brighter crumb.- It makes the bread whiter?- Yes, it does.
0:12:28 > 0:12:29- Is that right?- That's right.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33I'm really excited, I've never used one of these.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35That is immense!
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Ready?
0:12:37 > 0:12:41Despite all these ingredients, there's one star player
0:12:41 > 0:12:44at the heart of bread making - a living organism.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48- Is that your yeast? - Yeah, that's our yeast.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52That is creamed, fast-acting baker's yeast.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54The yeast that I use at home is a solid.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Yeah, we have it in liquid form so that we can bring it in by tanker.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02How many tankers come in to supply you with liquid yeast?
0:13:02 > 0:13:07About two a week. Two full tankers a week, yeah.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10I'm amazed you go through that much. I had no idea.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14This is the secret ingredient. Without this, no bread ever.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17- That's right.- How much do you love this jar of liquid?
0:13:17 > 0:13:20It's absolutely essential.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24But what exactly is yeast and why is it so essential?
0:13:25 > 0:13:29To find out, I've come to the Norfolk countryside to meet
0:13:29 > 0:13:31scientist Dr Ian Roberts.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34So, why am I out in the middle of a forest?
0:13:34 > 0:13:36This is a really good place to find yeast.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40It's a microscopic fungus related to mushrooms and toadstools,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44and it's a living thing and this is a living environment.
0:13:44 > 0:13:45Where is the yeast?
0:13:45 > 0:13:50It's everywhere, it's all around us on leaves, branches, soil -
0:13:50 > 0:13:53the bark of oak trees is a particularly good place to find it,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55and indeed it's on us, on our skin.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58- You're not kidding me, are you? - No, it's everywhere.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05Yeasts are some of the most successful organisms on earth.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09These ancient fungi have been with us for millions of years.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11They live all around us,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13from the air we breathe to the bark of this tree.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17In fact, they're so good at adapting to different
0:14:17 > 0:14:21environments that scientists like Ian are researching ways to
0:14:21 > 0:14:23harness their potential.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27At the Institute of Food Research in Norwich,
0:14:27 > 0:14:32they have an extraordinary collection of 4,000 different
0:14:32 > 0:14:35varieties of these intriguing little critters.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41So, here's a sample from an Antarctic glacier.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Why would you be interested in yeast off a glacier?
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Because we think it's got UV protective properties
0:14:48 > 0:14:52and it's a potential source of chemicals that can be used in sunscreen, for example.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57So, these microscopic organisms have some impressive hidden talents.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02But what about the yeast we eat every day?
0:15:02 > 0:15:05The stuff that makes our bread rise?
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Well, Ian's got some of that in his collection, as well.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13You have a little tube like this and inside the tube...
0:15:13 > 0:15:16you have that, containing the baker's yeast.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20So, I could actually make some bread with this one?
0:15:20 > 0:15:22You could, but you'd need an awful lot more of it.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Let me get this absolutely right,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27there is no mass-produced bread without mass-produced yeasts?
0:15:27 > 0:15:32Yes, there's factories around the world that produce tons and tons of it.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34So, how do you make tons
0:15:34 > 0:15:37and tons of the stuff when each organism is microscopic?
0:15:40 > 0:15:43I've come to the Lallemand factory in Suffolk -
0:15:43 > 0:15:46one of the largest yeast producers in the country - to find out.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54There are six massive fermenters which are cultivating
0:15:54 > 0:15:56yeast 24 hours a day.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Martin Perling is operations director.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02How much yeast in one of those?
0:16:02 > 0:16:04In each one of those tanks, by the time we finish growing
0:16:04 > 0:16:07the yeast, there'll be 30,000 kilograms of yeast,
0:16:07 > 0:16:12enough to ultimately bake 1.2 million loaves of bread.
0:16:12 > 0:16:13And how much did you start with?
0:16:13 > 0:16:16We start with 0.1 gram from a test tube.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20- Hang on, how long did that take? - That'll take us four days.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22- HE LAUGHS - That's not possible!
0:16:22 > 0:16:25The wonders of living organisms are that they replicate
0:16:25 > 0:16:29themselves by doubling their numbers every three hours,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33in the case of yeast, and if you do the mathematics,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37over the four days that we have the yeast in those fermenters,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41they will increase by 35 million times.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Mate, that is the maddest thing.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55This is quite an exclusive little yeast club this, isn't it?
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Absolutely. That's a very good way of summing it up.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00I guess, to the man in the street it's a health spa,
0:17:00 > 0:17:05because our primary requirement is to keep our yeast healthy,
0:17:05 > 0:17:11happy and growing as rapidly and as pure a state as possible.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17One way they keep the yeast happy is by feeding them
0:17:17 > 0:17:21vast amounts of sugar through this complex network of pipes.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25As they grow and multiply, the yeast cells
0:17:25 > 0:17:29get through 42 tonnes of sugar syrup, known as molasses,
0:17:29 > 0:17:31in just 16 hours.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Once the yeast has multiplied enough to fill the tanks,
0:17:38 > 0:17:43it's dehydrated and then compressed into bricks ready for delivery.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47- That's a beautiful thing.- It is. - It's like a marble finish.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49That's a really beautiful thing.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53- And there's all the big organisms in there.- A living thing.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59We also produce a dried yeast for home baking.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02These organisms are so amazingly resilient,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06they can even survive being completely dried out.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11That is dry and stable and in this form the yeast will keep for
0:18:11 > 0:18:16two years, whereas in that form, it has a shelf life of about 30 days.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20This has got to be one of the most adaptable organisms the human
0:18:20 > 0:18:22race has ever found.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26It is, and man has learnt to adapt it to his requirements.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Now, that truck is about to leave, and that has got enough
0:18:33 > 0:18:38yeast on it to makeover 600,000 loaves of bread. 600,000!
0:18:38 > 0:18:42But that's not even a fifth of the bread
0:18:42 > 0:18:45that we consume in Great Britain every day.
