history

bakers
 by Katie Jones

What is it About Bakers?

What is it about bakers? Do they unknowingly smell like baked goods like a secret pheromone effect? When learning someone is a professional baker, do you suddenly feel happy and hungry? I know I do. It seems like some sort of magic that basic ingredients like flour, water, yeast, and salt can inspire such a diversity of baked goods. They are very passionate about what they do. Many are bakers by birth. They have flour running in their blood! Without bakers shaping civilization, we may still be eating whole grain gruel fried on rocks.

How did this profession evolve?

We know our relationship with food changed with the discovery of fire. It was a short time in the scope of human evolution before cooking with fire was transformed into baking in ovens. The Romans were the first to formalize baking into a profession. Organizations were created to ensure bread quality and innovation in early Rome. When baking for an emperor you better have your quality system in place!

By the Middle Ages bread fell out of favor. Much like today’s craze of low carb diets and gluten inducing health concerns, people of the middle ages gave up bread due to crop failure, disease, and nomadic barbarians.

 

Bread stated making a comeback by the end of the Middle Ages and bakers guilds formed in France (1200 AD). The guild was called Tameliers, which translated to flour sifters, had a four year apprenticeship. Bakers had become recognized for the skill involved in baking as a profession. Being a member of a guild provided many benefits. A baker who supplied bread to a hospital could exchange bread for medical care. By the end of the Middle Ages, production of bread followed laws written by the guilds and royalty. Bakers guilds were highly regarded and bakers were seen as skilled artisans.

Bakers had become a necessary part of their communities.

Providing nutritious well-crafted baked goods to neighbors and a source of income for entire families. The renaissance saw the increase in regulations for the baking tradesmen. Laws regulated pricing, weight of finished goods, production, and adulteration of ingredients of bakeries.

You could say that bread was the first government regulated processed food.

Eventually the industrial revolution hit and many aspects of baking became mechanized. New bakery equipment helped bakers keep up with the growing demands for baked goods. Bakers now utilized technology and science to produce constantly delicious nutritious bread.  The art of baking is still dominant in the profession with many bakers still tracing family ties back many generations.

Several organizations exist today to support bakers and the baking industry. When the first baker mastered the first fluffy loaf of bread, they taught the next and so on and so on. That tradition continues today. Bakers learn from each other. You can’t teach passion, but once the flour gets into your blood you are sure to become part of the family.

For more information on the history of bread baking checkout The Science of Baking: A history of bread. And everything baking related be sure to stop by BAKERpedia!

dough bread bakers

 

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eat bread 90- bread
 by Katie Jones

All of Your Bread Questions Answered

Why is bread put on the table at restaurants?

Many theories exist as to why restaurants put bread on the table. However, the old tradition of breaking bread is a way to show people they are welcome at your table. Having a basket of bread at the table is old fashioned hospitality!

What is Biga?

Biga is a mixture of flour, water, and yeast that is allowed to sit and ferment overnight. It is used by Italian bakers as a key component of Italian bread, ciabatta, and focaccia. Adding a little Biga to your dough will give the characteristic holes and crannies typical in artesian bread!

What is the most popular type of bread in the US?

According to Amazon, the e-tailer’s number one selling bread is King’s Hawaiian.

Will eating bread crust really make my hair curly?

While eating your bread crust will give you points for not wasting food, it has not been proven to curl your hair no matter how much you eat.

Holla if you love Challah bread! Why is it braided?

Challah bread is traditionally served in Jewish homes on Friday night and the start of the Sabbath. The reason it is braided is to show unity. Sabbath brings unity allowing time for family, friends, and relationship strengthening. All the different strands of the Challah are braided into unity of one loaf. Other theories are out there but one thing is certain, Challah is delicious!

Why do I crave bread when it snows?

Stocking up on the essentials to weather a storm is part of our psychological make up. Bread shelves are emptied when severe weather is forecasted on the news. Bread is known as a comfort food! Other items we stockpile when it snows are eggs, milk, batteries and water.

Why are hot cross buns baked on Good Friday?

Hot cross buns baked on Good Friday are said to contain more magic than calories! Early superstitions around the buns claim they have the power to ward off evil spirits if placed in the home, will never stale, and sailors who take a hot cross buns on their travels will be protected from to shipwreck. Hot cross buns baked at other times of the year do not have any magic.

Where did Pumpernickel get its name?

