History of Bread

Peter Scholliers is Emeritus Professor of the History at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. An expert in the economic, social and cultural history of food in Europe since the 1750s, he is the co-editor in chief of Food & History and co-series editor of Bloomsbury’s Food in Modern History series. He has edited and authored many publications in the field including A Cultural History of Food, Writing Food History and Food Culture in Belgium.

• Introduction Part I: The Consumer 1. Eating Bread 2. Types of Bread3. Prices and Purchasing power4. Acquiring Bread: Baking, Buying and Stealing 5. Calories, Kilos and Grams6. Bad bread: Fraud, Additives and Riots Part II: The Baker7. Artisanal Baking8. Technology and Hygiene 9. The Factories 10. Wages, Costs and Profits 11. Image, Status and Wealth12. Politics, Strikes and Consultations Part III: The Government 13. Grain Policy14. Price Control15. Fraud on the Track 16. School and Education 17. Committees, Councils, Institutes and Agencies Conclusion: Good Bread Glossary BibliographyAppendicesIndex

[This] book is an excellent addition to his oeuvre. While it is a history of bread in Belgium, it raises issues that are relevant to most European countries, and it shows how food history can be done to a high standard based upon broadly-based empirical research.