0:18:45 > 0:18:46Gobsmacking!
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Back at the West Brom bakery,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59their yeast has now been pumped into storage tanks.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09And then, just three minutes after the flour delivery,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11it's all combined in the mixer.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14We're almost ready to start making bread,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18but first I need to add one final group of ingredients
0:19:18 > 0:19:19known as conditioners.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21Show me what to do.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Grab yourself one of these, take the lid off,
0:19:24 > 0:19:25put the lid on the side.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30A mix of vitamin C and various enzymes and emulsifiers which,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33along with the high-speed mixer, allow them
0:19:33 > 0:19:38to bake bread at a speed impossible in your kitchen at home.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40At home now, I've added the yeast to the flour,
0:19:40 > 0:19:46I've now got clingfilm over the bowl and I'm leaving it to rise.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49If we were to use the old method,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52we would have bowls of dough all round here, waiting.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55We use something called the Chorleywood bread making process,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58that was developed in the early 1960s.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03At the heart of this Chorleywood process is a special mixer,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07which uses controlled pressure and immense energy to precisely
0:20:07 > 0:20:09manage the size of the air bubbles in the dough.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Which means every loaf is practically identical.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22It also means that a process that would take you 25 minutes of mixing
0:20:22 > 0:20:25and kneading at home can all be done here in a fraction of the time.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31- So, how long does it take to mix the whole thing up?- Just three minutes.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34- You're kidding me! - Well, the actual mixing itself is just three minutes long.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36- Can I get in there and have a look?- Yeah.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Every stage of the process has to be precisely monitored,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45including the temperature of the dough ball, to ensure
0:20:45 > 0:20:48the yeast has the perfect environment to grow.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52And we're looking for 28 degrees plus or minus one.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Too hot and the dough would rise too quickly.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01Too cold and they'd end up with a dense, flat loaf.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05- Now it looks like a bread dough. - That's it, yeah.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08- How many of these do you do a day? - 20 an hour.- 20 an hour?
0:21:08 > 0:21:11And you get about 350 loaves to a mix.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23- Is this the dough I've made? - Yeah, this is the dough you've made.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26And we've cut it into the right weight pieces
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and this dough piece now won't stop moving for the next
0:21:29 > 0:21:33three and a half hours till we actually drop it in a bag.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36I can't be the only person in Britain
0:21:36 > 0:21:39that finds this very therapeutic,
0:21:39 > 0:21:43watching enormous dough balls just floating away, off into the horizon.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Right, what we do next, Gregg, we put it through a rounder
0:21:57 > 0:21:59and shape it into a dough piece
0:21:59 > 0:22:02and once we've got it into the right shape,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05we need to let it relax so that we can then mould it
0:22:05 > 0:22:08and shape it before we put it in the tin.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11- How long has it got to relax? - About 30 seconds.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Is that why you made the conveyor belt so long?
0:22:14 > 0:22:17- That's exactly right, yeah. - It's like...
0:22:17 > 0:22:20like all the energy and heat that goes into a piece of beef,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23it's like bringing that out the oven and letting that rest.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- Exactly the same.- Same process? - Yeah, it's the same process.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29I'm getting quite attached to this dough ball.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32After they've relaxed for 30 seconds,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35the dough balls are almost ready to be left to prove.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42But first they go through one surprising extra step.
0:22:42 > 0:22:43Oh!
0:22:43 > 0:22:47- You've rolled it up like a pancake! - Yeah, we roll it up like a pancake.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Why would you do that?
0:22:49 > 0:22:53It's all about developing the structure of the dough,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56and we cut it in four and turn the grain through 90 degrees to
0:22:56 > 0:23:00give the slice of bread a stronger texture, allowing you
0:23:00 > 0:23:03to butter it without ripping it all into holes.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Is that it? Is that my four separate bits?
0:23:11 > 0:23:15That's the four separate pieces that have actually moulded together
0:23:15 > 0:23:17in the proving and baking process inside the tin.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19I wouldn't notice this, would I, on a sliced loaf?
0:23:19 > 0:23:21No, because on a sliced loaf,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24the slices will actually cut through that and you'll not see that.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Mate, this is nothing like making bread at home, let me tell you.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29Nothing like it.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38What would happen if we didn't roll it up,
0:23:38 > 0:23:43didn't cut it into four and just put the dough into a baking tin?
0:23:43 > 0:23:46It would look exactly the same, a square loaf, however,
0:23:46 > 0:23:50it would be more susceptible to ripping if you actually buttered it.
0:23:50 > 0:23:51I'll show you.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58This is the loaf we made earlier
0:23:58 > 0:24:00and with four pieces here, as you can see.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02And this is one that we haven't,
0:24:02 > 0:24:03that we made specially for you today,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06so you could actually see the difference.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08And that's the standard 50/50?
0:24:08 > 0:24:11That is. We would make 40,000 of these every day
0:24:11 > 0:24:13and we don't make any of those.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16- And you reckon it will spread better?- I do.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22- Do you want to bet on it? Spread betting?- Spread betting, yes.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25# He likes bread and butter... #
0:24:25 > 0:24:29It does spread ridiculously well! It does! Right, swap them over.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33# ..He likes toast and jam... #
0:24:33 > 0:24:35- It's tearing. - It's tearing here, yes.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37- It's... - GREGG LAUGHS
0:24:37 > 0:24:39That's mad!
0:24:39 > 0:24:43# Well, I like bread and butter
0:24:43 > 0:24:45# I like toast and jam... #
0:24:47 > 0:24:50That's nuts! Look at that!
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Everything depends on you rolling it up like a cigar
0:24:54 > 0:24:58and cutting it into four, and that's the professional secret.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00And that's the professional secret.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04This four-piecing method was developed in the 1960s
0:25:04 > 0:25:07and by the late '70s, most bakeries were using it to improve
0:25:07 > 0:25:11the texture and structure of their bread.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15And while I'm getting my head around the subtle art of four-piecing...
