Here is an interesting sampling of bread books from the Internet Archive (These are free, mostly very old, books):
Abraham, Edlin: A Treatise on the Art of Bread-making: wherein the mealing trade, assize laws, and every circumstance connected with the art is particularly examined (1805)
A very Victorian feel to this book.
Graham, Sylvester: A Treatise on Bread, and Bread-making (1837)
From the inventor of Graham Crackers. He had a lot to say about whole wheat.
Ward Baking Co, New York: Bread Facts (1920)
Where I first learned of Arkady
Richards, Paul: Bread (1913)
Quaint recipes: how much is a pail?
Simmons, Owen: The Book of Bread (1903)
Great pictures
Barker, Edwin:The Story of Bread (1911)
This is a very strange text, idiosyncratic and full of the prejudices of a different age. Here are a couple of examples: "If a man is willing to work, he should be given work to do; if he is not willing, he should be given something else -- say, a loaf of bread, a bowl of soup, and numerous kicks, all properly placed."
and the following:
"Black bread is -- well, it is black bread. True, true, it soothes the stomach and adds strength to the body. But white bread does all this and more. It whets the brain to a keen edge of 'get-up-and-get,' 'twentieth century hustle,' and 'initiative.' Without wheat we would quickly go to seed, just as China has."
At this point, the only reason to keep reading it is to see what other stupid thing Barker might say.
Snyder, Harry: Wheat Flour and Bread (1903)
Schlumpf, C: A practical guide for the cake and bread baker (1884)
Information about bread, but more recipes of cakes.
Richards, Paul: Baker's Bread (1913)
Bevier, Isabel: Some Points in the making and judging of bread (1913)
A curious little book, with pictures of mostly loaf breads ready to be judged at fairs.
S. Beaty-Pownall: Bread, Cakes and Biscuits (1906)
Petr Kropotkin: The Conquest of Bread (1907)
Golden Gate Compressed Yeast Co: How to make bread (192?)
Gotta make those butterbarches…
Scott, Charles: Vienna bread: instructions and recipes (1909)
Some great pictures of folding techniques.
Gill, Thompson: The complete bread, cake and cracker baker (1881)
Bread science from over 100 years ago! What has changed?
Wood, T. :The Story of a Loaf of Bread (1913)
Growing grains, milling, baking: the whole thing in 164 pages.
Jago, William: The Technology of Bread Making (1921)
Almost a century of technology has gone by since this was written: what is different?
You can also find his first edition, 1911, The technology of bread-making : including the chemistry and analytical and practical testing of wheat, flour, and other materials employed in bread-making and confectionery and another book of his,
Jago, William: An introduction to the study of the principles of bread making (190?)
Interesting chemical analysis of bread, along with some nice linear pictures of wheat kernels and yeasts, etc. Scientific, in a 'turn of the 20th century' sort of way.
Jean Mace: The History of a Mouthful of Bread (1868)
Written by a learned man of science for his young daughter. Such condescending!
Kohman, Henry: Salt-rising bread and some comparisons with bread made with yeast (1912)
Although yeast was well-known by this time, for some reason wild yeast leavens were still a bit strange. This describes a dough made with salt, soda, and wild yeasts present in the flour: no yeast or sourdough is added to leaven it.
Wells, Robert: The modern Bread Baker: giving the newest methods of making bread by hand and machinery and new ideas and instructions on the trade (1912)
A quaint book. Interesting description of "Wagon Ovens" ; and the appendix has some interesting history on Roman ovens.
Immig, Nllie: One Hundred and Twenty-five Recipes; bread, cakes & pies (1915)
Rule Number One: "Always have oven hot."
The recipes are one-to-a-page, quaint and immediate. They all use something called "Presto Flour", apparently a 'self-rising cake flour'. Curious to read now a poem at the bottom of the Lemon Cream Pie recipe: "Try an apple Presto pie/It's a flour that'll never die."
Uh huh.
Murphy, Claudia: Bread, the vital food, illustrated with plates on copper from authentic sources, including a glossary of bread terms, als oa selected list of general and historical references to bread (1920)
It is only 36 pages long, but some of the lineart pictures are interesting.
Bread and pastry recipes of the world famous chefs, united states, canada, europe: the bread and pastry book of the international cooking library (1913)
This is a fascinating book, full of working recipes, from a time when people took trains, stayed in hotels and ate in the hotel restaurants where world famous chefs cooked bread. Lots of ideas in this book.
Acton, Eliza: English bread-book for domestic use, adapted to families of every grade (1857)
Tons of interesting info, some of which is quaint and by modern standards, incorrect. How much of today's info is going to be outdated in a few years?
The 'Bread Receipts' don't begin until p. 127.
Ashton, John: The history of bread from pre-historic to modern times (190?)
Great woodcuts! I love the illustrations.
Carr, Daniel: The Necessity of brown bread for digestion, nourishment and sound health, and the injurious effects of white bread (1847)
A short book, 25 pg.
This 19th century doctor advised that bread should be made with whole meal, and bicarbonate of soda, muriatic acid, salt and water. The idea is that yeast is used to inject Carbonic Acid into the dough and thus raise it; but in his view, yeast is not good for you. So to put the carbonic acid into the dough, this is accomplished by adding the hydrochloric acid baking soda. Every household has that stuff in the kitchen. Don't they?
