Breads

The first archaeological evidence of flour dates back to the Upper Paleolithic in Europe, some 30,000 years ago. At that time, cereals were one of the many food sources used in the diet of hunter-gatherers. Over a long period, historians have estimated that bread has been present in the human diet since 8000 BC. The transformation of cereals into the diet took place when primitive man ceased to be nomadic and became sedentary. Archaeobotany in Jordan has revealed the remains of a flatbread baked 14,400 years ago, probably from a wild diploid variety of einkorn (Triticum monococcum, grass family). It is likely that wild cereal varieties such as spelt, barley and oats were used at this time, without fermentation, since the result was a flat loaf baked over open fires or heated surfaces. The shift was from an itinerant to a sedentary lifestyle, from predator-gatherer to cultivator.

The invention of sourdough bread is attributed to the Egyptians, who made breads with honey, figs and dates for the pleasure of the Pharaohs. They had discovered the "magical" effects of fermentation, preserving a vat foot to sow the dough for the next day's production. In the 5th century BC, the Greeks invented the mill, and every town had its own oven. The Romans improved mills by using the power of water, replacing the need for slaves. Water mills first appeared in France in 400 A.D., and by the 13th century they numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Around 630 AD, the first written regulations governing the sale and weighing of bread were attributed to Dagobert. In 1217, bakers were required to obtain a license from the king. In 1260, the bakers' guild was founded in Paris. 1751 saw the invention of the first kneading trough, which was perfected in the 19th century, becoming mechanical as milling machines were refined. Parmentier opened the first bakery school in 1780. The entire French political system was based on bread, as was the religious one, with the sacred bread of the Eucharist. In 1903, Heudebert developed a bread in France whose recipe was used during the First World War to make long-life loaves. It remained a staple foodstuff until 1950 . This process sheet describes bread, its economic context, the baguette-making...