Bread

Bread is a baked food product made from flour and water, usually with added salt and often a leavening agent such as yeast or sourdough. It is one of the world’s oldest human-made foods and a staple food in many cultures, especially in Europe and the Middle East. Bread is commonly made from cereal flours such as wheat, rye, or spelt, though other grains and plant products may also be used in smaller amounts.

The basic process of bread-making, or panification, involves preparing a dough, allowing it to rise if leavened, and baking it in an oven or other heated setting. Fermentation by yeast or a Sourdough culture produces carbon dioxide, which forms bubbles in the dough and gives bread its light, porous crumb. Without a leavening agent, the result is unleavened bread, or flatbread-like products. Some breads are also produced with chemical leaveners such as baking soda or by industrial methods of aeration.

Bread has long held cultural and religious significance as well as dietary importance. Mass-produced breads may contain additives to improve texture, flavor, color, shelf life, nutrition, or ease of production. Across history, bread has remained closely tied to agriculture, milling, baking, and everyday life.