White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf

I bought this book in response to disparate conversations going around me regarding food: what's good, what's not...All of it was taking on moralistic undertones that I found of concern. This book has been a great read for me. It is enjoyable and yet I'm learning a lot on the history not only of bread, but of food and it's role in our society. I like how the author is not against food movements, but gently cautions that they can re-entrench social hierarchies and class systems. I think this is a must read for anybody who is concerned about their food and the role of food in society.

When I walk in the store and look at a loaf of white bread, I see a commodity that has always been present in my life (I'm in my upper fifties) and that I think of as the bread on which you make a quick sandwich. That it was anything more than another item that had been industrialized in the early part of the 20th century was a complete and total shock to me.White bread, as we have come to know it, came about to show how pure the bread was. Back in the late nineteenth century, there were numerous bakeries and many of them were dirty and known to add adulterants to the bread to make the loaves cheaper and to strech the amount of flour needed. The add items included items like saw dust, as well as many other items. Since the loaves were dark in color, it was hard for the consumer to tell. The white bread could be held up as an example of purity, since any adulterants could be seen. In addition, the was a part of white bread story that was rooted in eugenics. White people of good blood ate white bread, while immigrants of lesser genetic stock ate the more barbaric dark loaves.Ever since the factory loaf was created, there were critics of the product...early health food advocates, as it were. And the controversy over white bread hasn't stopped since. It wasn't until I read this book that I realized that my mother bought into some of the health controversy over bread. We ate white bread, but it was stiffer and of a less processed flour than the loaf bread. I never knew that my mother was making a concerted effort to keep "batter whipped" bread out of our mouths.While I found the book interesting, it is also obvious that it was written by a professor that knows and loves his subject. Some areas of the book were redundant and it got to be difficult to keep going. A good pruning by an editor would do wonders for this book. I would still recommend this if you have an interest in the history of food, as much of the information is fascinating, but expect to meet with slow going in several place

While I understood the point the writer was trying to make, he just kept rambling past the point of me caring. He also sounded a lot like a person who was telling the story of others and how he wants you to interpret them rather than letting those people tell those stories and letting the reader interpret them. The topic is fine, I just wish someone else wrote it

This was a book selection for a sustainable food dinner/book club that I belong to. It was one of the best we have picked and engaging to read. It puts the evolution of bread into a fascinating historical and social context - and brought back some childhood memories as well as a child of the Wonder Bread generation.

I enjoyed finding out that American Bread made by Small bakers is different from Store Bought massed produced bread products The baker investigated famous bread producers of modern 20th Century bakeries. Places I always go for a bakery treat and coffee.

A thorough history on how bread played a big part into the politics of the 1900s.

I was really engaged during the first part of the book, but towards the middle, I felt like the author rambled a bit so it was difficult to keep my interest. Some of the chapters seemed to begin with one topic and end with another. The book was more focused on the social history (which makes sense since it's the subtitle), than any of the health aspects of white bread. I thought it was interesting that the author didn't mention the impact of steel milling on the processing of bread as having a huge impact on the nutrition. Also, I thought it was interesting that the author didn't cover new strains of "white wheat" (wheat with a lighter bran layer) which have been around for the last several years. Being in the industry, I felt I had to power through the book; but I found I lost interest at the end. I thought it was strange that he ended the book with a chapter on fermentation, which, although it does apply to yeast, was a little far off left field since most of the book had been focusing on the social history. I thought a more appropriate ending would be to postulize the potential fate of the white loaf. It seems the author really only was able to differentiate between a white or wheat loaf, and really, there's a lot more to the story of white bread.

The history of white bread in America is interesting up to a point. The reasons behind the rise (no pun intended) of the store bought loaf held my interest somewhat.However, the book delves into details that would be absolutely compelling if I was fascinated by facts about consumption and production.If food data placed against a historic background is of interest to you, you will enjoy this book.Otherwise take it out of the library and skim it for some interesting bits of trivia.

Ein wichtiges Buch zur Entwicklung angelsächsischer und europäischer Esskultur, das auch technische und wirtschaftliche Hintergründe angemessen einbezieht. Es sollte auch in deutscher Übersetzung erscheinen.

I thought "ok - how can white bread be interesting?". It was. Very much of the book is, really, social analysis, history, and commentary, all as reflected in bread purchasing and consumption in general and in particular white bread. Pretty amazing research and worth a read, just to see a different perspective (through bread and bakeries) during the 19th and early 20th century. And the amazing effect WWII had on white bread (I kid you not).