How many slices of a loaf of bread do you eat?
I'm from Shizuoka Prefecture, and I've eaten 6-piece and 8-piece slices, but in Kansai, the thicker 5-piece slice is popular.
I decided to trace the roots of why thick slices like 5 slices are popular in Kansai.
(Osaka Broadcasting Station Takumi Kato)
"Why is there 5 slices of bread in Kansai?"
The survey was triggered by questions submitted by viewers.
“Why is there a 5-sliced loaf of bread in Kansai?”
Last spring, Mr. Jun moved from Kanto to Kobe.
In the Kanto region, I felt that bread was often cut into 6 or 8 slices.
However, in the Kansai region, 8 slices are rarely sold.
On the other hand, it seems that he was surprised that there were many 5 sheets lined up.
I looked it up at the supermarket...
In order to find out about the bread situation in Kansai, we first went to a supermarket in Osaka.
110 kinds of products are lined up in a wide bread section.
When I asked the customer what thickness of bread they bought.
Male customer
: 5
slices
. 6 slices would be too
thin
. It's
thick and easy to eat.”
Overall, I got the impression that many customers prefer thick bread.
Looking at the product lineup, most of them are cut into 4, 5, and 6 slices, but there were almost no thin slices like 8 slices.
According to the person in charge of the sales floor, the 5 slices are the most popular.
The bottom shelf, which is easy for customers to see, is lined with 5-sliced products.
It is said that this supermarket, which has stores in both the Kansai and Kanto regions, has a different selection of white bread between the Kansai region and the Kanto region.
Makoto Yamamura Department Manager, Life Central Square Nishinomiyahara Store
“At this store, the 5-piece slice is the best-selling overall. At stores in the Kansai region, the 5-piece or 6-piece slice is the main type, and in the Tokyo metropolitan area, the 6-piece slice and I try to align the 8 slices in the center.”
Is bread different in Kansai and Kanto?
This trend of "Thick slices are preferred in Kansai"
can be seen in the data of major bakeries.
We will look at the main bread product (Royal Bread) of the industry's largest "Yamazaki Bread".
In the Kansai region,
▽5 slices are 43%,
▽6 slices are 36%,
▽4 slices are 17%
, and 8 slices are only 4% in Kanto.
On the other hand, the best-selling items in Kanto are
▽ 6 slices at 51%,
▽ 8 slices at 29%
, and ▽ 5 slices at 12%, which is the most popular in Kansai.
This difference between East and West was similar to other manufacturers.
What happens if the thickness is different?
I asked the baker.
I also visited a bakery in the city to see how the texture differs depending on the thickness of the bread.
The bakery in Chuo Ward, Osaka, has been in business for 11 years.
It is said that half of the customers at this restaurant also choose the 5 slices.
At this store, the difference in thickness between 5 and 6 slices is 4 to 5 mm.
However, it is said that these differences affect the texture.
Ms. Aya Minamino, Blancerie La Feuille Le More
“The thicker it is, the softer and more chewy it will be on the inside. So, after all, 4 pieces are thick and a little full.
If you look into the history of bread...
When did people start eating thick slices of bread?
We were able to hear about the roots of this bakery company, which is headquartered in Osaka and has been in business for over 100 years.
Yuko Urasaki is in charge of sales planning at this company.
According to Mr. Urasaki, who is well versed in the history of bread, it has something to do with how bread spread to the general dining table after the war.
After the war, countries such as the United States brought in large amounts of wheat flour, and white bread spread among the Japanese in earnest.
At this time, the Occupation Forces had instructed the bread manufacturing company to make eight thin slices of bread, like those used for sandwiches.
At that time, there was a problem with the manufacturing method, and if you cut it thickly, you would be worried about the hardness and lacked a fluffy texture, so it is said that you cut it thinly.
However, in the latter half of the 1950s, it is said that the quality of flour and the method of baking progressed, making it possible to achieve a fluffy texture even when baked thickly.
Around this time, bakery companies began to sell 6 slices on a large scale.
Ms. Yuko Urasaki, Kobeya Sales Planning Group:
"Sandwiches are sandwiched between ingredients, so it seems that 8-slice slices have spread because they are required to be thin and easy to eat.In addition, the mainstream bread in the Kanto region is 6 or 8 slices. There are a lot of even numbers, but I've heard that it's also due to the fact that they're even numbers so that there won't be any leftovers when making sandwiches."
But the roots of 5 slices...
8 pieces, 6 pieces of bread gradually increased in thickness.
However, Mr. Urasaki also says that he does not know exactly how the 5-slicing method became popular in the Kansai region.
Ms. Yuko Urasaki
``I know that it was cut into 6 slices, but I haven't completely figured out why 5 slices came out. The thickness of the slicer was set, and it was cut thinly and thickly, so I guess that it was getting thicker and thicker in response to the customer's request.
In addition, Mr. Urasaki points out that the role of bread in Kansai and Kanto was different even before bread became popular in Kansai. I think it's one.
In the Kanto region, anpan was invented around the beginning of the Meiji era, and as a result, it is said that bread took root as a snack that can be easily eaten.
On the other hand, in the Kansai region, bread came to be seen as a "meal" by the general public as foreigners ate bread in the settlements of Kobe and hotels in Osaka.
It is said that there was a desire for bread to be voluminous because there was a demand for something that was satisfying to eat as a "meal".
Various theories…The journey to trace the roots continues
This time, we covered various aspects of the reason why thick-sliced bread is preferred in the Kansai region.
The most frequently asked question was, ``Kansai has a flour culture, and they prefer to eat wheat with a chewy texture. It was the opinion that it should be grilled and eaten.”
However, I don't know the details behind why the "five-cut" became popular, so when I asked for information on the program, a man in his 60s from Osaka immediately gave me the information.
“It has long been the norm for bakeries to have the clerk carve the bread
.”
Why was it cut into 5 pieces?
We will continue to investigate the roots of Kansai's five-piece cut, which is shrouded in mystery.
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