Bread is a baked food made mainly from flour or meal and water. It may be leavened, as in most sandwich loaves and sourdoughs, or unleavened, as in many flatbreads.
Bread is one of the oldest prepared foods and appears in many cuisines. It can be a daily staple, a ceremonial food, a street food, a side dish, or a base for other foods such as sandwiches, toast, pizza and filled flatbreads.
Basic Ingredients
The basic ingredients of most bread are flour, water, yeast or another leavening method, and salt. Some breads add fat, milk, sugar, eggs, seeds, grains, spices, fruit, vegetables or enrichments.
Wheat flour is common because its gluten-forming proteins help dough stretch and trap gas. Rye, barley, maize, rice and other grains are also used, either alone or with wheat.
Leavening
Leavening is what makes many breads rise. Yeast ferments sugars in the dough and produces carbon dioxide, which expands the dough. Sourdough uses a living culture of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria, giving a slower fermentation and a sharper flavour.
Unleavened breads do not rely on gas expansion in the same way. Examples include some crispbreads, tortillas, chapatis and matzo, although methods and traditions vary.
Types
Bread types vary by grain, shape, fermentation, texture and local tradition. Common examples include:
- white bread
- wholemeal bread
- sourdough
- rye bread
- baguette
- ciabatta
- pita
- naan
- tortillas
- flatbreads
These names are broad categories rather than fixed recipes. A sourdough can be white, wholemeal or rye. A flatbread can be leavened or unleavened. A country's everyday bread may vary by region, class, religion and period.
Bread-Making Process
Bread-making usually involves mixing, kneading or developing dough, fermentation, shaping, proofing and baking. Kneading and time help develop structure. Fermentation creates gas and flavour. Baking sets the crumb, dries the surface and forms a crust.
Industrial bread-making uses controlled mixing, proving, baking and slicing to produce consistent loaves at scale. Craft and home baking often allow more variation in fermentation time, shaping, flour choice and crust.
Nutrition
Bread is mainly a source of carbohydrate. Wholemeal, granary, brown and seeded breads usually provide more fibre than white bread. The NHS describes bread, especially wholemeal, granary, brown and seeded varieties, as a healthy choice as part of a balanced diet.
The nutritional value depends on the flour, salt level, portion size and added ingredients. Some breads are simple. Others are sweetened, enriched or highly processed.
Culture
Bread has religious, cultural and social importance in many societies. It appears in Christian communion, Jewish Sabbath and Passover traditions, Islamic food culture, everyday European meals, Middle Eastern flatbreads and many other settings.
The word is also used symbolically. In English, "bread" can mean food, livelihood or money. Sharing bread is often associated with hospitality and community.
See Also
References
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