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The True Significance of Bread In America Comment by CSS: __________= good information[ ]= rephraseNo!= wrong?= confusing/awkwardForgot page numbers!!
Ashley Ojeda
February 22th, 2019
4th period
Xipolitas
Introduction:
Bread, when first thought about, is seen as just as a mixture of flour, water, yeast, and salt. Yet, bread holds such a firmer significance in the culture and society of today’s America. This paper will review the creation of many forms of bread throughout history and its influence on society: particularly in the United States. From the beginning of the creation of bread, to the importance of bread through harsh times in America, and finally the deeper meaning of certain breads within cultures, and their effects on American life is well documented and will be reported here in this analysis. Comment by CSS: Thesis is present and strong= I am so excited to read this!
Historical Background:
Bread is one of the first baked foods, that are known and still used daily. The first couple of forms of bread was flour and water without yeast, meaning it was unleavened. This unleavened bread was the first form of flatbread that existed. Many flatbreads are tough and are harder to digest than the stereotypical bread. The first leavened bread was created by the Egyptians about 3000 B.C.E. It was created by using old dough (leaven) and mixing it with a new dough. The Egyptians would leave them for awhile to ferment for a couple hours and then bake it. They were known for creating “50 varieties of bread, paid wages with bread, and painted breadmaking scenes in their tombs”, (BIRT 2018).
Leaven is something that is placed in bread dough and allows the bread to rise. Leaven can be yeast, baking powder, beer, or etc. Bread was often used as a way to pay wages, mostly during the building of the pyramids. Sometimes other fermented foods or items were used, like beer. Bread is a staple in cultures across the globe. Bread since ancient timesantiquity has played a key role in the Greek culture and diet. Numerous Greeks preferred to have fresh bread baked at home or a trusted local bakery around them. In ancient Athens white bread was seen as better to whole grain bread so much so that “Socrates called whole grain bread “pig food,””, (Tadmor 2019). Even thousands of years ago, bread was associated with social status. This is something that still happens to this very day in multiple countries; including America. It is evident to know that bread, as Humans know it, didn’t arrive to the Americas until the Europeans around the 15th century. It is important to understand when bread was produced and the time it hit the New World. Comment by CSS: I would be sure to specify here that you mean bread made with flour? Because what do we consider tortilla? You begin your next section with Native Americans and so I think it is important to make that distinction here.
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When most Americans think about Cornbread, they also associate that thou...