Strange Oxidation?

Threw out some bread to the birds, the slices sat a couple of days and then it rained. The bread turned dark black, as if it had been burnt in the toaster.

What kind of chemical reaction caused the bread to turn carbonic black?

Is it mold, or did the bread itself turn black?

Pretty sure it wasn’t mold, but that is not to say it didn’t mold, or mold spores might have been present. It was white at night, then it rained and the bread was totally Black in the morning. It also seemed to have the same texture as something burnt or oxidized… it would just disintegrate. It almost seems the rain did something to it.

Fire?

Rhizopus nigricans. Probably the most common brad mold in the world. Particularly active on moist bread. Produces masses of black spores that are dislodged in a cloud when touched, making it appear that the substrate has “disintegrated”.

Of course, as anyone who has seen burned toast knows, burned bread doesn’t just disintegrate. Burned bread becomes hard and rigid and much more solid than fresh bread.