White bread typically refers to breads made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ layers have been removed from the whole wheatberry as part of the flour grinding or milling process, producing a light-colored flour. This milling process can give white flour a longer shelf life by removing the natural oils from the whole grain. Removing the oil allows products made with the flour, like white bread, to be stored for longer periods of time avoiding potential rancidity. The flour used in white breads is often bleached further—by the use of flour bleaching agents such as potassium bromate, azodicarbonamide, or chlorine dioxide gas to remove any slight natural yellow shade and make its baking properties more predictable. This is banned in the EU. Some chemicals are also banned from use in other countries. In the United States, consumers sometimes refer to white bread as "sandwich bread" or "sandwich loaf". It is often perceived as an unhealthy, bland, and unsophisticated menu item. White bread contains ½ of the magnesium found in whole-wheat bread, and it is generally considered to be less nutritionally dense. History Bread made with grass grains goes back to the pre-agriculture Natufi proto-civilization 12,000 years ago. But only wheat can feasibly be sifted to produce pure white starch, a technique that goes back to at least ancient Egypt. Because wheat was the most expensive grain to grow, and the process to sift it labor-intensive, white flour was generally limited to special occasions and the wealthy, until the mid-19th century. Then industrial processes eliminated the labor cost, allowing prices to fall until it was accessible to the middle class. In the US, corn meal was the standard grain for bread until closing in on the 20th century, while in Europe it was other grains. But once accessible, white bread became very popular in industrialized countries for a number of reasons: That it was traditionally for the wealthy made white wheat bread seem desirable. It also was easier to see as pure and clean, at a time when some foods could be poorly made and adulterated. And the lack of both coarseness and complex flavor profile made it a popular medium for the delivery of flavorful condiments. It is more easily chewed and digested. This allows it to be a source of more calories. It also does make some micronutrients more digestible, some studies finding that the