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
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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