The history of baking
Bread is one of the earliest known foods prepared by humans. The origins of baking started with grains, water, sun and grinding stones. Grain was eaten raw for a long time. Later, grains were ground using stones and the resulting flour was mixed with water to form a porridge, making the grain more easily digestible. About 6,000 years ago, this porridge was most likely accidentally baked flat on a stone in the heat of the sun, giving birth to flatbread. After thousands of years and quite a few of these happy coincidences, such as the discovery of yeast, bread finally became available to the broader public in its present form.
The baking profession, then and now
The baking profession has existed in Germany for over 1,200 years. At first, the stoves belonged to the city and bakers had to take turns baking their bread. As bread was expensive, it only became a staple in the Middle Ages. Bakers worked long and hard throughout the day. As there were no machines in use in Germany until World War II, most of the work was done by hand. Craftsmanship and knowledge is still essential for baking today. Technological developments, such as those driven by MIWE, have made baking much easier and much more efficient.
