A new type of bread was created for the low-carb dieters, following Atkins or South Beach diet line.

As it was foreseeable, the low-carb craze generated by the low-carb diets, traditionally by Atkins and followed by the trendy South Beach Diet, led to dramatic drops in sales for bakeries and carbohydrate-containing products. As a result, the farming industry was also affected. This problem is of interest and impels researchers to find solutions.

Dr. Y. Martin Lo, an associate professor of food bioprocess engineering in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, at the University of Maryland, is conducting a research on low-carbohydrate wheat. Dr. Lo performed tests on over 60 strains of wheat and found two wheat types with the lowest carbs and calories content. Dr. Lo works with Chesapeake Fields Farmers in Chestertown, Md. through the university's Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIP) program to add science to bread making. Chesapeake Fields Farmers is a private company started by farmers with the purpose of making traditional farming more profitable while conserving the region's natural and cultural resources.

The baked product is based on the increase of dietary fiber. So, a fully natural, low-carb, low-calorie, high-protein bread was created. Each slice contains six grams of carbohydrate per slice, compared to 12 for traditional breads.

The product is estimated to be a success and Chesapeake reportedly projects that the bread will bring in around $8 million in sales by 2008.

The research was financed with a $10,000 grant from the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board, the body of farmers who administer the grain checkoff program in the state.