Key moments in the history of bread
I'm hoping the collective minds on this forum might have some thoughts on this. I've been asked to summarise a series of topics for a proposed museum dedicated to vocational skills that should open in late 2021. This is linked to the WorldSkills competition in Shanghai that year. The idea is that the history of various skills will each have a section in the museum.
One of these is baking. I want to look points in time that are particularly significant of the development of bread baking. For example, mechanisation in the 19th century. Or perhaps a time when bakers' skills reached a particularly high level - was there a golden age of bread and where was it? I think there should also be a strong link with training and apprenticeships, since this relates to the museum but would welcome any ideas.
I will keep the forum up to date on the plans for the museum if interested.
Many thanks in anticipation
James Langton
1. Artisanal movement described by Kaplan in his conclusions to "Good Bread is Back" (2006) pp. 314 [The Bread Decree, 1993] to pp.315 [Raffarin Decree - a false dawn!]
2. Emergence of USA on world stage of bread in triumphs at Coupe du Monde du Boulangerie under Jeffrey Hamelman 1996.
Best wishes
Andy
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_bread
1. The golden age is probably now, in terms of available quality, variety, and an international baking culture that lets ideas and skills travel.
2. Do flatbreads count? The bulk of bread made and eaten across human history is likely home-made flatbreads. But in that case we're talking about skills of home cooks, not professional bakers.,
In my opinion, it's quite difficult to find real and substantial advances in bread-making. It just doesn't change all that much. Not saying there are none, just what we do now is not THAT different from a thousand years ago.
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Should we consider the arrival of mechanisation and the Chorley Wood Process in this? Their arrival enabled mass production and distribution of cheap bread. The craft end of bread baking eventually returned to favour (witness the popularity of this forum) but the phrase “best thing since sliced bread” lives on.