If properly made, and kept in a cool dry place, it ought to be perfectly palatable at the end of three or four days. Bread and the Law Bread was so vital to people's lives that it was subject of special laws almost everywhere. As early as medieval times, bakers were subject to regulations which were supposed to protect the consumer. The price of wheat in England has been recorded continually since about 1200 and even in times of generally stable prices, it could fluctuate dramatically. What made the price of bread so sensitive is that most people had little opportunity to substitute other foods.
Medieval laws seem to be unduly biased against the baker.
In Austria, bakers who offended against the regulations governing the sale of bread were liable to fines, imprisonment and even corporal punishment. In Turkey in the 18th century, when bread went to famine prices, it was common to hang a baker or two. This was common enough that it was the custom of master bakers to keep an assistant who, in return for slightly higher wages, was willing to appear before the courts in case a victim were needed. Another punishment used in Turkey and Egypt on bakers who sold light or adulterated bread resulted in nailing the culprit by his ear to the door-post of his shop. In England a law was passed in 1266 for regulating the price of bread and this remained in force for 600 years.