No matter how you slice it, bread is consumed by every person in the world, every day, in every country.  Bread is the universal food, a common denominator, and has been around for 14,000 years.  There are 100’s or 1,000’s of types of bread and each with its own cultural, historical, social, economic, religious or ceremonial aspects. Certain breads are characteristic of specific countries:  France = baguette; Greece = pita; Mexico =tortilla; Germany =pretzel; India = naan; Israel = bagel; and so forth.  The list is endless.  Bread is the most widely consumed food in the world, part of the human and animal diet since prehistoric times, yet ironically one of the most wasted foods, as it can spoil quickly.  In 1974, a charity called Bread for the World was founded to diminish hunger in the U.S. and around the world.  Still active, their website is bread.org.

 N.B. don’t feed moldy bread to ducks, chickens, or wildlife, as it can sicken and kill them.

It is said that bread is the staff (support) of life for the fundamental role it plays.  They are basically 2 kinds of bread, unleavened (flat) and leavened (risen).  The two main ingredients are flour and water (and yeast).  There are many different grains including oats, corn, barley, rye, rice and others, but wheat is the most popular. America produces more bread on a daily basis than any other country, but Turkey holds the record for consumption, with 440 pounds per capita annually (Americans eat 53 pounds per capita). Some say Iceland has the tastiest bread, made of rye, high in sugar, and baked underground in bubbling lava sand.

In the Bible, bread is mentioned 492 times and in the Lord’s Prayer, the third line is “give us this day our daily bread.”  This is petitioning God, in addition to our food, to provide the necessities to sustain life.  Jesus said “I am the Bread of Life” which is the word of God.  When Jesus was in the desert, he was tempted by Satan to turn rocks into bread.  Jesus replied, “Man shall not live  by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” Matthew 4:4.  References to bread in the Bible represent God’s sustenance, presence, and power.  When Jesus turned two fishes and five loaves into enough food to feed 5,000 people, it was symbolizing the word of God to nourish the people.  

Aside from the religious significance of bread, it is also a symbol of culture, history, anthropology, hunger, wealth, war, and peace.  The French Revolution was caused by the lack of bread.  The poor masses were starving and marched upon the palace shouting for bread (food) while the royals partied lavishly, which caused their downfall.

What is bread scientifically, but carbohydrate, protein, fat, and water?  What are the health benefits of eating bread?  It can lower blood sugar, aid in digestion, prevent constipation, increase energy levels and keep you feeling full for a longer time.

When I was living in Greece in 1976, I decided to give up bread to lose some post-baby fat.  My mother-in-law was stunned, exclaiming “how can you live without bread?!”  

Bread is convenient, relatively inexpensive, and there is so much you can make with it.  Bread was mainly baked at home until 1928, when machines able to produce and slice bread were invented.  The new Wonder-Cut Bread ads bragged, “it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.”  Have you ever been called that?

Before the recent invasion from Russia, the Ukraine was the bread basket of Europe, with endless wheat fields.  Wheat is even represented on their flag with a huge yellow stripe, topped with a blue stripe for the sky.  Devotion to bread is in their DNA.  

Germany exports more bread than any other country.  They have 3,200 officially recognized types of bread, and UNESCO declares that bread is an intangible cultural heritage which sustains their culture. 

The 1925 hymn, “Let us Break Bread Together,” speaks of the spiritual community of sharing, healing, and prayer.  Many say that blessed food is more nourishing for the body (and soul). 

Every state has a signature state bread, and in 2024, our state legislation is proposing to make cornbread the official state bread of Georgia. What do you think about that?

In the 11th century, poet Omar Khayyam penned the line “a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou.”  How romantic!  Austin O’ Malley wrote “knowledge is flour, but wisdom is bread”.

If you can, eat home-baked bread or artisanal bread from a local bakery, not bread in a plastic bag, full of extra fats and sugars, chemicals, even gas to fluff up the bag.

So, to wrap it up, (paper, not plastic) the world-wide bread market is worth 335 billion dollars.  That’s a lot of dough $$$! Bake on!

Carol Veliotis is a local columnist for The Covington News. She can be reached at carol.veliotis@gmail.com.