Bread from rice flour

Shirajiv Sirimane

RICE FLOUR BREAD: Sri Lanka will soon introduce bread manufactured from rice flour to the local market.

Research in this regard has been successfully carried out in many countries and rice flour bread is also being sold in many countries.

Chairman Consumer Protection Authority Sarath Wijesinghe said that the Authority would be playing the felicitation role to popularise rice flour bread in Sri Lanka.

He said that bread made from 100 percent of wheat flour is more expensive as wheat flour is being imported. In addition there is also a surplus of paddy in Sri Lanka and purchasing price too is low due to excess production.

Wijesinghe who was in Colombo with samples of rice flour bread, said that it is more nutritious. He said initially there would be mixture of over 50 percent of wheat flour and research is under way to increase the percentage of rice flour in bread.

"The Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) is already doing research in this regard and soon the ratio would turn in favour of rice flour," he said.

He said that rice bread would be introduced at super markets from next month and it would be initially priced at Rs. 25.

"We are now making arrangements to introduce sliced bread packed in sachet's and also to lower the price," he said.

The concept is to be spread to the outstations soon and it would also open up self-employment opportunities as well.