Here are our most popular questions (and answers). If yours is not amongst them, drop us a note over on the questions form and we’ll come back with an answer as quickly as possible.
All Hovis®️ bread bags are recyclable either through carrier bag collection points at larger retailers’ stores.
We’ve been making it since 1886. It’s made with a mix of white flour and wheatgerm, which gives the loaf a nice golden brown colour. Wheatgerm adds a distinctive nutty taste to some of our loaves.
Salt is a vital ingredient in bread. Here’s why: 1. It helps tighten the gluten (protein) structure. This makes the dough more stable, less sticky and easier to handle. 2. It slows down the fermenting process of yeast. If there is no salt, the yeast will ferment too quickly. It’s what helps to give our loaves a consistent shape and height. 3. It brings out the flavour of the bread. Without it, it just wouldn’t taste very nice. Hovis bread, in common with most bakery products, contains salt. Despite its functional properties as an ingredient, for the past 20 years, we have been actively reducing the levels of salt in our products whilst retaining the high-quality standards our customers expect. On average we have reduced the salt content in our bread portfolio by 30% per 100g, and on our Soft White Bread, we have reduced it by 40%, while still retaining the Hovis taste that our customers love. The vast majority of our range is fully compliant with current salt targets, with our products offering a range of additional benefits such as fibre, Vitamin B1, protein, and calcium as well as being low in fat and sugars. While too much salt can be harmful for health, salt is an essential part of our diet when consumed in moderation and our advice to consumers is to ensure they choose foods as part of a balanced diet. To help our customers to do that, we include clear on-pack labelling with detailed information of all ingredients across our products. We also have a consumer information helpline which is available to provide information and answer any questions that our customers may have. All our product recipes are continually reviewed in light of evolving voluntary guidelines set and we continue to carefully create our bread and bakery products to the highest standards, as they have been for almost 140 years.
We use free range eggs. The only exception would be if the supply of free range eggs was affected through circumstances outside of our control, which may result in us using non free range eggs. However these occasions are very rare and it is to protect the chickens from any potential health threats i.e Avian Flu.
We use soya flour in our bread to help improve its overall quality by giving the loaf a better volume and increasing crumb softness.
None of our breads contain hydrogenated fat.
The reason for this is because there are sugars naturally found in flour, and will be produced during the baking process.
We do not currently bake any gluten free products.
No. We don’t use iodised salt in any of our Hovis®️ products.
We use rapeseed and palm oils / fats in our loaves. For further information please visit our product pages.
You will be surprised to find that it is actually a legal requirement. Ever since the Second World War, the government said that vitamins and minerals found in wholemeal flour had to be put back into white and brown flours after milling. That’s because, at that time, food was in short supply, and it was important that the nation was getting the right vitamins and minerals into their diet.
Our emulsifiers originate from vegetable sources.
We add a very small amount of caramelised sugar to some of our products to ensure that we deliver a well balanced taste that you will enjoy. Rest assured, in the products which we add sugar we only add a little, around 1/8th of a teaspoon. In addition, all of our breads are low in sugar.
No. We don’t use L-cysteine (E920) in any of our products.
The majority of our products do not contain milk or eggs. For further information on allergens please check our product pages.
At Hovis®, we are proud to say that all our products are suitable for vegetarians. While the majority of our products are suitable for a Vegan diet there are some products within our range which aren't. For further information on your favourite bakery products please check our product pages.