Wheat bread

Loaves baked from wheat flour are the staple bread of much of the world, from pan sandwich bread to artisan sourdough. White versions use finely sifted flour with bran and germ removed; whole-wheat loaves build the fibre-rich outer layers of the grain back in. Structure comes from gluten — developed in mixing, inflated by yeast or sourdough fermentation, and set by baking — which creates crumb, crust, and flavour. Whole-wheat versions bring more fibre and nutrients but bake denser and stale faster, since bran shears gluten strands and germ oils oxidise. Salt level, water absorption, and the bake profile are the process levers that decide the loaf.