The History of the Bread

by Peter Bentley

So I started to write a piece on the History of a Sandwich, and as I dug deeper it begged the question of how we got to have bread to make the sandwich. You know, bread, the staff of life the most basic of all human comfort foods; Crusty, fluffy, chewy goodness that accompanies meals in all shapes, sizes and textures. Think about it? How did someone discover to use a specific grain, crush it to a fine meal, add water and then throw into a fire to bake and remove before charring? How many grains, or people, did it take to get the recipe right?

As it turns out, bread is one of the oldest prepared foods, dating back to the Neolithic era. The Neolithic era marks the time of transition from nomadic hunting and gathering communities and bands, to agriculture and settlement. This occurred independently around the world in prehistoric human societies.

Once agriculture started gaining momentum, cereal grasses were selectively bred. There are eight "pioneer crops" that are considered to be the basis for modern day farming and agriculture. Three cereals, four pulses, and flax are considered the first known domesticated plants in the world.

Many pioneering attempts failed at first. Crops were abandoned, but then taken up again many years later only to be successfully domesticated. For example, rye, tried and abandoned in by the early Turks, made its way to Europe as weed seeds and was successfully domesticated in Europe, thousands of years after the earliest agriculture.

Bread is the simplest, cheapest and most basic type of food. It can be thought of as a basic human food staple with deep cultural roots. It is easily prepared by baking dough made of flour and water. It may be leavened or unleavened. Breads may contain a range of other ingredients depending on its purpose: milk, egg, sugar, spice, multiple grains, fruit, nuts, seeds, vegetables, meat, etc. Many cultures have bread as a basic staple. There are many cultural variations on the basic recipe of bread, including pizza, chapatis, tortillas, baguettes, brioche, pitas, lavash, biscuits, pretzels, naan, bagels, puris, to name a few.

Lets face it, there are few things in life that match the homey comfort of waking into a room and being met with the warm, reassuring smell of fresh baked bread.  The Basics of Bread