There are many theories on how the German rye bread was given the known name as pumpernickel.  One theory is based on the translation of the word. The German word “pumpern” means to break wind. The second part of the word “nickel” is thought to be derived from the name of a goblin or devil like character popular in German folk lore: Nicholas. Pumpernickel can be loosely translated as the devil’s fart which may reflect the difficulty some have digesting the bread.

Can sharing a loaf of bread make you fall in love?

According to folk lore in parts of Norway, when a loaf of bread is shared by a boy and a girl they will fall in love and get married. It is destiny!

Is it true that sliced bread was banned?

Fortunately, this was a short lived war time measure from January 18, 1943 to March 8, 1943. The ban on selling sliced bread was intended to keep bread prices low when flour prices increased by 10%.

Fry bread is so delicious! Where can I find some?

Fry Bread was designated as the Official Bread of South Dakota in 2005. If Fry Bread is your jam, book a flight to the black hills of South Dakota!

Is it safe to eat moldy bread?

When you see mold on your bread you are only seeing the spores and fruiting bodies. Your loaf of bread may have millions of mycelium, thin thread like roots, running throughout, but invisible to the eye. The USDA recommends discarding moldy bread and baked goods. Mold has been shown to cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems. Eating moldy bread is not recommended.

Can I put my bread upside down?

If you are in France it is a big No-No to place a loaf of bread upside down on a table. The French consider this a sign of bad luck.

What do you call the end pieces of a loaf of bread?

Heel, butt, and crust are common names for the ends of your loaf. In the US it breaks down like this:

  • 61 percent of people surveyed call it “heel”
  • 15 percent of people surveyed call it “end”
  • 14 percent of people surveyed call it “crust”
  • 3 percent of people surveyed call it “butt”

Which bread is better – French or Italian?

Hmmm, I think we better let you answer this one!

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eat bread 90-Q&A
 by Katie Jones

Bread Q&A: What Kind of Bread is Good for You & Other Questions

For a food as simple as bread, there are lots of questions about it! What kind of bread should I eat? How many kinds are there? Who came up with that whole sliced bread thing? Here are a few answers:

 

What kind of bread is good for you?

The key with picking out a healthy loaf is the ingredients. If the label says it has whole grains and seeds, then you are getting the most vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein that can be packed into bread. There are also breads that have lower amounts of sugar. However, generally speaking, bread won’t hurt you!

 

Will eating a loaf of bread a day for 90 days make me fat?

Maybe, it depends on what you are sandwiching between the slices.  Are you slathering gobs of Nutella on every slice? Or buttering each slice? Or eating 8 tuna fish sandwiches every day? Or spending your days munching on peanut butter and banana sandwiches?  Or crafting super cheesy grilled cheese sandwiches? The kind of bread influences some things as well.

 

How many types of bread are there?

There are endless varieties of bread. New forms of yeasty deliciousness are dreamed up by bakers all the time. Grocery stores typically have over 50 different varieties of bread on their shelves at all times.  And that doesn’t include in-store bakeries.

 

What proves that bread is a staple of our diet?

Because of all the common expressions that involve bread.  When we are not eating it, we are talking about it.  Think about how many sayings have risen out of our obsession. No matter how you slice it…breadwinner…bread as another word for money…asking which side is your bread buttered on…and the list goes on.

 

How long has bread been around?

Bread has been around since the Egyptians invented a grinding stone to crush wheat into flour. Historians believe that the idea of combining yeast with the flour and other ingredients happened accidentally when a pot of hot wheat cereal was left over night and yeast naturally developed.

 

When did bread start rising in popularity?

Bread got its lucky break with the invention of the sandwich in the mid 1700s when John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, summoned his chef to put his steak between two slabs of bread so he only needed one hand to eat his dinner so he could keep playing cards and gambling with his friends.

 

Who invented sliced bread?

Sliced bread has probably been around since it was first baked in loaves.  An official bread slicing machine was invented in 1912 in Iowa. And it took about 15 years after that in Missouri to set up the first production line for bread that included baking uniform sized loaves, slicing them, and bagging them for easy transporting and sales.

 

What do the colored tags mean?

Bread is delivered to grocery stores five days a week and the plastic tags are color coded by the day the bread was baked. The colors are alphabetized to correspond with the days of the week, so Monday is Blue, Tuesday is Green, Thursday is Red, Friday is White, and Saturday is Yellow. Now you know what to look for when you want to buy the freshest bread at the store.

 kind of bread, variety, bread diet, loaves,

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