Richardson, Benjamin: On the Healthy Manufacture of Bread: A Memoir on the System of Dr. Dauglish (1884)
Dauglish created a way to aerate dough without using yeast, by injecting carbonic acid into the wet dough.
Wilhfahrt, Julius: A treatise on flour, yeast, fermentation and baking, together with recipes for breads and cakes (1914)
Tons of interesting recipes, most of them made a barrel of flour (196 lbw.) at a time.
They might take some work to convert to today's ingredients and household amounts.
Militz, Annie: Bread from Heaven; a spiritual diet of the sayings of Jesus Christ (ca. 1920)
You don't find books like this anymore.
LaWall, Charles: Studies in carbohydrates; the composition and digestibility of wheat bread and allied foods, gelatinization of starches (1913)
Voegtlin, Carl: Bread as a food. Changes in its vitamine content and nutritive value with reference to the occurrence of pellagra (1916)
Irvine, Leigh: The struggle for bread : an impartial discussion of some of the wrongs and rights of capital and labor... (1889)
Long, Charles: A temperate discussion of the causes which have led to the present high price of bread : addressed to the plain sense of the people (1800)
Hubert, Philip: Liberty and a living; the record of an attempt to secure bread and butter, sunshine and content, by gardening, fishing, and hunting (1904)
Aquinas, St. Thomas: The Bread of life : or St. Thomas Aquinas On the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar : arranged as meditations with prayers and thanksgivings for Holy Communion (1879)
Densmore, Emmet: The natural food of man: a brief statement of the principal arguments against the use of bread, cereals, pulses, and all other starch foods (1890)
Densmore, Emmet: How nature cures, comprising a new system of hygiene; also the natural food of man; a statement of the principal arguments against the use of bread, cereals, pulses, potatoes, and all other starch foods (1892)
Cobbett, William: Cottage economy; containing information relative to the brewing of beer, making of bread keeping of cows, pigs, bees, ewes, goats, poultry, and rabbits, and relative to other matters deemed useful in the conducting of the affairs of a labourer's family .. (1833)
Caloric Company: Caloric book of recipes : a compilation of more than three hundred superior recipes, including soups, fish, meats, vegetables, cereals, sauces, bread, salads, pies, puddings, cake, fruits and preserves : especially adapted to the improved Caloric cookstove (1914)
Jones, Mattie: The hygienic cook-book; containing recipes for making bread, pies, puddings, mushes, and soups, with directions for cooking vegetables, canning fruit, etc. To which is added an appendix, containing valuable suggestions in regard to washing, bleaching, removing ink, fruit, and other stains from from garments, etc (1864)
Accum, Friedrich: A treatise on adulteration of food, and culinary poisons, exhibiting the fraudulent sophistications of bread, beer, wine, spirituous liquors, tea, oil, pickles, and other articles employed in domestic economy. And methods of detecting them (1820)
Parkinson, Eleanor: The complete confectioner, pastry-cook, and baker. Plain and practical directions for making confectionary and pastry, and for baking; with upwards of five hundred receipts: consisting of directions for making all sorts of preserves, sugar-boiling, comfits, lozenges, ornamental cakes, ices, liqueurs, waters, gum-paste ornaments, syrups, jellies, marmalades, compotes, bread-baking, artificial yeasts, fancy biscuits, cakes, rolls, muffins, tarts, pies, &c., &c. With additions and alterations (1846)
More info than you can imagine. E.g.:
"The origin or etymology of the word bread is not without interest. Horne Tooke says, bread is brayed grain, from the verb to bray or pound in a mortar, the ancient way in which flour was made. The meaning of bread, therefore, is something brayed -- brayed wheat, or wheat bread -- peas brayed, or bread -- oats brayed, or bread, &c. The word bread was spelt differently in different ages; thus we have brede, breed, &c. Dough, Horne Tooke says, comes from the Anglo-Saxon word deaw-ian, to wet, to moisten. Dough, or dow, means wetted. The bread, that is, brayed corn or grain, by being wetted becomes dough.
Loaf comes from the Anglo-Saxon word hlif-ian, to raise, to lift up. Thus, after the bread or brayed corn has been wetted, by which it becomes dough, then follows the leaven, by which it becomes loaf, that is, raised. Leaven is derived from the French word lever, to raise."
Penkelthman, John: A true relation or collection of the most remarkable dearths and famines, which have happened within this realme since the comming in of William the Conquerour. To Michaelmas 1745. As also the rising and falling of the price of wheat and other Graine, from time to time, with the several occasions thereof, briefly set down (1748)
Grant, James: The chemistry of breadmaking (1917)
Ninan, M.: I AM: Symbols Jesus Used to Explain Himself
U.S. Food Administration: Victory breads (1918)
Wiley, Harvey: Cereals and cereal products (1898)
Handy, Amy: War-time breads and cakes (1918)
American baker's association: The Story of the Staff of Life (1911)
32 pages long, lots of interesting illustrations.
This is propaganda, pure and simple: "The best food is bread…The best bread is baker's bread", and "No housewife who really knows the facts will any longer attempt to bake her own bread."
We can see through older propaganda like this now; but what kind of propaganda are we being bombarded with today?
