Bread - Why White Flour? Enriched?

First off - Why is white flour so prevalent?

Early in the 20th century, they developed a milling method that separated the wheat into the bran, the germ and the endosperm.  It is the endosperm that, when ground, becomes the white flour.  By removing the 'skin' (or bran), much of the fiber is taken away and the relative sharp bran that would otherwise cut the gluten strands and keep the bread from risings gone.  The germ, the heart of the wheat with oil in it, tends to have a limited life before spoiling.  So, by removing the germ, the life of the flour is extended.

So, by 'purifying' the wheat flour, the life is extended to a year or more - in the warehouse, the store or in your kitchen.

But, all the good stuff was removed - right?
Well, that's why they 'enrich' the bread by adding vitamins and minerals.  One argument is that the result is more nutritional than the whole grain.  True?  I don't know.  But, i would like to think that it is at least partially as good.

And, then??
And, then, in many of my bread varieties, I like to add some whole grain.  Often home milled wheat, but sometimes it's whole rye (aka, dark rye) or steel cut oats.  To other varieties add flax and flax meal and even sesame and chia seeds.

But, what about those breads without any added grain or seeds?   Well, they are just flavorful and soft.

So, why is white flour so prevalent?  Because it can be used in so many different items, has a good long shelf life and, due to production methods, is fairly inexpensive.  It makes a great bread by itself and a great platform for modified breads.