Is Bread Vegan?

If you’re living the vegan lifestyle does that mean you need to cut bread out of your diet? Surely bread has no animal byproducts in it, right???

The Short Answer:

Most breads are safe for a vegan diet, however, it’s still important to check on the ingredient list.

The Long Answer:

Rejoice, my vegan friends! You can eat bread. Keeping to a vegan lifestyle does not mean that you need to cut out the entire grain food group. Well…most of it anyway.

There are a lot of breads which are naturally vegan, and that’s a glorious thing. However, a number of breads do contain animal byproducts so you really have to be vigilant in checking to see what’s going on beneath that crust.

Most bread is made from flour, oats, barley, water, sugar, yeast, oil, salt, vitamins, minerals, and preservatives. That’s great news for vegans because all of that is 100% safe and consumable, containing no animal byproducts whatsoever.

However, there are a few problematic issues when it comes to certain kinds of breads.

Crumpets, for example, are made using milk, putting it as a big no-no on the vegan list. Naan bread, which is a favorite among many is also made using both eggs and milk. Biscuits are also a huge vegan no go because they incorporate butter and milk. Also, you’ll want to avoid any bread that is using honey as an ingredient such as honey wheat.

There are a few immediate full stops when it comes to anti-vegan ingredients. Make sure you’re checking the labels on any bread that you buy to ensure that it doesn’t contain milk, eggs, cream, whey, butter, honey, casein, caseinate, or sodium caseinate.

If you see an ingredient on the bag and you’re not sure what it is, pull out your phone and Google it. When it comes to maintaining your vegan lifestyle, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.