Panera Bread A Brief History of Bread: baker's lore | our sourdough story become a bread conneisseur | bread pairings | recipes
Grown in Mesopotamia and Egypt, wheat was likely first only chewed. The First Loaf: According to ancient legend, the first loaf of bread was baked accidentally by an Egyptian slave in about 2600 B.C. The slave was making traditional flour and water wafers, but he fell asleep and didn't notice that the fire had gone out before his thin, hard little cakes were baked. The dough rose overnight and in the morning the slave was delighted to discover that he'd made a much tastier meal than he'd meant to. Bread was used as money and workers who built the pyramids were paid in bread. Egyptians are also credited with creating multi-loaf ovens and isolating yeast cultures, therefore producing leavened breads. Bread making technology traveled to Europe via the Greeks. Bread quickly became central to the Roman way of life. In 150 B.C., the first bakers' guilds were formed in Rome. Thus began the controls on the bread making craft. The growth of towns and cities throughout the Middle Ages saw a steady increase in trade and control by governing officials – this included breads! The regulations imposed on bread making helped to establish the profession as a true craft. All loaves were individually hand crafted by a skilled tradesman – not just anyone could make bread. In 1266, the Assize of Bread was formed to regulate the weight and price of loaves of bread in England. Bakers were ordered to mark (score) each loaf of bread so if a non-conforming loaf was produced, authorities may trace it to a specific baker. These 'scores' were among the first trademarks. Today, we use scoring to help identify bread and it is the artistic signature of our bakers.