The Most Important Job In The World - The Baker

[@tommyg770]

I'm a baker by trade and I have been for the last fifteen years, this last month I've been considering doing something else, but this, this encourages me, to keep getting up at midnight, to keep doing what I know deep down in my heart is my favourite thing to do, I'm gonna watch this every time I feel like giving up. Thank you John

[@cremebrulee4759]

Thank you!

[@milkismurder]

bread

[@kingprone7846]

feed meeee

[@tommyg770]

@@v1rtual.v3li just start off small, make things for you like loaves and bread and rolls, you might find there's a demand for quality products, neighbours might be interested in having a baker next door ;)

[@v1rtual.v3li]

@@tommyg770 oooh, that sounds enticing to try! i might want to practice even more and figure out what stuff to do in order to make it the best i can first but i will say this sounds VERY tempting to do my good sir TvT

[@toryistatertot5394]

Ever wonder how many bakers throughout history needed to hear this? How often in our daily lives do we go along with the drudgery and forget how important our little piece of the puzzle is. Wonderful message.

[@StrangerHappened]

BTW, surprisingly or not, but most bakers in the Western world work at cookie and sweet snack bars manufacturing in factories, and never see and touch the dough.

[@jerryakins1622]

I totally agree ! Tell someone today that they’re doing a great job and that you appreciate them. It’s amazing how good it makes you feel just to say that to someone ! Tell that to at least two people today and mean it, it’ll make a difference in your life and in others. 👍😃 God Bess John we love ya ! Keep up the good work.

[@Crazt]

Surprising focus that came from the recent epidemic. As they started shutting down non-essential businesses, we started learning how they all supported modern societal system.

[@kirbyculp3449]

@@StrangerHappened Yep, the process is mechanized and computerized. The 'bakers' merely monitor the machines.

[@KairuHakubi]

I imagine most of the time, it was the ones handing down and enforcing those (frequently ignored) regulations who take all the credit for being important.

[@jamesofallthings3684]

Not much has changed. Nobody realizes how fragile our society is. I'd argue however that the most important people then just like today are farmers. Least appreciated and hold your lives in their hands.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

Well said. I'm originally from a very large farm in Alberta. Cheers!

[@lindahipple4817]

"Farming is everybodies bread and butter" ..best bumper sticker, jmho..love home made bread and being a farmer as well.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

@@lindahipple4817 Do you know why farmers are so good at what they do? It's because they are always outstanding in their fields.

[@FrankieG-M]

@@dwaynewladyka577 Buh dum tish!

[@huf67]

You don't have to argue that fact, without farmers, there would be nothing.

[@burnu2240]

ive been a baker for 18 years now, thanks for giving me an appreciation for what i do

[@cnam1258]

I wish you lived in my building...

[@pineappleparty1624]

I've worked in a bakery for 12. No one appreciates you and believes you are incompetent if the bread they are looking for sells out later in the day...My favorite is when someone believes you should know what bread they mean as they describe something that is specific to them and them only lol. Like this one man was asking me for "the bread" used for The Lord's Supper. I'm like idk...how would I know? I don't go to your exact church lol...

[@madeleinecanoesify]

@@pineappleparty1624 people just dont understand how long it takes, the breads i make for my bakery take 24 hours, i mix the dough just as my colleague is pulling yesterdays dough out of the oven.

[@pineappleparty1624]

@@madeleinecanoesify I find that strange. At my store we make all kinds from scratch, even sourdough but it does not take time. We only have to wait for it to finish proofing, in the proof box and then bake it. The mixer(person) does make the dough for one day ahead to chill in the fridge over night. That is just so they don't have to come in an hour early.

[@francisdhomer5910]

I'm from a small town and miss having a local baker. Yes I have made my own bread, but it takes time. Even with the machines. I'm looking forward to the day I can eat normal food again and have home made bread). If only someone would open a bakery made without all the extra stuff in the bread you buy in the store.