0:25:15 > 0:25:18historian Ruth Goodman has been looking at why
0:25:18 > 0:25:21we've always been in love with the white loaf.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25For centuries, bread has been really important to us -
0:25:25 > 0:25:29not only in Britain's diet, but in our culture.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32- Hiya, Ruth. How are you?- Hello.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37So, I've come to meet Colin Lomax who's worked for Hovis for 37 years
0:25:37 > 0:25:40and has a lifetime's experience of making bread by hand.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43I always think about using that part of my hand
0:25:43 > 0:25:47and pushing it against the table. You'll get some friction.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50He's going to show me how our love affair with bread has risen
0:25:50 > 0:25:54through the centuries, starting off with the medieval loaf.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01It didn't look anything like the modern white loaf, did it?
0:26:01 > 0:26:02No, that's so true.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Let's just have a look at some rye bread and rye is what
0:26:05 > 0:26:10really the poor people had to eat when wheat was too expensive to buy.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14This is indeed the sort of texture I would expect from a medieval bread.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18- It's quite dense. It's not very springy, is it?- No.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20If you've got to live on bread and water...
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Which they did of course, didn't they?
0:26:22 > 0:26:26Which they did, then this is about as good as it gets,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29- but, boy, you have to chew it. - THEY LAUGH
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Workers' bread was generally made from whatever was growing locally -
0:26:33 > 0:26:38rye, barley and oats - which were sometimes mixed with wheat.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41This produced loaves in various shades of brown.
0:26:43 > 0:26:48If you were wealthy, you could treat yourself to a loaf of white bread.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50But preindustrial white bread was quite
0:26:50 > 0:26:53different from the sandwich loaves which we know today.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55You properly can't see it from there,
0:26:55 > 0:27:00but there are still flecks of bran particles in there.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02But it made good bread.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07Good for the gentry, maybe, but not for the bakers.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11The conditions in bakeries were terrible.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15Most of the bakers had respiratory diseases...
0:27:15 > 0:27:18- As they were in amongst the dust all the time.- That's right.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21They worked terribly long hours
0:27:21 > 0:27:25and it really was kind of backbreaking work.
0:27:27 > 0:27:28Oh!
0:27:28 > 0:27:30After 25 minutes in the oven,
0:27:30 > 0:27:34it's time to check on our preindustrial white loaf.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36- Look!- All of our efforts - fantastic!
0:27:37 > 0:27:41Bread was so fundamental to society that it became
0:27:41 > 0:27:43a symbol for social division.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46When they were baked on the oven bottom
0:27:46 > 0:27:49and you get this kind of dust, they used to slice the bottom off
0:27:49 > 0:27:51and that was oven bottom,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55and the top bit was upper crust, so the so-called rich people
0:27:55 > 0:28:01had the upper crust bit and the other people had the bottom.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Well, now, that does look like white bread.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07It's sort of creamy white, rather than white white.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Try a little piece of it.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12And it should almost melt in your mouth,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15- it shouldn't be as chewy and as dense.- It's much softer.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19And you can see yourself eating that with a nice meal.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22For the upper classes, white bread was
0:28:22 > 0:28:26the height of refinement in every sense of the word.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29It wasn't until after the Industrial Revolution that it came
0:28:29 > 0:28:32within reach of the ordinary worker.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35In the mid-19th century,
0:28:35 > 0:28:39cheap wheat was imported from the prairies of North America and
0:28:39 > 0:28:44it was milled through steel rollers, creating a much finer product.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46Can we have a little look at what white bread had
0:28:46 > 0:28:51- become by the end of the Victorian period?- Just cut through that.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54- Oh, my goodness! - A lovely, bright white loaf.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Let's go and have a look at that old white.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00And I think this is very white in comparison to that.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06Essentially, put one hand on there, one hand on there
0:29:06 > 0:29:08- and you can really feel the difference.- Oh, my goodness!
0:29:08 > 0:29:10That's a huge difference.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13One sinks right in, the other one scarcely at all.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19And our love affair with white bread just goes on and on.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21Throughout history and through the checkouts,
0:29:21 > 0:29:25the white loaf remains the nation's favourite.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39My loaf is only seven minutes old, but already it's been mixed,
0:29:39 > 0:29:44the dough balls have been cut into the critically important four pieces
0:29:44 > 0:29:48and now it's just a short conveyor belt ride to the prover.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58At home, I'd put a little bit of oil in the bowl
0:29:58 > 0:30:02and I'd try and find somewhere dry and warm like an airing cupboard.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04That is just a giant airing cupboard, right?
0:30:04 > 0:30:07- It's a giant airing cupboard.- How much bread have you got in there?
0:30:07 > 0:30:11About 7,000 loaves at any one time.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14And what do you want? You want it to double in size in about an hour?
0:30:14 > 0:30:17At least double in size in about an hour, yes.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20I could do that after a good lunch.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23'Whether you're baking tens of thousands of loaves in a factory,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26'or a single loaf in your kitchen at home,
0:30:26 > 0:30:28'at this point the science is the same.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32'The prove is all about giving the live yeast
0:30:32 > 0:30:34'time to feed off the starch.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38'As it does, it produces bubbles of carbon dioxide, which is
0:30:38 > 0:30:42'what will give our loaf its structure.'
0:30:46 > 0:30:49Ooh, that's quite heavy, mate.
0:30:50 > 0:30:51So there...
0:30:51 > 0:30:54That's the dough we've made straight from the mixer and four-pieced.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56And there is the proven dough -
0:30:56 > 0:31:00- more than double, I'd say almost triple the size.- That's right.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03'But it's not enough just to create the bubbles.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05'The key is holding them in place,
0:31:05 > 0:31:09'and that's where the elastic stretchy gluten comes in.'
