What is "graham bread"

Graham bread \Gra"ham bread"\ [From Sylvester Graham, a lecturer on dietetics.] Bread made of unbolted wheat flour. [U. S.]
--Bartlett.

Bread \Bread\ (br[e^]d), n. [AS. bre['a]d; akin to OFries. br[=a]d, OS. br[=o]d, D. brood, G. brod, brot, Icel. brau[eth], Sw. & Dan. br["o]d. The root is probably that of E. brew. [root]93. See Brew.]

1. An article of food made from flour or meal by moistening, kneading, and baking.

   Note:

   Raised bread is made with yeast, salt, and sometimes a little butter or lard, and is mixed with warm milk or water to form the dough, which, after kneading, is given time to rise before baking.

   Cream of tartar bread is raised by the action of an alkaline carbonate or bicarbonate (as saleratus or ammonium bicarbonate) and cream of tartar (acid tartrate of potassium) or some acid.

   Unleavened bread is usually mixed with water and salt only.

   A["e]rated bread. See under A["e]rated.

   Bread and butter (fig.), means of living.

   Brown bread, Indian bread, Graham bread, Rye and Indian bread. See Brown bread, under Brown.

   Bread tree. See Breadfruit.

2. Food; sustenance; support of life, in general.

   Give us this day our daily bread.
   --Matt. vi. 11

n. bread made of graham (whole wheat) flour

Graham bread was invented by Sylvester Graham in 1829 for his vegetarian diet. The Graham bread was high in fiber, made with non-sifted whole-wheat flour.

Graham created a bread free from the chemical additives that were common in white bread at that time such as alum and chlorine. He argued that these chemical additives were unwholesome in that they increased the sex drive, which would in turn deplete the body.

While Graham's specific theories on the dangers of "venereal excess" have no scientific footing, he was correct in his broader stance against additives as both alum and chlorine are now known to be toxic. The use of additives by bakeries was a common practice during the Industrial Revolution to make bread whiter in color and more commercially appealing. Refined bread was a status symbol of the middle class because of its "purity and refinement" in its color and was purchased, rather than home-made.