The oldest technology
In Jordan, archaeologists found charred remains of flatbread that are older than agriculture. So people were baking bread from wild cereals before they started growing grain. Sourdough, the wild yeasts and bacteria that make bread rise, is in fact a biotechnology thousands of years old.
The man who sliced bread
The jeweller Otto Rohwedder worked on his slicing machine for years. His first prototype burned in a factory fire in 1917. Bakers believed sliced bread would quickly dry out. Rohwedder solved this by having the machine wrap the bread straight away as well. The first baker willing to take the risk was Frank Bench of Chillicothe, Missouri.
Curiosities
- In 1943 the US banned sliced bread for a few weeks to save paper and metal during the war. People protested, and the ban was quickly lifted.
- Sliced bread helped toasters catch on: uniform slices finally fitted into them.
- Home bread makers arrived from Japan in 1986.
Bread today
Industrial bread is baked on computer-controlled production lines, but in Slovakia home-baked sourdough bread is making a comeback. Technology helps here too: ovens with a precise thermostat, digital scales and a fridge for slow proofing overnight.