0:31:10 > 0:31:14So the yeast is producing gas, the gluten is holding it all in.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17In, like, a big net, and when all that process has finished
0:31:17 > 0:31:20it creates, like, a soft, springy texture.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22So the yeast is, like, eating the sugar
0:31:22 > 0:31:25and then it's breaking wind on an enormous scale.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27- And then the gluten's trapping it all.- That's right.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29That's the scientific way of describing it, yes.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31- I'm right, aren't I? - You're right.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37- We have to put a lid on the bread, or the tin.- Why?
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Well, when it goes in the oven, which is the next stage after here,
0:31:40 > 0:31:44the yeast does a little bit of a jump as it does its final prove.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47And the lid stops it going too big.
0:31:47 > 0:31:48And, it also helps us to create
0:31:48 > 0:31:52that nice square loaf to go in your toaster.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54'They've thought of everything.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01'And now, one hour and 24 minutes after the flour first arrived,
0:32:01 > 0:32:03'it's time to start baking.'
0:32:09 > 0:32:12I'm guessing, by the heat,
0:32:12 > 0:32:14that this is the oven and they're finally going to get baked.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18How many loaves of bread would you have in the oven at any one time?
0:32:18 > 0:32:20About 3,500 at any one time.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25How does it travel through an oven for 20 minutes?
0:32:25 > 0:32:29The oven's huge, and it's got a travelling chain or a deck that
0:32:29 > 0:32:33actually moves forward slowly all the time, taking the tins with it.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38'The loaves are baked at 230 degrees,
0:32:38 > 0:32:42'just like you would at home. But that's about the only similarity.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44'The internal volume of this oven is about 1,000 times
0:32:44 > 0:32:47'that of your home oven.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49'The loaves move through continuously.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53'They have to, to avoid holding up the rest of the production line behind them.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57'It also means they avoid any hot spots,
0:32:57 > 0:32:58'which could give an uneven bake.'
0:33:00 > 0:33:03I can't believe the bread still doesn't get to sit still.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05Never sits still. We never stop.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10'From the moment the ingredients were combined in the mixer,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13'the yeast has been feeding frantically
0:33:13 > 0:33:15'and creating those all-important gas bubbles.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18'But now, its time is up.'
0:33:18 > 0:33:21The actual heat of the oven then kills the yeast,
0:33:21 > 0:33:22and the yeast stops working.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25And the heat of the metal round the outside
0:33:25 > 0:33:28is actually forming the crust, it's scalding it.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32Yeah. It creates a sort of caramelised surface, and you get the crust.
0:33:32 > 0:33:33'After 20 minutes in the oven,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36'the lid comes off, and my perfect loaf is revealed.'
0:33:47 > 0:33:52'But before it can be sliced and bagged, it has to take a ride
0:33:52 > 0:33:56'through one of the most bizarre rooms I've ever seen.'
0:33:56 > 0:33:59MUSIC: Fanfare For The Common Man by Aaron Copland
0:34:08 > 0:34:12This place just gets weirder and weirder.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15I'm guessing by the temperature this is some kind of fridge.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17Yeah, this is our cooler.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20And this is the one bit of the process we can't speed up.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22Why do we need to cool it down?
0:34:22 > 0:34:25We need to get the bread below 30 degrees
0:34:25 > 0:34:28so that we can slice it effectively,
0:34:28 > 0:34:32and put it in the bag without creating condensation.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Because if we had condensation, we might encourage mould growth.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38Are they going up in a spiral?
0:34:38 > 0:34:41So on this side we've got the loaves going up,
0:34:41 > 0:34:43they go across, and they come down this spiral.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45How many loaves of bread in here, mate?
0:34:45 > 0:34:49Well, over the two hours, just over 16,000 at its maximum.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53It's really difficult for me to imagine
0:34:53 > 0:34:56Mrs Jones from Kincaid Road, Peckham
0:34:56 > 0:34:58unwrapping that loaf of bread tomorrow.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02I've been in the food business for a long, long time.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05And this may be the most extraordinary sight
0:35:05 > 0:35:08I've ever witnessed.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12'I'm starting to appreciate just how much work goes into every loaf
0:35:12 > 0:35:14'they make here.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17'But a lot of that work is going to go to waste.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21'Cherry's knocking on doors in Birmingham, the food waste capital
0:35:21 > 0:35:25'of England, to find out why so much of our bread ends up in the bin.'
0:35:27 > 0:35:32Every year in the UK, we throw away over seven million tonnes
0:35:32 > 0:35:37of food, including an astonishing amount of bread and bakery products.
0:35:41 > 0:35:4624 million slices of bread are thrown away every day.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54It seems that we're so used to buying bread whenever and wherever
0:35:54 > 0:36:00we want, that we're quick to throw it away in favour of the freshest loaf.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07And that means for every three loaves of bread you buy,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10you might as well chuck one straight in the bin.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18'I'm meeting up with Emma Marsh from the Love Food Hate Waste campaign,
0:36:18 > 0:36:23'to help me find out why we waste so much bread.'
0:36:23 > 0:36:26The key thing is that actually we all like to have
0:36:26 > 0:36:29bread in the house. We just don't want to run out of bread.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31And it's really about habit.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34'So, I've arranged to pop into some local houses
0:36:34 > 0:36:36'to check out their bread habits.'
0:36:37 > 0:36:39Gosh, you've got loads.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41You've got brown sliced,
0:36:41 > 0:36:44you've got wholemeal sliced,
0:36:44 > 0:36:47you've got white rolls...
0:36:47 > 0:36:51and then one really mouldy pitta bread.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54Wow. This is a lot of bread.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00There's some crusts, and there's one bit here that's stale.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03There's one, two, three, four, five,
0:37:03 > 0:37:07six, seven, eight loaves in here.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10- How many people are in your house? - Four.- So that's two loaves each.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14- Reckon you've got... - Two loaves per person per day.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18- These two like bread. - Do you like bread? Yeah?
