Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water,
usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many
cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made foods, having been of significance since the dawn of
agriculture, and plays an essential role in both religious rituals and secular culture.
Bread may be leavened by naturally occurring microbes (e.g. sourdough), chemicals (e.g. baking soda),
industrially produced yeast, or high-pressure aeration, which creates the gas bubbles that fluff up bread. In
many countries, commercial bread often contains additives to improve flavor, texture, color, shelf life,
nutrition, and ease of production.
Bread can be served at many temperatures; once baked, it can subsequently be toasted. It is most commonly eaten
with the hands, either by itself or as a carrier for other foods. Bread can be spread with butter, dipped into
liquids such as gravy, olive oil, or soup; it can be topped with various sweet and savory spreads, or used
to make sandwiches containing meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments.
Bread is used as an ingredient in other culinary preparations, such as the use of breadcrumbs to provide crunchy
crusts or thicken sauces; toasted cubes of bread, called croutons, are used as a salad topping; seasoned bread
is used as stuffing inside roasted turkey; sweet or savoury bread puddings are made with bread and various
liquids; egg and milk-soaked bread is fried as French toast; and bread is used as a binding agent in sausages,
meatballs and other ground meat products.
