Bread is a
staple food prepared by
cooking a
dough of
flour and
water and possibly more ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are
steamed,
fried, or
baked on an unoiled skillet. It may be
leavened or unleavened.
Salt,
fat and
leavening agents such as
yeast and
baking soda are common ingredients, though bread may contain other ingredients, such as
milk,
egg,
sugar,
spice,
fruit (such as
raisins),
vegetables (such as
onion),
nuts (such as
walnuts) or
seeds (such as
poppy seeds). Bread is one of the oldest prepared foods, dating back to the
Neolithic era. The development of leavened bread can probably also be traced to prehistoric times.
Fresh bread is prized for its taste, aroma, quality and texture. Retaining its freshness is important to keep it appetizing. Bread that has stiffened or dried past its prime is said to be stale. Modern bread is sometimes wrapped in paper or plastic film, or stored in a container such as a breadbox to reduce drying. Bread that is kept in warm, moist environments is prone to the growth of mold. Bread kept at low temperatures, in a refrigerator for example, will develop mold growth more slowly than bread kept at room temperature, but will turn stale quickly due to retrogradation.
The soft, inner part of bread is known to bakers and other culinary professionals as the crumb, which is not to be confused with small bits of bread that often fall off, called crumbs. The outer hard portion of bread is called the crust.
The word itself, Old English bread, is common in various forms to many Germanic languages; such as Frisian brea, Dutch brood, German Brot, Swedish bröd, Norwegian and Danish brød; it has been claimed to be derived from the root of brew. However, it may be connected with the root of break, for its early uses are confined to broken pieces, or bits of bread, the Latin crustum, and it was not until the 12th century that it took the place—as the generic name for bread—of hlaf (???????????? [hlaifs] in Gothic modern English loaf), which appears to be the oldest Teutonic name; Old High German hleib and modern German Laib, or Finnish leipä, Estonian leib, and Russian ???? (khleb) are similar (all are derived from the Old German word for "loaf").
