A loaf is a, usually rounded or oblong, mass of food, typically and originally of bread. It is common to bake bread in a rectangular bread pan, also called a loaf pan, because some kinds of bread dough tend to collapse and spread out during the cooking process. Doughs with a thicker viscosity can be hand-molded into the desired loaf shape and cooked on a flat oven tray. The shape of doughs with a thinner viscosity can be maintained with a bread pan whose sides are higher than the uncooked dough.
