Appropriate Patterns of Bread Preparation and Consumption According To Teachings of the Quran, Ahadith, and Persian Medicine

Background and Objectives: Historically, bread has been the most important source of human nutrition.  The pattern of bread consumption is not desirable in Iran and approximately 16% of bread produced in this country is wasted.  The most important cause of this waste rate is low quality of the produced bread and inadequate public attention paid to Islam recommendation on bread sanctity. The modification of bread consumption and the culture of bread consumption are one of the necessities of the community. Islam whose teachings include all aspects of human life assigns a special status to bread.  In addition, in Persian medicine that was developed by Islamic teachings special attention is paid to bread. Methods: To conduct this research review, discussions about bread in Quran, Ahadith, and Persian medicine textbooks were studied. Besides that, the findings of most recent scientific sources and reliable articles were investigated. Results: According to Islamic and Persian medicine references, bread is divided into different types according to type of cereals and some legumes, amount of bran, type of dough, percentage of fermentation, baking method, shape and thickness of bread, and materials added to bread. A suitable bread is made from high quality wheat, its bran is not separated in large amounts, salt and dough are used in preparing it, it is fermented in a balanced manner, and all of its parts are uniformly baked in oven. In addition to preparation method, there is a certain pattern of using bread according to Persian medicine and Ahadith. Conclusion: A bread that is prepared and used according to instructions described in Iranian Islamic medicine can satisfy a wide range of the body's nutritional needs.