I just gave away my old 1959 set of Encyclopedia Britannica, otherwise I'd quote some of it for you. I assure you that white bread has been around for a long time before the 1950's. Under the entry for flour, they have a fascinating historical essay which tells of the popularity of bleached, finely milled white flours and the methods by which they were acheived. It is a long history, not recent.
I became Type 2 diabetic while only rarely eating white bread which I detest, my birth family never served, and my husband and children detest. Actually it was hard for me even to find GOOD whole grain bread in grocery stores. It is rare. But very hearty, dense whole grain bread does little to slow a BG rise for me. It still raises my BG. In fact, when I was on glipizide and sometimes had hypoglycemia, I sometimes used such hearty, heavy bread to bring me up from 60 mg/dl or so. Such delicious bread raises my blood sugar very quickly. If I were lower than that (48 to 60) I'd go straight to glucose tablets.
By the way, gluten is not devoid of nutritional value. Gluten is the protein complex that is in wheat. I have --even since being diabetic-- extracted the gluten from raw flour. It is a fun and interesting yet simple process, though time consuming. You should try it some time, Bibleteacher. Gluten can be seasoned and cooked in various ways. I like to have delicately chewy, seasoned little patties of gluten. Being carb-free, gluten does not raise my BGL. If you are curious, Bibleteacher, go to a good Chinese restaurant (not one of those greasy, fried to the hilt, carry-out ersatz Chinese.) You might be able to get a gluten dish to try. Delicious, nutritious protein!
When you extract the gluten from flour, what is left over truly is the carbohydrate fraction. Pure starch. It has an even whiter color than bleached white flour. It looks more like cornstarch. The wheat starch can be used --for fine sauces, for library paste, for ironing your clothes, for wall paper glue, and probably for some baked goods which rely on eggs rather than gluten for the adhesion needed within the product. I'm sure agrarian people would never waste it. But as for me, I just put it in the compost pile and let nature recycle it.
I LOVE good bread. But I do not eat it anymore. Well just a taste sometimes.
