BRIEF HISTORY OF BAKING

BRIEF HISTORY OF BAKING – this lesson discusses how baking became a popular method of cooking such
as bread from the start since it was the ultimate baked product during the early times. This will highlight
significant periods from the dawn of times up to modern or industrial period as well as how it was
adapted in the Philippines.

Terminal Performance Objectives:

Condition: if you get 90% rating as a passing grade on check-up and self-assessment, you may
proceed to the next lesson.

You should: study and answer all the given test.

How well: A student is expected to attain a 100% accuracy rate in terms of written examination.

Micro-Performance Objectives:

Brief History

 Name some food sources of man during the early civilization.

 Recognize the vital role of the Romans and other ancient? People in the development of baking.
 Appreciate contributions made by the Egyptians and Greeks in developing baking as another
means of cooking food.
 Explain how the technique of baking bread was discovered.

Development of Baking in the Philippines

 Describe the situation that brought about the use of baked products made from wheat in the
country.
 Tell how the use of wheat for baking came to the Philippines.
 Discuss the development of more mechanized baking implements.

BRIEF HISTORY

Cereal grains in varying forms have always been present in the human diet early man realizing
the energy derived first chewed grain seeds for the elastic “gum” with which most farm children were
familiar. It became the most important staple food in the human diet since prehistory times, so it only
means that people during the early time to improve It further to produce varieties of food made of gains.
Since cooking utensils and gadgets were not yet familiar and available, apparently, gain preparations was
made by toasting dry grains, pounding them to a meal with rocks and mixing the meal into a paste with
water. Later it was discovered that some of this paste, if laid on a hot stone next to a fire turned into a
flatbread that was a little more appetizing than the plain paste. Unleavened flatbread, such as tortillas,
are still important foods in many cultures.
 In some places of the world the grains grown by man are what we now call wheat. At first,
people ate raw grains, but later they learned to cook these. They learned to grind the seeds between
stones to make flour. Then the Swiss Lake Dwellers, more than 8,000 years ago learned how to mix flour
with water to make dough. They poured the mixture on heated stones to bake it. The product produced
was flat, hard, unleavened bread.

The first leavened bread was probably made by accident encountered a royal baker in Egypt
many years ago from around 3,000 B.C. The baker made the mixture of crushed grain, water, and sugar
and had set this aside. His attention was diverted somewhere and forgot all about the mixture. When he
remembered it, so the story goes, the dough has expanded. In his bread to his royal masters. The royal
masters liked his bread and so he stayed at his job. That was the accidental birth of the leavened bread.

The ancient Egyptians later learned to control the kind of yeast in their bread. Each time they
baked, they set aside some of the leaved dough to mix with the next batch. In this way, they could be
sure of having the same taste and texture.

The First Bakers

Public bakeries were established in Greece sometime between 200 and 300 BC. The Greeks were
the master bakers of Antiquity, with more than 70 different recipes for bread. As early as 200 B.C. the
Greeks established public bakeries.

When the Romans conquered Greece, the conquerors further improved the industry. The
Romans turned baking into a large-scale industry and passed many laws regarding the quality of bread.
Poor people generally ate coarse, dark bread. Fine, white bread was only for the rich.

In Europe during the Middle Ages, while bread was also the bread for the rich and the privileged.
Often, dark rye? Bread was the staple food of most of the people.

When the English migrated to America, they brought with them the art of baking. In 1604,
baking was a flourishing, both in Europe and the U.S.A.

DEVEPLOMENT OF BAKING IN THE PHILIPPINES

Because of our tropical climate, wheat is not grown in the Philippines. However, records have
shown that when the Spaniards were with us sometime in the early 17th century, they introduced the
planting of wheat in some provinces, particularly in Batangas, Laguna, Cagayan Valley, and Cavite, mainly
for the purpose of using this in the making of bread for the Holy Communion.

The nineteenth century was also a time of great technical progress. Automated processes
enabled bakers to do many tasks with machines that once required a great deal of manual labor, the
most important of these technological advances was the development of roller milling. Prior to this time,
flour was milled by grinding grain between two stones. The resulting flour then will be sifted, or bolted,
often numerous times, to separate the brain. The process was slow. Roller milling is much faster and
more efficient. This was a tremendous boost to the baking industry.
 Another development of the period was the new availability of flours from the wheat-growing
regions of North America. These wheat varieties were higher in protein than those that could be grown
in the Northern Europe; and the export of this wheat to Europe promoted the large-scale production of
white bread.

When the Americans came to the Philippines, we started buying flour from the United States. By
1958, the Republic Flour Mills was in operation, and instead of buying flour the U.S.A., we started to buy
wheat to instead. Presently, we buy wheat from the U.S.A. and from Canada to supply the needs of
several flour mills now operating in the Philippines. The United States’ wheat dominance results from
having more wheat classes to offer at a competitive price that better satisfy the varied and increasingly
sophisticated flour demands of the baking industry. For several years. U.S. has been monopolizing the
wheat marketing in the Philippines.

Until modern technology can come up with a way of producing wheat in the Philippines, we will
always depend on importation of wheat to meet the growing demands for baked products that only
wheat can fill.

In the early 1960’s, the baking trade in the Philippines was rated about the same level as baking
was in not conducive to increased consumption. Because of outmoded bakeshop was not conductive to
increased consumption. Because of outmoded bakeshop techniques, flour quality far exceeded the
Filipino bakers’ ability to use it properly.

In 1962, U.S. wheat Associates, Inc. established an office in the Philippines with the intent of
developing the market for U.S. wheat. In doing so, it paved the way for the advent of an improved baking
industry. Today, the quality of baked goods has improved considerably, thus increasing their
consumption. Other worthy changes in the baking industry are evident, and many of these changes are
direct results of activities of U.S. Wheat with the cooperation of the allied industries.

The years 1958-1976 witnessed the construction and operation of eight flour mills all over the
country.

Bakeries have mushroomed in almost every corner in the country. There are roughly 8,000
bakeries in the entire archipelago today. The baking business now provides useful occupations to
thousands of bakers.

In the twentieth century, advances in technology, from refrigeration to sophisticated ovens to air
transportation that carries fresh ingredients around the world, contributed immeasurable to baking and
pastry making. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the popularity of fine breads and pastries is
growing even faster than the new chefs can be trained. Interestingly enough, many of the technological
advances in bread Making have sparked a reaction among bakers and consumers alike, who are looking
to reclaim some of the flavors of the old-fashioned breads that were lost as baking became more
industrialized and baked goods became more refined, standardize, and some would say flavorless. Bakers
are researching methods for producing the handmade sourdough breads of times past, and they are
experimenting with specialty flours in their search for flavor.

CHECK-UP
Multiple Choice: Encircle the correct answer. (2 points each)

1. Bread for the rich and the privilege during the early times.