Cultural History & Importance Of Breads




A LITTLE BREAD HISTORY

Bread,played an important role in major European culture .In the Bible the word "bread" is synonymous with "nourishment."The English word "lord" is derived from the old English "hlaford", meaning "keeper of the bread."The word "companion" is derived from the Latin "companio", meaning "one who shares bread."




The origins of raised bread date back to ancient Egypt, sometime around 4000 BC. Previously only flat breads, along the lines of tortillas or Chinese pancakes, were known.

All countries and cultures have some form of bread. Bread is the world’s most widely eaten food and has been a main part of the human diet since prehistoric times. Breadmaking began very simply by grinding some kind of grain into flour, adding liquid to the flour and baking the dough on hot rocks.Bread in many cultures was - and still may be – a symbol of harvest, fruitfulness and fertility. People break bread together as a symbol of peace, and they share bread fresh from the oven in friendship and nurturing.

Bread, cereal and pasta are all foods made from grains.People ate whole wheat bread for hundreds of years because white flour required hours of hard labor to mill.  White bread became common by 1900.



CHANGES IN BREAD MAKING METHODS

Over the years, the bread making traditions died down. The decline of good bread baking may have had its roots in the 18th century. The introduction of pan baking made bread softer and puffier. In the 19th century a distaste for "sourness" (ironically the same "sourness" that makes San Francisco sourdough and other sourdoughs so great) led to the introduction of baking soda to bread, which made it puffier than it is. In the 1870's industrial milling techniques were introduced and the flour became whiter and whiter and "deader“. Bakers began adding sugar to activate the yeast as they had in the past, and bread got puffier still. Bread continued to get sweeter and puffier till the 1920s.



CATEGORIZATION OF BREADS

         There may be hundreds of variations of bread, but they fall into three main types:-
         Yeast
         Quick
         Flat




YEAST BREADS

Yeast breads are eaten by most people in the United States, Canada, and many European nations. White bread is the most popular variety, but other yeast breads are gaining favor as world breads become growing enterprises. Yeast breads make up about 99 percent of the bread baked in the United States.Few yeast breads include white bread, soft rolls, hard rolls, baguette.



QUICK BREADS

Quick breads are loaves that require no kneading or rising. They are descendants of hearth cakes. The American Indians taught the early colonists to bake cornmeal over a fire into hot cakes. Today’s quick breads include quick loaves such as corn bread or banana bread, muffins, biscuits, coffee cakes, scones, pancakes, and waffles. Most quick breads contain baking soda and/or baking powder, other ways to leaven breads or make them rise.


FLAT BREADS

Flat breads are more common in many parts of the world than in the United States. Most flat breads are unleavened. They are made from either batters or kneaded dough. Often they are cooked on the stovetop rather than baked in an oven.  Flat breads include tortillas (Mexico); Jewish matzah; crepes and crepelike chickpea flour bread (France); dosas, chapatis, and parathas (India); Mandarin pancakes and scallion bread (China); okonomiyaki (Japan); pita bread and Lebanese wrapper bread (Middle East); and various crackers from around the world. 



CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE & IMPORTANCE OF BREAD THROUGH
THE AGES

IMPORTANCE OF BREAD:-

Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It is popular around the world, and is one of the world’s oldest foods.The virtually infinite combinations of different flours and differing proportions of ingredients, has resulted in the wide variety of types, shapes, sizes, and textures available around the world. It may be leavened (aerated) by a number of different processes ranging from the use of naturally occurring microbes to high-pressure artificial aeration during preparation and baking, or may be left unleavened. A wide variety of additives may be used, from fruits and nuts to various fats, to chemical additives designed to improve flavour, texture, colour and shelf life.Bread may be served in different forms at any meal of the day, eaten as a snack and is even used as an ingredient in other culinary preparations.



ENERGY

Our bread provides energy for daily living.

PROTEIN

bread is the third biggest contributor of  protein in our daily diet. Protein is essential for growth, development and repair of the body

FAT

    Our breads are naturally low in fat and form part of a healthy, balanced diet.

CALCIUM

Calcium is well known for its importance in the formation of     good teeth and strong bones and is also important for the proper functioning of nerves, muscles, kidneys and the heart. Calcium is particularly important during teen and young adult years as this is the time when our body’s build peak bone mass. Pat’s Pan flour is fortified with calcium in the form of calcium carbonate and contributes towards healthy development of young people and maintaining a healthy diet throughout life.

CARBOHYDRATES

Breads are rich in complex carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are an important part of our diet as they provide us with energy.

B VITAMINS

Our bread contains various B vitamins, including Thiamin (Vitamin B1) and Niacin (Vitamin B3) which are essential for releasing energy from food.

IRON

Iron is a key nutrient in wheat flour and is essential for red blood cell formation, which aids oxygen transport around the body and is important for brain function.