0:37:18 > 0:37:21And what does your little sister like?
0:37:21 > 0:37:24She likes small, small, small sandwiches.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27- She likes tiny sandwiches?- That tiny.
0:37:27 > 0:37:28THEY LAUGH
0:37:28 > 0:37:31With stale bread you just need to think about it very, very differently.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34So toasting with it is great, especially if you like
0:37:34 > 0:37:37really crispy toast, because it makes it absolutely perfect.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Or you can turn it into breadcrumbs, or you can actually get
0:37:40 > 0:37:42the really hard bit, run it under the tap
0:37:42 > 0:37:45and put it in the oven, so if you've got something else in there,
0:37:45 > 0:37:50and it makes it completely palatable again. You absolutely can rescue it.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54What you can't rescue is the pitta bread. That is absolutely a no-go now.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01'Moulds are quick to grow on bread kept in a warm, moist place.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05'Spreading through the whole loaf, some can be deadly.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09'So, rather than risk it, mouldy bread should go straight in the bin.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17'16% of all the bread we throw away is entire loaves.
0:38:17 > 0:38:22'That's over £90 million worth a year, totally wasted.'
0:38:23 > 0:38:26Please may we see your bread?
0:38:26 > 0:38:28Right...
0:38:28 > 0:38:30Does any go to waste?
0:38:30 > 0:38:33- The crusts top and bottom I don't eat.- Why not?- I don't know,
0:38:33 > 0:38:36I just don't eat the crusts. I think the birds'll eat them.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39A lot of us don't eat the crusts,
0:38:39 > 0:38:42but actually the same amount of effort, time,
0:38:42 > 0:38:44- energy, resources go into getting those crusts.- Yeah.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48So, actually, it will save money if we can make the most of those bread ends.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50Especially for things like breadcrumbs.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52Because you can just whizz them up and then use them
0:38:52 > 0:38:57on things like macaroni cheese... Anything like that. Don't always have to let them go to waste.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01'With the Abbott family, there are more surprises.'
0:39:01 > 0:39:03Holy moly!
0:39:03 > 0:39:05It's like a bread graveyard.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09Three-quarters of a loaf of wholemeal.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Four still-edible pains au chocolat.
0:39:12 > 0:39:13Oh - wraps, I love a wrap.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17- You like variety in this house, don't you?- Everyone likes different things.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19Hiding at the back...more crumpets.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23I think we are nearing the end of the collection.
0:39:23 > 0:39:2917 varieties of bakery and bread goods. Wow.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32I think for me it's about making it a bit more visible,
0:39:32 > 0:39:36because actually that just stops it going and hiding right at the back.
0:39:40 > 0:39:41# Da-da-da... #
0:39:43 > 0:39:46- You've got your basic wholemeal sliced...- Yeah.
0:39:46 > 0:39:51- And some 50-50...- Yeah. That's for my son, he's quite fussy.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53And one fresh bagel.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57- What I'd really like to ask is, do you ever waste any?- Oh, we do.
0:39:57 > 0:40:02Because quite often it's not used up before it's out of the sell-by date.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06Has it gone stale, or is it mouldy or are you just going by the date?
0:40:06 > 0:40:09Er, I'll tend to look at it and think, oh, no, that's a bit stale.
0:40:09 > 0:40:14OK. So the key thing you could do there is actually freeze that bread.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16You can take it out in the morning, make a sandwich,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19and then you put it into your lunchbox and by the time you've
0:40:19 > 0:40:23- got to work and you're ready for lunch, it's just defrosted. - Oh, brilliant.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25While we're here I just have to ask something,
0:40:25 > 0:40:29cos I'm noticing that no-one keeps their bread in the fridge.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33I keep my bread in the fridge, because the fridge keep things fresh.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37- Don't keep it in the fridge! - Why not?
0:40:37 > 0:40:41You are one of the 9% in this country that keep their bread in the fridge.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43It makes it go stale so much quicker.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48'The cooler temperatures cause the starch in the bread to harden,
0:40:48 > 0:40:52'making it stale six times faster than at room temperature.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56'So it turns out that I waste bread unnecessarily, too.'
0:40:56 > 0:41:00We very much do what my mum did. She had a bread bin, I have a bread bin.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05- My mum kept bread in the fridge, I keep bread in the fridge.- Absolutely.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11It seems, when it comes to bread, we are creatures of habit.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14But if we just change one thing, whether it be how much
0:41:14 > 0:41:18we buy or reviving it with water, or giving it a home in a bread bin,
0:41:18 > 0:41:22it IS possible to love our loaves, and enjoy every last crumb.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35'Right now the loaf I'm making's got nothing to do
0:41:35 > 0:41:37'but chill out for a couple of hours.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42'So I'm going exploring, to see how
0:41:42 > 0:41:46'they make one of the nation's other bakery favourites.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49'Ooh, we love our muffins in the UK.
0:41:49 > 0:41:55'We get through over 146 million of the things every year.'
0:41:55 > 0:41:57That is maybe the best thing I've ever seen!
0:41:57 > 0:42:01'And almost half of those are made in this one factory.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06'Joanna Turner is in charge of making sure
0:42:06 > 0:42:08'they're all up to scratch.'
0:42:10 > 0:42:12That's lovely.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14Everybody should have one of them at the end of their gardens!
0:42:14 > 0:42:16A life-size one.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Why do they come down that... slide like that?
0:42:19 > 0:42:22What it does, it slows the process of them coming down.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26If they came down on one big chute, it'd be too fast.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29'After they're baked, the muffins come out of the cooler upstairs
0:42:29 > 0:42:32'and are dropped down to this packing line.
0:42:33 > 0:42:38'As they drop, these spirals also divide the muffins into two rows,
0:42:38 > 0:42:42'to give Joanna a better look at them as they go past.'