[@stopsign997]

It’s amazing how the breads have flipped. The white is now most affordable and the whole-r grain ones are now more expensive.

[@rustyhowe3907]

Ah the power of health food marketing.

[@amberallen7809]

Lots of foos have done that actually. Kale used to be seen as pretty low class. Lobster too. And globally, rising demand for things like quinoa have turned it from cheap staple food of the growing region to a luxury product mostly for export.

[@frankchen4229]

@@amberallen7809 lobster was seen as low class? that's interesting

[@fourtyfir]

@@frankchen4229 it was seen as a ocean insect, similar to a cockroach, so people didn’t want to eat it same with oysters, but those were served for free at bars

[@gagnorblu]

@@fourtyfir It’s hilarious for me since I live in Baltimore where you can go to Lexington Market and get a nice cheap raw bar and then drive 45 minutes over to Washington DC where the same quality raw bar is over four times the price.

[@gibberishname]

from 1790 until 2014 (that's 225 years) in Paris there was a law stating only HALF the bakers could go on vacation in the month of July and the OTHER HALF in August because they were so worried that if too many bakers went on vacation at the same time, people would be unable to buy fresh bread.

[@johnfisk811]

French law still requires some bakeries to be open every day and they have a rota. Fresh bread must be available every day. One day old stale bread is sold off in large paper sacks. Ostensibly for animals but I have found bread etc. in excellent condition often in these and happily eaten them myself.

[@gagnorblu]

⁠@@johnfisk811 There’s a theory that the American stereotype of being overly friendly around strangers came because we spent 200 of our 300 years of existing in totally undeveloped areas where you HAD to be friendly like that due to the nature of the frontier fostering such a need. Just goes to show how critical food security is for everyone regardless of the culture.

[@thenovicenovelist]

​​@@gagnorbluDepending on what you consider to be underdeveloped, there are still some places in the rural South and WV that are underdeveloped based on more modern standards. Luckily, there are groups such as the Appalachian Regional Commission that are helping these communities. I was surprised to hear that in my own county there were still a couple of areas where the only access to clean water until recently was from a well. And some parts of southern WV are still struggling to get clean drinking water too.

[@la_old_salt2241]

​@@thenovicenovelistSounds like an opportunity for a brewer of small beer. 🙂

[@madeleinecanoesify]

thank you, from a professional bread baker! I make traditional style sourdough 5 days a week at a small local bakery.

[@BronzeTheSling]

Sounds super cool! Go ahead and put a plug in for your bakery if you fell comfortable doing so! Maybe some of the viewers here live in your area.

[@gargoyles9999]

True Roman bread for True Romans

[@randominternetguy3537]

Where is said shop? If it's in Michigan, I'd be happy to visit.

[@velveetaslingshot]

Sourdough.....drooollllll

[@madeleinecanoesify]

@@randominternetguy3537 we are in Canada, sorry! Hope you have a local bakery to support in our stead :)

[@annwlodarczyk8195]

My Dad was a baker and he taught me from the time I was old enough to hold a measuring cup. He apprenticed under his Brother and I apprenticed under him. This video is by far my favorite one of yours. I love your channel.

[@LordoftheOzarks]

Thats awesome. And good for you carrying on the tradition. Im sure it makes your father very proud.

[@rolux4853]

Please keep up the tradition, it’s the most important in human society! My father in law is a master baker in the Sixth generation and he has to close his shop because the German people got to lazy to buy quality bread at a baker! It deeply pains me to see this tradition gone, it’s the most important job in the world! This disgusting stuff from the supermarket has nothing to do with real bread, there’s no sourdough I. It, nothing healthy of real nutritional value! Thank you so much for doing your job and thank you to your father for doing his deed and bringing both his children into his bakery and guiding them from being apprentices to master bakers! I wish you all the best and I really hope you can uphold this tradition and keep our society working! Those huge „bread“ corporations should be forced to shut down and the real bakers should be the only ones selling bread! That bread is not a industrial product full of disgusting chemicals, but a healthy loaf formed by knowledgeable hands with pride and joy! Bread made this way should be the only thing people can buy!