CULTURAL  SIGNIFICANCE

Bread has been an important staple food product to many cultures over the centuries. It is referred to as the “staff of life” in the Bible. Humans have eaten some form of bread since the Neolithic era, when cereals were crushed and mixed with water to form a thick paste that could be cooked over the fire. Stone mechanisms were used for smashing and grinding various cereals to remove the inedible outer husks and to make the resulting grain into palatable and versatile food. Bread may be served in different forms at any meal of the day, eaten as a snack and is even used as an ingredient in other culinary preparations. As a basic food worldwide, bread has come to take on significance beyond mere nutrition, evolving into a fixture in religious rituals, secular cultural life and language.

Bread was/is important in many cultures like:-
         Egyptians
         Romans
         Vikings and Normans
         Bakery Guilds
         18th Century
         Industrial Revolution
         19th Century
         20th Century
         Modern Bread Making


Egyptians

Bread making techniques date back as far as 3000BC. The ancient Egyptians were experimenting with different types of grains to produce a variety of bread products with different textures and flavours. This early bread was particularly successful when wild yeast from the air combined with flour and water, starting a fermentation process and slightly rising the crust. Successful bread making was considered an important life skill for ancient Egyptians. Paintings in the pyramids show that the dead were buried with loaves of bread to provide sustenance in the afterlife.


Romans


The Romans were the first to perfect Rotary Milling. They used sieves to produce finer flour. They invented two types of oven; The “Brick” oven and the “Three legged pot”. They also introduced the world to the cottage loaf.

Vikings and Normans


The Vikings made bread mainly from rye grain, which produces a dense hard bread. The Vikings brought rye from Scandinavia and produced hard primitive looking flat bread, which had large holes in the middle. To the Normans, bread making was very much an organised community activity. Crop rotation practices were in place. They constructed watermills and windmills close to the fields to facilitate flour production.

Bakery Guilds

In 1266, the first bread control agency – the “Assize of Bread” – was set up to govern the weight and the price of bread. Guilds facilitated in the development of professional respect for the trade. They also helped to promote bread to the public. The bakers’ guilds in England were held to strict standards, with harsh punishments for overcharging or rendering the bread poor by adding other substances

18th Century

The development and use of roller flour mills in the 1700’s, led to the production of much better quality flours. The resulting flours, produced breads, which were lighter and whiter. The 18th century, also saw, the birth of the loaf tin and resulting loaf shaped bread, which enabled it to be easily sliced.

Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution was the next great milestone in the history of bread making. Steam powered mills were constructed to meet the demands of a growing population in Europe.

19th Century

By the end of the 19th century, the steel roller mills had arrived. These mills produced much softer finer flour, which produced better quality breads. Gas ovens replaced wooden and coal burning brick ovens.

20th Century

By the 20th century, highly automated flour mills with steel rollers were in place. This highly automated process resulted in the production of better quality and different varieties of flours. The efficiency of mills also increased dramatically.

Modern Bread Making

Modern day bread can be leavened (aerated) by a number of different processes, ranging from the use of naturally occurring microbes, to high-pressure artificial aeration during preparation and/or baking, or may be left unleavened 

ICONIC BREADS AROUND THE GLOBE
         BAGUETTE
    Origin-France
    A thin stick of bread, identified by slits on top.



         CHALLAH
    Origin-Israel
    Leavened, braided & usually made for Shabbat(day of rest)

      COTTAGE LOAF
   Origin-England
   Made with round balls of   dough , characterized by
   its shape.

      BANNOCK
   Origin-Scotland
    A flatbread made using baking soda instead of yeast


      BARA BRITH
    Origin –Wales
    A fruit bread consisting raisins,currants & candied peel.


         BARNBRACK
    Origin-Ireland
    A kind of yeasted sweet bread with sultanas & raisins


         APPAM
    Origin-Sri Lanka
    Bowl shaped pancake,usually served with spices for breakfast or dinner


         BAMMY
    Origin-Jamaica
    A fried flatbread consisting of cassava root,salt & coconut oil


         ANPAN
    Origin-Japan
    A sweet bun filled with either red bean paste,sesame, or chestnut

         NAAN
    Origin-India
    Leavened flatbread usually served with curry

         QUICK BREAD
    Origin-USA
    A type of bread that uses baking soda instead of yeast



         MANTOU
    Origin-China
    A steamed bun made with white flour & a little bit  of sweet


         TIGER BREAD
    Origin-Netherlands
    Rice past


         CIABATTA
    Origin-Italy
    An elongated white bread made with olive oil


         VIENNA BREAD
    Origin-Austria
    A leavened bread made using the high milling of Hungarian grain.



         RUGBROD
    Origin-Denmark
    A sourdough bread  made with rye & wheat flour


         PANE TICINESE
    Origin-Switzerland
    A soft white tear & share bread



         BORODINSKY BREAD
    Origin-Russia
    A dark sourdough bread usually flavoured with coriander & caraway seeds


         SACRAMENTAL BREAD
    Origin-Greece
    A Christian ceremonial bread sprinkled with holy water


         BUBLIK
    Origin-Poland
    A sweet bread shaped like a doughnut


         ESTONIAN KRINGEL
    Origin-Estonia
    A rich,buttery sweet bread


CONCLUSION

Baking and pastry has a rich history which is still being written.In the past 200 years the industry has evolved very quickly due to demand and technological innovations.Opportunities for bakers and pastry chefs are seemingly endless, largely depending on their skills and goals

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