0:42:42 > 0:42:44They all look exactly the same to me,
0:42:44 > 0:42:46how would you know the difference between...
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Right, let me have a look.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52We've got that one, near perfect...
0:42:52 > 0:42:54That one...
0:42:54 > 0:42:57is small and dumpy. So it ain't really any good.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59As someone who considers HIMSELF as small and dumpy,
0:42:59 > 0:43:01I think that's a bit mean.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03How many muffins go in through here?
0:43:03 > 0:43:06Roughly 18,000 pieces an hour.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08- 18,000 an hour?- Yeah.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12And roughly about 1.3 million a week.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14- We are eating a lot of eggs Benedict, aren't we?- We are.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21It's bouncing...
0:43:21 > 0:43:23Yeah, it's like a pinball machine.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25Why is it doing that?
0:43:25 > 0:43:29It's evenly dispersing them so the same amount goes both sides.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33If I was going to be a bakery product, I'd want to be a muffin!
0:43:33 > 0:43:36It's like a day out at Epsom Derby(!)
0:43:39 > 0:43:42And they're under starter's orders...
0:43:42 > 0:43:44And they're off!
0:43:44 > 0:43:46HE LAUGHS
0:43:46 > 0:43:49That is just brilliant.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52- Do you know the muffin man(?)- I do.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55# Oh, yes, we know the muffin man
0:43:55 > 0:43:58# The muffin man, the muffin man
0:43:58 > 0:44:01# Yes, we know the muffin man
0:44:01 > 0:44:04# We know the little man from Drury Lane. #
0:44:07 > 0:44:10'While Joanne's busy making muffins to feed the nation,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13'I've come back to check on how my loaf's getting on.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17'It's spent two hours lazily circling the cooling tower...
0:44:19 > 0:44:25'..and now it's on the way to meet Lee Smith, the man whose job it is to bag 'em and tag 'em.
0:44:25 > 0:44:29- I've been watching these loaves of bread since they were flour.- Yeah.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32- This is the final stage, right?- Yeah.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35What'll happen next is it'll travel through a slicing machine,
0:44:35 > 0:44:39it'll be sliced into different slices, whether you want medium or whether you want thick.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41Medium you have 20 slices,
0:44:41 > 0:44:44on a thick you have 18.
0:44:44 > 0:44:45- I like thick.- You like thick?
0:44:45 > 0:44:49You're on the right side, this is thick. You've got 18 slices on here.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54'Thick sliced is the most popular type of bread everywhere in the UK.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56'Except the northeast of England, where, for some reason,
0:44:56 > 0:44:59'they prefer their slices a little thinner.'
0:45:00 > 0:45:04Next up, the sliced loaf goes into an unbelievable invention.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10Aah! Ha-ha!
0:45:10 > 0:45:12The high-speed bagging machine -
0:45:12 > 0:45:16literally, the best thing since sliced bread.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19As the scoop's moving forward, it's blowing air into the bag.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22The scoop will raise up, it'll open it up,
0:45:22 > 0:45:25and it'll actually drag the bag onto the loaf of bread.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31So, from what I understand about that, the bread is falling,
0:45:31 > 0:45:35the loaf of bread sliced is falling from one conveyor to another?
0:45:35 > 0:45:37- It is, yeah. - And in that time,
0:45:37 > 0:45:41an arm is blowing up a plastic bag and pulling it over it.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44- That's right, yeah. - Get out the way.- Yeah, have a look.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50Go and get a cup of tea, I'm going to watch this for a while.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00All right. OK, now what? Is this the end of the journey?
0:46:00 > 0:46:02No, no, it's got a bit further to go yet.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06- It's got to be metal detected for contamination...- Metal detected?!
0:46:06 > 0:46:09- How can metal get in there?- There's all kinds of machinery on the plant.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12If you asked 100 people on the street
0:46:12 > 0:46:16something that they would least expect to find in a bakery,
0:46:16 > 0:46:20I reckon top answer would be metal detector!
0:46:20 > 0:46:23- Can I test it?- Yeah, course you can, carry on, yeah.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26'To make sure the metal detector is working properly,
0:46:26 > 0:46:28'they regularly feed through a fake loaf
0:46:28 > 0:46:30'with tiny pieces of metal in it.'
0:46:31 > 0:46:33Ah! Ha-ha!
0:46:36 > 0:46:39'The plastic bags on the loaves do more than just protect them.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42'They also tell you exactly what the ingredients are in your bread -
0:46:42 > 0:46:45'something we now all take for granted.'
0:46:45 > 0:46:49In days gone by, not only could we not be sure what was in it,
0:46:49 > 0:46:52we couldn't even be sure it was safe to eat.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57The Victorians were no strangers to food scandals.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01With few food safety controls, buying your loaf from the baker
0:47:01 > 0:47:04could get you rather more than you'd bargained for.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10Back then, there could be almost anything in the bread,
0:47:10 > 0:47:12including an awful lot of things
0:47:12 > 0:47:15that you wouldn't want to be putting in your mouth.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19Unlike today, three quarters of all food on sale
0:47:19 > 0:47:21had been tampered within some way.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25Bread was perhaps the most adulterated of all,
0:47:25 > 0:47:28with suspect ingredients like ash, sand, chalk,
0:47:28 > 0:47:33plaster of Paris, alum and sawdust used to bulk of the bread out.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37Things that could lead to malnutrition
0:47:37 > 0:47:40and, in some cases, chronic diarrhoea,
0:47:40 > 0:47:42which could be fatal for children.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47Thankfully, today we have professional food inspectors,
0:47:47 > 0:47:49like Duncan Campbell, looking out for us.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52We've got a whole load of adulterated loaves here.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54What exactly is in them?
