The History of Baking and Its Impact on Modern Food

The History of Baking and Its Impact on Modern Food

What is Baking?

Baking is a type of cookery that involves slowly cooking foods made with flour. Food is often baked in an oven, but there are a few different ways to bake without one as well. A few methods of baking without an oven are mentioned by Homestead Honey. By baking cookies without an oven, I experimented with baking.

When you think of baking, the first thing that springs to mind is bread. However, baking is also a popular way to prepare a variety of delicacies like cookies, cakes, and muffins.

The history of Baking

Around 6500 years old, the world's oldest oven was found in Croatia in 2014. Around 600 BC, bread-making first started in Ancient Greece. (source: Wikipedia)

Egyptians were the first bakers, and evidence of their baking dates back to 2600 B.C. (source: Baking Times)  The first people to use yeast in bread baking were the Egyptians.

Baking and its Importance

Women would traditionally bake at home, usually for the family. In bakeries and restaurants, men used to perform commercial baking. Bread is one of the most essential components of our daily diet, along with other baked goods. Baking has been a long-standing human activity. You should start baking at home because baking has such a rich history.

The relevance of baking in American and European cuisines is significant. Without bread, cakes, pastries, and other baked goods, their cuisine would be lacking. Chapati is the most popular type of bread in Asian nations. One of the easiest methods of baking without an oven is chapati.

Advantages of Baking

Baking enhances the flavor and aroma of the food. For those who have been baking at home, they know what I mean when I talk about the aroma of baking. Baking can expand the possibilities of making food healthier. People are moving from deep fried stuff to baked goodies.

Baking is no longer just all-purpose flour, white sugar and butter baked together. Health conscious people have taken baking to a different level. People now bake with millets, whole wheat flour, and multigrain flour. They avoid sugar and extract sweetness naturally.

History of Baking Cake

Cakes have a long history that reaches back to antiquity. The original cakes were far too unlike from the exotic pastries of today. When sugar or honey was added to cakes in the past, they resembled bread more than cakes. The Old Norse word "kaka" is where the term "cake" comes from. The word "cake," according to the Oxford Dictionary, dates to the 13th century.

According to historians, the first modern round cake with icing was made by Europeans. Various mixtures of flour, butter, shortening, eggs, sugar, honey, baking powder, baking soda, and flavorings are used to make cakes. Cake recipes can be found in abundance online.

Hope that was a good read. Ciao. Keep baking, say happy.

Back to blog

Leave a comment