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

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

This book paints an extraordinary picture of the history of white bread in America, encapsulating immigration, diets, and food culture in the past 100 years. This book is almost a mirror image of "Good Bread is Back" as it goes over white bread's fall from grace as America's most popular bread. This book begins with the origins of white bread, and traces it to the modern day, where it is no longer the champion of America, but more like the ugly stepsister. This book paints an important picture of the diet trends in America as they move from cheap and patriotic to organic and time consuming.

This book is the journey of white bread in American society as it journeys from the "superfood" packed with nutrients that it began as, to the cheap and poor option in many supermarkets. This book explores diet trends as well, noting that recently America has moved into an organic fashion and that Americans prefer breads that are made with whole grains and done in a low and slow method. These trends point to a more underlying issue that Bobrow-Strain plays out and really dives into. This book is a fantastic historical account of white bread and really shows how many factors play into the history of bread.

Aaron Bobrow-Strain

Beacon Press

Mar 6, 2012