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In Western societies, bread has come to symbolize the primary food that God has given us. Bread and life are intertwined as being seen as being part of each other. The utility of bread to societies in the Old and New World has evolved significantly, where different grains became important and those grains were used to form different types of breads. However, some of the important qualities of bread were likely accidental discoveries, while others still only developed much later.

==Bread and Society==

During the Classical period, there were many varieties of bread (Figure 2), ranging from sourdough, honey-and-oil bread, oyster, barley, wheat, poppy seeds, and even rolls. Bread in Near Eastern and European societies became intertwined with meals and often even the main part of meals, where other foods were sometimes called the condiments or extras that one adds to the meal. The Romans had formed special guilds for bread bakers, calling them COLLEGIUM PISTORUM. Bread bakers also became experts in the production of pastries, where Rome itself likely had several hundred pastry chefs during the apex of its ancient population. Sweetbreads and bread were filled with meats or vegetables became one specialty type.

The use of seeds, such as wheat or barley, to grow grains that would then become bread helped bread and life giving sustenance to be closely affiliated, most likely already by the Neolithic. The idea that a few seeds can create enough wheat or barley to create a lot of bread symbolized the importance of grains to society with that symbolism closely associated with bread.<ref>For more on the symbolism of bread, including in religion, see: Jacob, H. E. (2007). <i>Six thousand years of bread: its holy and unholy history.</i> New York: Skyhorse Pub.</ref>

==Modern Bread==