For white bread lovers the UK government has funded research which aims to create a new bread which will be just as healthy as wholemeal but will look and taste like white bread.

The researchers plan to add small amounts of peas, beans and whole grains to the bread mix, as well as bran and wheat that are usually removed from white flour.

Bakers have tried in the past to make white loaves healthier by adding bran to their flour, but customers didn’t like the taste and texture.

The research project is still in its early stages, the BBC reports.

Dr Catherine Howarth of Aberystwyth University said scientists are analyzing the detailed chemical composition of the white flour now used. He added that boosting nutritional value to whole-wheat bread levels while maintaining the taste and feel of white bread is a delicate balance.

He said researchers are looking at adding less wheat germ and bran that is removed in the milling process, as well as adding other grains that are richer in vitamins, minerals and fiber such as quinoa, teff, sorghum and millet. Green peas and chickpeas would provide extra protein.

“We want to know what vitamins and minerals are lost during the milling process,” added Dr. Howarth.

“By using other grains we can improve iron, zinc and vitamin levels and especially the fiber content, because white bread has very little fiber, which is so important for good health,” she explained.

Once Dr Howarth has come up with a few potential recipes, Chris Holister, product development manager for Gloucestershire flour company Shipton Mill, will turn them into bread.

“Most people know that whole grain bread is better, but a lot of them are put off by the taste or because it’s not what they’re used to and they just don’t care,” Holister said.

The final stage will be consumer testing of the new bread to see if they can tell it apart from white supermarket loaves.