Last spring, I volunteered to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids' table at a church potluck. Knowing that not all kids like the dark, nutty whole wheat bread I grew up on, I bought a loaf of plain country white at my local Trader Joe's. As I stood in line, waiting to pay for my purchases, I wanted to shout out to all the people standing around me, "The white bread isn't for me! I swear I don't eat this stuff!" I was sweating by the time the loaf was tucked into my handled brown paper bag.

Bread is one of those staples most households like to keep around. Over at UrbanMamas, they are having an interesting conversation about how you pick the sliced bread that you buy for your family. I thought it would be an fun question to bring over here. What guides your choices when it comes to the regular loaves you keep on your counter or in your fridge (we were always bread in fridge people in my family)? Do you read labels or have a regular brand? Do you feel the same sense of shame that I have when you buy white bread, or do you wave your white bread flag proudly? Do tell, inquiring minds would like to know.

The Satiety Index was developed by an Australian researcher who was looking into the relationship between what we eat and how hungry we are afterwards. The testing involved feeding volunteers 240 calorie portions of 38 different foods after which volunteers ranked their appetite (or lack thereof) and had their food choices monitored for a period after eating them. White bread was used as a baseline, with a satiety ranking of 100.

"Roughly speaking," said Dr. Susanna Holt from the University of Sydney, the woman who ran the study, "the more fiber, protein and water a food contains, the longer it will satisfy." Bulky foods, which produced larger portion sizes for the amount of calories consumed, also made eaters feel fuller simply because they had more stuff in their stomachs. The full index scores the following as less satisfying than white bread (ranked 100): croissants (47), peanuts (84), ice cream (94). The following were more satisfying: french fries (116), white rice (138), cheese (146), eggs (150), popcorn (154), beef (176), oranges (202), oatmeal (209) and potatoes (323).

In addition to fiber and protein rich bulky foods, we can also see that white bread is not that filling in the overall scheme of things.

An Italian study found that people who ate five or more slices of bread a day, or 35 per week, were twice as likely to develop Renal Cell Carcinoma, a leading cause of kidney cancer, as those who ate bread only half as often, or less. The scientists behind the study felt that an increase in blood glucose levels might be a factor in the increased cancer risk. High GI foods are usually things that are highly processed with a lot of sugar or contain a lot of refined white flour. Some sources are saying that the study linked eating white bread with cancer because of this GI link, but "the study did not specify what type of bread [participants] ate," so statements of that sort are just speculation. The study did not actually "establish exactly what in bread may be to blame."

Besides, it seems that a significant portion of the food-related media tries to convince us that in Italy everyone only eats the best bread from their local bakeries, not processed white bread. If the results of the study turned out to be a result of eating three loaves of Wonder Bread each week it might make sense, but baguettes?

White bread is often held up as a villain, a food that should be avoided at all costs, due to the fact that it lacks whole grains and because its name is nearly synonymous with overly processed, pre-sliced loaves. But many artisan breads are made with white flours and are still perfectly acceptable to eat, so the real villain here is the preservatives and other additives used in many white breads. Fortunately, all of them can be avoided by simply making your own.

White bread makes great sandwiches and even better toast. This loaf will remind you of the best sandwich bread you had from your childhood - only better. It has a very even crumb, or texture, and a light, buttery flavor.

Artisan breads, whole grain breads, no grain breads -- in short, anything but sliced white bread seems to be in demand these days. But what if you actually like white bread for a lunchtime sandwich or toast in the morning? Wonder Bread is not your only option. Cook's Country held their own taste test to pick out the top white sandwich bread, just in case you want a change from multi-grain.

Their top picks were Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Hearty White and Arnold Country Classics White. Each had fewer additives than other brands tasted and both had a sweeter flavor and heartier texture than the competition. The other breads -- including Wonder Country White, Sunbeam Giant White, Freihofer's Country White, J. J. Nissen ButterTop White, Home Pride Butter Top White and Country Kitchen Giant White - were judged to have sour notes and alternately dry or squishy textures. The sour notes were often accompanied by a faint aftertaste, both of which were signs of a preservative-laden loaf.

It should be noted that when the breads were tested as part of grilled cheese sandwiches, any taste differences were overshadowed by cheese and butter, but pretending it isn't there doesn't make it go away. Whenever possible, with white bread or otherwise, choose a brand that has a short, clear list of ingredients and you won't go too far wrong.

Sara Lee has just released a new line of hot dog and hamburger buns in time for the summer grilling season. The buns are made along similar lines as their best-selling Soft & Smooth bread, which contains whole grains but has the same texture and flavor as white bread. The names of the buns are a mouthful -  Sara Lee Made With Whole Grain White Hot Dog and White Hamburger Buns - but if the success of their Soft & Smooth bread is anything to go on, it is a mouthful that consumers are eager to take.

How do they make these breads? Spencer Wise is a food scientist for Sara Lee who is credited with the creation of these breads and buns. They are about 24% whole grain, made using a "white whole wheat" flour developed by ConAgra to feel softer and look similar to white flour, and contain 6 grams of whole grains per bun. Wise says that while the basics like flour, oil and yeast are important, any baker could work them out, so "the real secret recipe lies in the amount of monoglycerides, enzymes and other additives, " the combination of which allows the bread to be made successfully on an industrial scale.

Of course we all know that whole grains breads are better for us, but in our heart of hearts, soft, sweet plain white bread tastes soooo much better. We may not ever admit that in this health-conscious world, but kids sure will.

The king of all white breads, Wonder Bread, has come up with a whole grain alternative, and CBS in Boston put it to the ultimate taste test with elementary school kids, pitting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made with the original white bread against sandwiches made with the new whole grain bread.

Did we have any doubt that the Wonder white would win? 8 votes for white to 2 for the whole grain.

However, kids said they certainly wouldn't be opposed to the whole grain bread. That's a good start.

In the UK, the Food Standards Agency is considering implementing a program that would require fortification of white flour with folic acid. The reason for this is that folic acid has been linked to a decrease in birth defects such as spina bifida. In the US and Canada, white flour has been fortified with folic acid since 1998. Since that time, studies have shown a significant drop in stroke mortality when the rates were compared with data taken from the UK. This appears to have been an unintended benefit of the folic acid fortification, but is likely to be a contributing factor to the Food Standards Agency's move towards require the same policy in the UK. If they adopt the plan, it would be the first mandatory food fortification since the 1940s.

Folic acid is found in whole grain wheat, but is largely stripped away by the refining processes used to make white flour. Some bakers and other manufacturers in the UK voluntarily fortify their flour with folic acid already.

Could Wonder Bread is going the way of so many other empty carbohydrates, disappearing into the annals of pop culture? So says NPR's Morning Edition. The company that makes the stuff, as well as Hostess Cupcakes, Twinkies, and other preservative-packed goodies, filed for bankruptcy protection last year. Interstate Bakeries has closed eight factories across the country and won't be selling Wonder Bread to Oregon and Washington starting next month.

The company blames low-carb diets and the new FDA requirements for labeling products which contain trans-fatty acids. In my opinion, the market for white bread is declining due to the wide availability of fresh-baked, artisan breads and the changing tastes (i.e., to "good") of the Pacific Northwest population. Despite my snooty foodieness, though, the slow extinction of Wonder Bread makes me a little sad.