Baking – Why does flatbread have to be microwaved / cooked / toasted

bakingflatbreadmicrowavetemperature

I was eating at a Subway restaurant the other day and they asked if I would like my flatbread toasted… I responded with a "No thanks."

They said, "Well technically the flatbread still HAS to be toasted, so would you like the meat toasted ?"

In confusion, I asked, "Why? I would prefer it un-toasted."

They said, "We are required to toast all flatbread, as it releases some chemical… or something."

Can anyone clear up what they may be referring to? Does flatbread (non-homemade) HAVE to be toasted / cooked / microwaved ?

Edit:

Ingredients: Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine
mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid, malted
barley flour), water, soybean oil, yeast, contains 2% or less of
nonfat dry milk, salt, wheat gluten, sugar, dough conditioner (acacia
gum, guar gum, ascorbic acid, L- cysteine, enzymes), calcium
propionate, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium
bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), and sodium stearoyl
lactylate.

Best Answer

If we're talking about the same sub making restaurant, their flatbread contains the following ingredients:

Enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, malted barley flour, ascorbic acid), water, soybean oil, yeast; contains 2% or less of: nonfat dry milk, wheat gluten, salt, dough conditioners (guar gum, Arabic gum, sodium stearoyl lactylate, enzymes), sugar, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), calcium propionate.

I can see nothing in there that isn't in found in commercial soft white bread. It may well be a case of an overzealous legal department acting on the merest possibility of a hint of an idea that one ingredient may perhaps have the potential to maybe sometimes cause a problem if not cooked.

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