bread

Also known as bun, breads, buns

Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diets. 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.

AI overview

Bread is a baked food made from water, flour, and often yeast that has been a dietary staple across much of the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, since the beginning of agriculture. It holds deep cultural significance, playing important roles in both religious rituals and everyday life throughout human history.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Food.name: Bread
Food.image: alt=Loaves of bread in a basket|250px
Food.caption: Various leavened breads
Food.main_ingredient: Flour, water

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

18,102 papers

Evaluation of nutrients in bread: a systematic review.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2022Aghalari Z, Dahms HU, Sillanpää MDOI: 10.1186/s41043-022-00329-3
Industrial Bread Composition: Potential Implications for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.ReviewNutrients · 2025Shakhman S, Pfeffer-Gik T, Elial-Fatal S et al.DOI: 10.3390/nu17132120
Vitamin d-fortified bread: Systematic review of fortification approaches and clinical studies.Food chemistry · 2022Souza SVS, Borges N, Vieira EFDOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.131325
Separating Myths From Facts About Bread and Health.ReviewNutrition bulletin · 2026Shewry PR, Lovegrove A, Joy EJM et al.DOI: 10.1111/nbu.70038
Par-baked Bread Technology: Formulation and Process Studies to Improve Quality.ReviewCritical reviews in food science and nutrition · 2016Almeida EL, Steel CJ, Chang YKDOI: 10.1080/10408398.2012.715603
Acceptability of veggie bread among Lebanese adults.Frontiers in public health · 2025Chanbour A, Hassan HF, Kreidieh D et al.DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1573593
Modification of appetite by bread consumption: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.Critical reviews in food science and nutrition · 2017Gonzalez-Anton C, Artacho R, Ruiz-Lopez MD et al.DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2015.1084490
Germinated/fermented legume flours as functional ingredients in wheat-based bread: A review.ReviewJournal of food science · 2025Chinma CE, Ezeocha VC, Adedeji OE et al.DOI: 10.1111/1750-3841.70022

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Has part: sugar
Image: Ruisleipä-limppu reikäleipä reissumies hapankorppu-1.JPG

Show 9 more facts

Unicode character: 🍞
Commons category: Bread
Commons gallery: Bread
date of first performance: 0030-00-00
carbon footprint: 0.6
P8168: Kang Ji-wook
NCI Thesaurus ID: C178203
inception: 30000-00-0
hashtag: bread

Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~26 min read

Article

29 sections

Contents

Etymology
History
Types
Ingredients
Physical-chemical composition
Culinary uses
Nutritional significance
Crust and crumb
Preparation
Formulation
Flour
Fortification
Liquids
Fats or shortenings
Bread improvers
Salt
Leavening
Chemicals
Yeast
Sourdough
Steam
Bacteria
Aeration
Cultural significance
Fraud
See also
References
Further reading
External links

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. Bread may also be unleavened. In many countries, mass-produced bread often contains additives to improve flavor, texture, color, shelf life, nutrition, and ease of production.