[@TheBelrick]

Why isnt your name Bakerson then?

[@annwlodarczyk8195]

@@TheBelrick and miss hoarding all of the consonants?

[@TheBelrick]

@@annwlodarczyk8195 Phonetics are important for sure.

[@shanartisan]

Tomorrow is my last day baking for a commercial franchise. I'm taking the leap to making my own sourdough in the hope to build my own company from scratch. This video was perfectly timed. Thank you.

[@ryanchungus8972]

I hope you fail miserably

[@JohnSmith-fq3rg]

How's it going? Hope it works out.

[@cleanerben9636]

@@JohnSmith-fq3rg I want to know too!

[@vitorpereira9515]

Tell us, please.

[@Saurny]

How's it going?

[@Necrodermis]

In Japan probably our closest equivalent to the bakers importance was probably rice farmers. It was used as currency for a long time and a reliable form of food. Amongst all the farming jobs they probably had the most important one in my opinion.

[@matasa7463]

That's why the government of Japan subsidize rice farmers and make sure the farms remain - it's food security as well as important historical heritage and culture. Also, fresh rice rocks, they are so fragrant. The Chinese and Koreans like to by Japanese rice for certain foods, and they are well known for their high quality and safety standards.

[@Xenibalt]

japan can not survive without rice therefore i agree with your comment, necrodermis

[@onii-chandaisuki5710]

And in the official social hierarchy of the Tokugawa Shouganate, the farmer was above the merchant and craftsman.

[@George_Soros.]

Lol salt was used as the currency that’s used preserved your meat lol

[@ciscornBIG]

You're not japanese.

[@heatherwade2373]

I felt like a wizard when I learned how to make proper bread. Still do and it is wonderful and theraputic.

[@pattheplanter]

Necromancer! The word yeast derives from the same origin as ghost.

[@jamesofallthings3684]

Do you make your own levain? If not you should try it. You can make some crazy sourdoughs.

[@mamajo5867]

What would you say is the difference between proper and improper homemade bread?

[@lananieves4595]

My great grandfather was a bread baker in the Caribbean. My grandmother would talk about how important he was in their small town. In those days (late 1800s/early 1900s) a baker in the Caribbean was a man of high status. My grandmother enjoyed a life of privilege because of her father's stature in the community. unlike most people in their town, he could afford to have all of his children go to school until they were 16 during an era when most kids were done with school by age 10.

[@jazztheglass6139]

In Nigeria in the mid 1970's, people made a living selling it on the street to people driving in cars, pretty good bread

[@DonnaMSchmid]

My grandparents were German bakers who owned a shop in the Kensington section of Philadelphia during the 1930s-1950s. One of the things I remember hearing about was how busy the bakery was around Thanksgiving... Not so much for the baked goods, but for the hundred or so of turkeys they would bake for people who either had no oven or whose oven was too small to fit a turkey! From the day before Thanksgiving all of the way through Thanksgiving afternoon, there was a constant flow of people bringing in their prepared raw turkeys, each in the customer's own roasting pan, each on a tight schedule for roasting!

[@jaungiga]

We still do that but with whole pigs around Christmas and New Year's eve in Argentina, especially in the countryside where large wood-fired ovens are not so rare

[@sergeantbigmac]

Wow I shudder to think what your Grandparents would think if they could see modern Kensington Ave! Easily one of the worst displays of poverty, societal breakdown and despair ive ever seen in America. Frankly ive been to 3rd world countries that are better off and people living under better circumstances.

[@jamesellsworth9673]

@@sergeantbigmac I am sorry to hear that. I worked for Fred T. Corletto, Managing Director of the City of Philadelphia at the end of the 1960s and into the 1970's. James H J Tate was Mayor. I got around into some neighborhoods. I learned so much about Urban Diversity. A city's neighborhood bakeries and meat markets and specialty stores give so much meaning to city life to to neighborhoods.