0:47:54 > 0:47:57You do read a lot about the use of ground-up bones.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59Chalk was another thing, and also alum
0:47:59 > 0:48:03was quite a common adulterate in bread in Victorian times.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06- And what exactly is alum? - Alum is a salt.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10It has got aluminium in it, so it's potassium aluminium sulphate.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13As well as whitening the bread, it allows you to get more water in,
0:48:13 > 0:48:15so for a given amount of flour you put in
0:48:15 > 0:48:17you get a bigger weight of bread out.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20So a baker down the street produces something that looks nicer
0:48:20 > 0:48:24and is cheap, which means he gets all the business and everybody else
0:48:24 > 0:48:27is in danger of losing their business unless they also cheat.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30Yes, so they go and get their supply of alum or chalk
0:48:30 > 0:48:32to make their loaves as white as the baker down the road.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38These whitening additives could significantly reduce
0:48:38 > 0:48:40the nutritional value of your loaf.
0:48:41 > 0:48:46There were no professional inspectors to ensure food standards,
0:48:46 > 0:48:50so Victorian women had to carry out their investigations at home.
0:48:50 > 0:48:55Advice in women's magazines helped to transform housewives
0:48:55 > 0:48:57into an army of amateur chemists.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03So, there's a test here, which is to take an loaf which is a day
0:49:03 > 0:49:07old and pierce it with a knife that's made very hot,
0:49:07 > 0:49:09and it's saying if there's alum present,
0:49:09 > 0:49:12little particles of it will stick to the blade,
0:49:12 > 0:49:16and it will also indicate its presence by a peculiar smell.
0:49:16 > 0:49:17- OK, ready?- Yeah.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21Oh, well plunged.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25- Anything adhering? - Well, it's certainly stuck to it.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27Any peculiar smell?
0:49:28 > 0:49:30I think so.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33It is bready, but there's something else there, as well.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36There's an under note of something slightly acrid, I think, yes.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40In her quest to outwit the food cheats, the Victorian homemaker
0:49:40 > 0:49:43was advised to keep some rather dangerous products
0:49:43 > 0:49:45in the kitchen cupboard.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49I have noticed that we've got a great big bottle.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52- A small bottle of hydrochloric acid. - Hydrochloric acid.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55Chemicals you simply wouldn't be able to buy in the high street today.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02Hydrochloric acid could cause severe burns, or even blindness.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07Here we are, going to all this bother, and yet Victorian housewives
0:50:07 > 0:50:11were sort of recommended to try out these tests at home.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14Just to do it in the kitchen alongside the chopping board.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Would you like some glasses to go over your glasses?
0:50:17 > 0:50:19Oh, yes, I think I need to be double glazed for this.
0:50:19 > 0:50:24'In this test, if your flour froths like mad when you add acid,
0:50:24 > 0:50:26'it must contain chalk.'
0:50:27 > 0:50:29In goes the hydrochloric acid.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32Oh, my goodness, look at that fizz up.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36- Flour with chalk. - That ain't flour.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39You'd spot that fairly easy, wouldn't you?
0:50:39 > 0:50:43If you happened to have hydrochloric acid sitting on your kitchen shelf.
0:50:43 > 0:50:44Yes.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48With Victorian ladies having to be this vigilant in the kitchen,
0:50:48 > 0:50:50something had to change.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54The catalyst was scientist Arthur Hill Hassal,
0:50:54 > 0:50:58who set out to prove that chicory was contaminating his coffee
0:50:58 > 0:51:02and went on to test 2,000 other foods.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07He was one of the first people to apply the compound microscope
0:51:07 > 0:51:12to food adulteration, publishing his findings in The Lancet
0:51:12 > 0:51:15and that, together with the escalating scandals
0:51:15 > 0:51:19around food adulteration at the time, led to the first Act
0:51:19 > 0:51:22to prevent adulteration of food and drink - the 1860 Act.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26As a result of this Act and many other laws
0:51:26 > 0:51:28and codes of practice that followed it,
0:51:28 > 0:51:32food safety became a matter of public regulation -
0:51:32 > 0:51:36a benefit that we all still rely on today.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39Human nature hasn't changed in thousands of years,
0:51:39 > 0:51:41so today we're using mass spectrometry,
0:51:41 > 0:51:44we're using techniques involving DNA to fight food fraud
0:51:44 > 0:51:46in just the same way as the Victorian era.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50And with modern-day mass production of food,
0:51:50 > 0:51:53it has become even more critical to ensure that
0:51:53 > 0:51:56what's written on the bag is what's inside it.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09The final stage for everything made here at the bakery
0:52:09 > 0:52:12is the 62,000 square foot despatch hall -
0:52:12 > 0:52:14an area almost the size
0:52:14 > 0:52:18of West Bromwich Albion's home pitch across the road.
0:52:22 > 0:52:27Exactly 3½ hours after the flour first left the silo,
0:52:27 > 0:52:29my loaf is ready to hit the road.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34And it's despatch manager Matt Stevens' job
0:52:34 > 0:52:37to get that done as quickly as possible.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39I baked a loaf today. I've been hard at it in the bakery.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42When are the customers going to be able to actually get their hands on it?
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Tomorrow morning, no matter where in the country you are.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47- Is that right? - That's right.- That's not bad, mate.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51Our busiest time of day for vehicle movement
0:52:51 > 0:52:52is about three o'clock in the morning.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55- So it can get to the stores by nine? - Correct.- Is that right?- Yes.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58I know this cos I used to be a greengrocer delivering to restaurants.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01We would start at about one, two o'clock in the morning
0:53:01 > 0:53:04so we could get deliveries to their door at nine - exactly the same for you.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08That's right, every store likes to have their bread as early as possible.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11So, does that mean this space might fill up and then empty again?
0:53:11 > 0:53:13It does. We started picking this morning,
0:53:13 > 0:53:16and we pick the customer orders until about two o'clock tonight.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19By five o'clock in the morning, all those orders will have disappeared
0:53:19 > 0:53:21and the floor will be virtually empty.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24So, while the rest of the nation sleeps,
0:53:24 > 0:53:26this place is a massive hive of activity?
