Bread is a staple food of Europe, the Middle East and India that is prepared by baking, steaming or frying dough. The primary ingredients are flour and water. Salt, fat and a leavening agent such as yeast are usually used too. There are many types of breads which may contain other ingredients: milk, egg, sugar, spice, fruit (such as raisins), vegetables (such as onion), nuts (such as walnuts) or seeds (such as poppy seeds). Nice to eat!Fresh bread is prized for its taste and texture, and retaining its freshness is important to keep it appetizing. Bread that has stiffened or dried past its prime is said to be stale. Modern bread is often wrapped in paper or plastic film, or stored in an airtight container such as a breadbox to keep it fresh longer. Bread that is kept in warm, moist environments is prone to the growth of mold. It becomes stale more quickly in the low temperature of a refrigerator, although by keeping it cool, mold is less likely to grow.The inner, soft part of bread is referred to as the crumb, which is not to be confused with small bits of bread that often fall off, called crumbs. The latter term is in common use, while crumb is an esoteric word used mainly by culinary professionals. The outer hard portion of bread is referred to as the crust.

While browsing online for a birthday gift for a Virgo friend of mine, I came across the coolest, and possibly creepiest item I've seen since the shrunken head jewelry that I fell in love with over a month ago. Actual soap, shaped like tiny little hands. Using molds made from dolls, each "hand" is handmade and cared for like the doll it came from.

Born 1958, Beijing and currently a professor of Stagecraft at the Beijing Central Academy of Drama, Xia Xiaowan's suspended paintings are not molded from any rough material and, as the artist says, "despite this overwhelming sense of mass, they still maintain that 'emptiness' of painting or drawing."

Learn all about the way bread mold grows and how it ruins your families lunch.

We have all had the experience of finding mold on some type of food in our kitchen. Be it on the loaf of bread hanging out on the counter for too long, the cheese in the fridge, or taking over the leftovers forgotten about in the back of the low moisture crisper drawer. We make disgusted faces (some of us even feel temporarily nauseated due to ho

Here are a couple of pics of some bread that has been in one of the lockers in my old office since early February 2006, and mid-summer 2006, respectively. Both loaves of bread have nary a spot of mold on them.