From a humble slice of packaged bread to a steaming loaf of fresh challah, bread is an essential for good reason. It’s been the cornerstone of our diets for centuries, and while the world has changed again and again in that time, with bread, so much has stayed the same. “Man does not live by bread alone” is certainly true, but for a well-balanced, delicious, and hearty meal, bread is a good place to start.

Kneading some Dough

Food Is Medicine

Bread has been used as an anti-inflammatory poultice for years. Dip it in warm milk or coconut oil mixed with ingredients like turmeric and ginger, then wrap it in cloth and apply it to a skin wound.

Bring Home the Bread

In ancient Egypt, a standard salary was bread and beer.

Roll Roles

Until the mid-1700s, bread was used to erase graphite marks — in other words, as a pencil eraser!

Caramel-Apple French Toast

Recipe by Rivky Kleiman

A decadent way to serve a breakfast classic.

SERVES 6

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup light corn syrup
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 Cortland apples, peeled and grated
• 1 Tbsp vanilla sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cinnamon, divided, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 loaf of French bread or 2 baguettes (I used whole wheat)
• 2 cups milk
• 6 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• dash of salt
• 2 Tbsp sugar

In a small saucepan, heat the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Stir until you have a syrupy consistency. Pour into a greased 9x13-inch (23x33-cm) baking pan.

Toss grated apples with vanilla sugar, lemon juice, and ¹⁄₂ tsp cinnamon. Spread over the caramel in the pan.

Slice French bread into 1-inch (2-cm) wide slices and lay neatly on top of the shredded apple mixture.

Combine remaining ¹⁄₂ tsp cinnamon with the milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, and sugar and whisk well. Pour over the French bread and sprinkle with additional cinnamon. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Place baking pan in the oven, still covered, and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes.