Our Bread Range
Bread History
Bread has been around for centuries. Ironically, it even had a role in the settlement of Australia as many convicts were deported here for stealing bread. However, the origins of bread started well before this, nearly 12,000 years ago.
The first bread was probably made of coarsely crushed wild grains mixed with water and shaped into loaves that were laid on heated stones or baked by covering with hot ash. However, the earliest documentation traces bread to the Middle East, where Egyptians cultivated grains. They baked flat breads, which are still eaten today, for many centuries until the discovery of fermentation at least three thousand years ago.
The technique of fermentation, which causes bread to rise, spread to all countries bordering the Mediterranean. This sparked new improvements with the development of clay ovens and the introduction of the rotary mill in 1000 BC. These advances spread to other civilisations including African, Asian, Indian and American cultures.
The bread industry began being controlled by those in power in the 11th century with regulated prices and weights. With further developments in agricultural machinery greater crop yields were realised. Hence, the miller's role became independent from baking, so bakers headed towards the towns.
Up until the early 1900's, baking was still done by hand in Australia. In the decades to come, machinery use increased and by the 1960's large plant bakeries had come to the forefront selling their bread through supermarkets.