0:53:26 > 0:53:28Absolutely. It's at its busiest at night-time.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33You guys are vampires. Some of you must never see daylight.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38The despatch hall is responsible for delivering every product
0:53:38 > 0:53:39made at the West Brom bakery,
0:53:39 > 0:53:43but they also handle products from Allied's nine other bakeries,
0:53:43 > 0:53:47which means this place never, ever stops.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52How many loaves like mine are going through your despatch everyday?
0:53:52 > 0:53:55On our busiest day it could be up to a million loaves.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59That includes bread, muffins, rolls...
0:53:59 > 0:54:02- Which one causes you the most headaches?- Probably rolls.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05In the winter, demand can be about three million a week,
0:54:05 > 0:54:08but in the summer, if the sun comes out on a Thursday afternoon,
0:54:08 > 0:54:10you know that forecast could go up to five million,
0:54:10 > 0:54:12especially as it gets towards the weekend.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15You know full well that people are watching the forecast,
0:54:15 > 0:54:18barbecues on the go, and we're going to be in for a torrid time for the next 48 hours.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21So the rest of the nation loves its picnics,
0:54:21 > 0:54:22loves its barbecues, apart from you,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25- you hate them. - Exactly, we love the rain.
0:54:25 > 0:54:26HE LAUGHS
0:54:28 > 0:54:31Supermarkets only place their orders the day before,
0:54:31 > 0:54:34so the process of despatching a million items a day
0:54:34 > 0:54:35is an incredible feat.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41It takes some heavy lifting, some careful planning
0:54:41 > 0:54:44and, it turns out, a fair amount of hard graft.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49We've got about 30,000 baskets to pick by hand today
0:54:49 > 0:54:51before two o'clock in the morning. You ready?
0:54:51 > 0:54:53Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on,
0:54:53 > 0:54:55so I understand and don't mess it up -
0:54:55 > 0:54:59these brown baskets here, we have to fulfil 30,000 of them?
0:54:59 > 0:55:03- Correct, yes. - We have to lift them all by hand?
0:55:03 > 0:55:05The vast majority will be picked individually, yes.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09Like most large bakeries, the despatch hall uses
0:55:09 > 0:55:13a bit of hi-tech kit to help keep the humans in check.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15ELECTRONIC VOICE
0:55:17 > 0:55:21The pick by voice system is a simple voice-activated computer
0:55:21 > 0:55:24which collates all the supermarkets' orders
0:55:24 > 0:55:28and tells the packers exactly what needs to go where.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31Well, when I say simple...
0:55:31 > 0:55:33- ELECTRONIC VOICE: - Take three two of six.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36Take three two of six? What does that mean?!
0:55:36 > 0:55:41That means take 32 of six units. How's your maths?
0:55:41 > 0:55:43Er, not great.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46Right, so I need 32 lots of sixes. How many's 32 sixes?
0:55:46 > 0:55:49- 192.- How do you know that? - I just worked it out.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53- 192, and how many have I got in each tray?- 24.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57- Do you enjoy a muffin? - I love a muffin, yeah.- Good to know.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Whoa, five, six...
0:56:02 > 0:56:05Yeah! Right, I've completed that one.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07So drop that in the bottom of the first stack,
0:56:07 > 0:56:10- so we're starting a new stack. - Oh, my gun's fallen off!
0:56:10 > 0:56:14Right, that's my first supermarket done. Brilliant.
0:56:14 > 0:56:18Good, that's the first one. Got thousands to do, let's get going.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21- Next, go to stack two. - Right, that's what I want.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23- Scan product.- So I scan that.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Take two of five muffins.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28Two of five - that's 10, that's 10.
0:56:28 > 0:56:29Next, take 375-35.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32My maths is terrible. Er, 200.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34- Go to store 375.- Yes!
0:56:34 > 0:56:37- Next...- Go to bay...- ..35.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40- Locate muffins.- Five of these - that's ten. That's easy.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46This despatch hall is working 24 hours a day.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50But it's not until the wee hours when we're tucked up in bed
0:56:50 > 0:56:53that things really get manic.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56Every night, bakeries like this all over the UK
0:56:56 > 0:57:00are frantically loading bread that's just hours old,
0:57:00 > 0:57:02ready for us to buy the next morning.
0:57:04 > 0:57:08Over 60 trucks will leave this one bakery tonight.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13And the loaf I made could end up as far away as Ireland,
0:57:13 > 0:57:17or it might just end up at the supermarket round the corner.
0:57:22 > 0:57:27It's impossible to comprehend baking bread on this scale
0:57:27 > 0:57:32until you see every single loaf of bread come whizzing past you.
0:57:32 > 0:57:37I stupidly believed it was going to be a simple process. It's not.
0:57:37 > 0:57:41It's a highly complicated process, because it's such a fast process.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45It has to be if they are going to supply
0:57:45 > 0:57:48the whole nation with thousands upon thousands
0:57:48 > 0:57:50of identical loaves of bread.
0:57:59 > 0:58:01'Next time, I'll be taking you inside
0:58:01 > 0:58:04'one of the world's largest chocolate factories...'
0:58:04 > 0:58:06Whoa!
0:58:06 > 0:58:08'..to find out how they produce
0:58:08 > 0:58:11'over 7 million bars of chocolate in just 24 hours.'
0:58:11 > 0:58:13Oh, my word.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16'I'll meet the people who work on the production line...'
0:58:16 > 0:58:18That is just chocolate heaven!
0:58:18 > 0:58:19'..and Cherry gets hands-on
0:58:19 > 0:58:22'to reveal just how our favourite chocolates are made.'
0:58:22 > 0:58:25You can't get a fresher Easter egg than that.
0:58:25 > 0:58:29We've only got another 8,999,999 to go, then.