Yeast, water, flour, and heat. How could this simple mixture have been the cause of war and plague, celebration and victory supernatural vision and more? In this remarkable and all-encompassing volume, H. E. Jacob takes us through six thousand dynamic years of bread’s role in politics, religion, technology, and beyond. Who were the first bakers? Why were bakers distrusted during the Middle Ages? How did bread cause Napoleon’s defeat? Why were people buried with bread? SIX THOUSAND YEARS OF BREAD has the answers. Jacob follows the story from its beginning in ancient Egypt and continues through to modern times. The poignant and inspiring conclusion of the book relays the author’s experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, subsisting on bread made of sawdust.

Sourdough bread fueled the labor that built the Egyptian pyramids. The Roman Empire distributed free sourdough loaves to its citizens to maintain political stability. More recently, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, sourdough bread baking became a global phenomenon as people contended with being confined to their homes and sought distractions from their fear, uncertainty, and grief. In Sourdough Culture, environmental science professor Eric Pallant shows how throughout history, sourdough bread baking has always been about survival. Sourdough Culture presents the history and rudimentary science of sourdough bread baking from its discovery more than six thousand years ago to its still-recent displacement by the innovation of dough-mixing machines and fast-acting yeast. Pallant traces the tradition of sourdough across continents, from its origins in the Middle East’s Fertile Crescent to Europe and then around the world. Pallant also explains how sourdough fed some of history’s most significant figures, such as Plato, Pliny the Elder, Louis Pasteur, Marie Antoinette, Martin Luther, and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, and introduces the lesser-known—but equally important—individuals who relied on sourdough bread for sustenance: ancient Roman bakers, medieval housewives, Gold Rush miners, and the many, many others who have produced daily sourdough bread in anonymity. Each chapter of Sourdough Culture is accompanied by a selection from Pallant’s own favorite recipes, which span millennia and traverse continents, and highlight an array of approaches, traditions, and methods to sourdough bread baking. Sourdough Culture is a rich, informative, engaging read, especially for bakers—whether skilled or just beginners. More importantly, it tells the important and dynamic story of the bread that has fed the world.

It is difficult to think of a food more basic, more essential, and more universal than bread. Common to the diets of both the rich and the poor, bread is one of our oldest foods. Loaves and rolls have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, and wheat has been found in pits where human settlements flourished 8,000 years ago. Many anthropologists argue that the ability to sow and reap cereals, the grains necessary for making bread, could be one of the main reasons why man settled in communities, and even today the concept of “breaking bread together” is a lasting symbol of the uniting power of a meal. Bread is an innovative mix of traditional history, cultural history, travelogue, and cookbook. William Rubel begins with the amazing invention of bread approximately 20,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent and ends by speculating on the ways in which cultural forces and advances in biotechnology may influence the development of bread in the twenty-first century. Rubel shows how simple choices, may be responsible for the widespread preference for wheat over other bread grains and for the millennia-old association of elite dining with white bread. He even provides an analysis of the different components of bread, such as crust and crumb, so that readers may better understand the breads they buy. With many recipes integrated with the text and a glossary covering one hundred breads, Bread goes well beyond the simple choice of white or wheat. Here, general readers will find an approachable introduction to the history of bread and to the many forms that bread takes throughout the world, and bread bakers will discover a history of the craft and new ways of thinking that will inspire experimentation.

From the pitas of ancient Mesopotamia to the white breads of the modern bakery, kids can explore the globe with more than 30 exciting recipes and activities about the history of bread.

Charts the history of bread in everyday life over the course of four thousand years; provides information about the traditions, proverbs, and uprisings associated with the diet staple; and includes recipes and illustrations.

When Bread was first published in 2004, it received the Julia Child Award for best First Book from the International Association of Culinary Professionals and became an instant classic. Hailed as a "masterwork of bread baking literature," Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread features over 130 detailed, step-by-step formulas for dozens of versatile rye- and wheat-based sourdough breads, numerous breads made with yeasted pre-ferments, simple straight dough loaves, and dozens of variations. In addition, an International Contributors section is included, which highlights unique specialties by esteemed bakers from five continents. In this third edition of Bread, professional bakers, home bakers, and baking students will discover a diverse collection of flavors, tastes, and textures, hundreds of drawings that vividly illustrate techniques, and evocative photographs of finished and decorative breads.

Given the importance of bread in the Iranian diet, it is surprising that its role in Iranian society has so far been ignored as a subject of study. Since ancient times, bread has been the staple diet of the peoples living in the Iranian plateau. In The History of Bread in Iran, Willem Floor, one of the foremost scholars of Iranian history, describes the beginnings of agriculture and bread-making, and the various grains and other products that were, and are, used to make bread. He then delves into the making of dough in rural and urban areas, followed by an overview of baking techniques, and the many kinds of bread that were-and continue to be-made in Iran. And, because Man does not live by bread alone, we are offered an overview of the spiritual and social aspects of bread in Iranian society. Finally, the author assesses the dietary importance of bread to the people of Iran and ends by addressing the question of how the State dealt with "the bread issue," which often determined the rise and fall of governments.