Bread in culture

Bread has a significance beyond mere nutrition in many cultures in the Western world and Asia because of its history and contemporary importance.

In 19th century Britain, the inflated price of bread due to the Corn Laws caused major political and social divisions, and was central to debates over free trade versus protectionism.

[2] ... bread has become an article of food of the first necessity; and properly so, for it constitutes of itself a complete life-sustainer, the gluten, starch, and sugar, which it contains, represents azotised and hydro-carbonated nutrients, and combining the sustaining powers of the animal and vegetable kingdoms in one product.

There are many variations on the basic recipe of bread worldwide, such as bagels, baguettes, biscuits, bocadillo, brioche, chapatis, Challah, lavash, naan, pitas, pizza, pretzels, puris, tortillas, Roti , Paratha and many others.

Steamed mantou is similar to Western white bread, but since it is not baked it does not have a brown outer crust.

Naan (leavened wholewheat bread) is baked in a tandoor or clay oven and is rarely prepared at home.

During important occasions when guests arrive, they are offered a loaf of bread with a salt holder to represent hospitality.

Wheaten bread was also thought to be indispensable to one's well-being after French medical chemists had associated gluten with several nourishing elements in plants.

Mass-produced sliced white bread brands such as Wonderloaf and Mother's Pride have been criticized on grounds of poor nutritional value and taste of the loaves produced.

[17] There is a region called Tierra del Pan ("Land of the Bread"), located in the province of Zamora, where economy was in the past joined to this activity.

A dough made with cooked pumpkin or squash, often shaped and fried into doughnuts and served with a sweet fruity dipping sauce, is a traditional favorite.

In Colombia and Venezuela, arepas are a common type of bread made with corn flour, usually filled for making diverse sandwiches.

Many breads in Paraguay, Brazil and Northeast of Argentina are made with flour and cheese, like chipa, sopa paraguaya and pão de queijo.

In the Rio de la Plata region sopaipillas are called torta frita and are fried in cow fat, other type of bread that is commonly found is galleta de campaña, a grease dough made of layers,[21] roscas are a type of bread in Uruguay that is commonly eaten on semana santa (Easter), they are usually filled either with chicharrones or quince cheese.

[23] This is a wide, flat, circular bread that is in a similar shape of a tortilla and is also used as a utensil to pick up food.

The typical Egyptian bread is circular, about 6 inches across, often baked in small neighbourhood bakeries and bought still warm.

Rolls, made from wheat flour and yeast, are another popular and traditional bread, eaten with the dinner meal.

In general, the South prefers white cornmeal with little to no wheat flour or sweeteners added; it is traditionally baked in a cast-iron skillet and ideally has a crunchy outside and moist inside.

The North usually prefers yellow cornmeal with sometimes as much as half wheat flour in its composition, as well as sugar, honey, or maple syrup.

Up until the 20th century (and even later in certain regions), any flour other than cornmeal was considered a luxury; this would explain the greater variety in cornbread types compared to that of wheat breads.

Different regions of the country feature certain ethnic bread varieties including the Ashkenazi Jewish bagel, the French baguette, the Italian-style scali bread made in New England, Jewish rye, commonly associated with delicatessen cuisine, and Native American frybread (a product of hardship, developed during the Indian resettlements of the 19th century).

[27] Challah is a traditional Jewish bread eaten for Shabbat and holidays (except fast days), based on the ancient practice of the dough offering to kohanim (priests).

[30] Some traditions of Wicca and Neo-Paganism consume bread as part of their religious rituals, attaching varied symbolism to the act.

This statistic might reflect a change in the types of food from which Americans are getting their carbohydrates, but the trends are unclear because of the concurrent effects of the Great Recession.

Food Business News, 17 September 2013[32] It is also possible that changing diet fashions affected the decrease in bread sales during that period.