Scientists are trying to create a new type of bread that is just as healthy as wholemeal but looks and tastes like its white counterpart.

Aimed at lovers of white bread, the project has been funded by the government to improve the health benefits of UK food.

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

Bread makers have attempted to make their white loaves healthier in the past by adding bran to their flour, but their customers didn't like the taste and texture.

The research project is still in its early stages.

Dr Catherine Howarth of Aberystwyth University, who is one of its leaders, said scientists had begun to analyse the detailed chemical composition of existing white flour.

She said boosting its nutritional values to the levels of wholemeal bread while keeping the taste and feel of white bread was a delicate balancing act.

It involved adding back smaller quantities of the wheat germ and part of the bran that is taken out in the milling process, she said, as well as adding other grains that are richer in vitamins, minerals and fibre such as quinoa, teff, sorghum and millet. Green peas and chickpeas would provide extra protein.

"We want to find out........

© BBC