[@sergeantbigmac]

@@jamesellsworth9673 Yes it is quite sad. If you do have good memories from better times of the place, then I implore you not to look at modern videos of the area. Theyre quite depressing.

[@cripplers8]

@@sergeantbigmac I moved upstate 6 years ago after living in Philly my whole life and have seen every neighborhood that was once nice take a turn for the worse. At least we have our memories of the good times of what once was. One of my friends does makes trips down there to K&A with his church as a rescue and he’s saddened by how it is.

[@Bangalangs]

I found my popularity grew during the pandemic, when I let it be known at my work (nursing home) that I knew how to make bread. Had a small stock of multi-purpose flour and yeast, I was baking a couple of small loaves every other day on a pizza stone. Literally traded one loaf for a half dozen fresh-laid eggs with a coworker, several times.

[@darrelleddington7948]

I bet in today's economy, that would be three loaves for half a dozen eggs!😉

[@skullthrower8904]

Lol nice Hope you kept at it

[@skullthrower8904]

@@darrelleddington7948 pisses me off to no end People need to take matters into their own hands since yesterday

[@tultoi5651]

@@skullthrower8904 What pisses you off to no end??

[@artursberzinch4318]

​@@tultoi5651 pretty sure what he was referring to was inflation. Most people don't realize though, that its less actual inflation and more corporate profiteering, as the grocery stores are getting increasingly consolidated under a few larger groups, i think it's down to like 3.

[@marcelgowa]

im in deep awe watching this as a german guy, our bread is a national treasure to us and it makes me really sad to see small familly owned bakerys being replaced by huge franchises with cheap quality bread....

[@mustyfan1584]

We really need to hang onto traditionally baked bread, both at home and at local bakeries! Here in the US bread is this horrible industrial product full of preservatives. I've loved learning to bake my own bread at home, it's far more delicious and healthy. But I wish we still had the local bakeries in every neighborhood like in Germany. I hope that you guys can hang onto your local bread!

[@ElJosher]

Always support local bakeries. Mass produced bread really is an awful thing.

[@remaguire]

I lived in Germany for about 5 years. I still miss the bakeries.

[@capitalisa]

Bake your own bread. We all have ovens in our homes now. Put the corporations out of business.

[@hiselbii5326]

Also funny how we Germans love our whole wheat bread and it was for the poor back then

[@bagel3703]

Working full time as a baker is brutal but rewarding. Your presence is missed. I wake up at 3 every day but I love it.

[@cnam1258]

I wish you lived in my building...

[@BronzeTheSling]

If the whole society would wake up earlier I'd really appreciate it. I would love to be having a full breakfast with my family at quiet 5am. You can get so much essential prep work done for the day in a timely manner. And you're starting things off calmly.

[@willumpboy5126]

@@BronzeTheSling The thing is that if everyone woke up early, 5am would no longer be quiet

[@chlorophyll6154]

Your must love your job, it's really great

[@Serthys]

@@BronzeTheSling If everyone stands up early then nobody stands up early. It just makes early the new normal^^

[@quinnlollis7211]

I’ve been a baker since about 5 years old and still baking at 75 years old now. I don’t know why I just love to bake! I appreciate your video because I know how important baking is and now hopefully many more people will too!

[@mariuskerl2277]

Mee too /rokie

[@istvancsap3513]

Thanks for your job/passion

[@cogspace]

Many of the most common surnames are the professions that made life possible for centuries: Farmer, Miller, Brewer, Baker. My surname is Hungarian for Miller. It's strange to know that this name is an echo of some forgotten man who turned grain into flour to feed his family and his community. Thanks, dédnagyapa.

[@yurionabike99]

My surname is market, I would assume it means merchant

[@dwaynewladyka577]

My maternal, great grandmother worked in a bakery in Prague, in the late 1800s, before she came to North America, in 1900. Bread is one of the early convenience foods. It is multi purpose. Even if it is stale, bread can be used for different applications. In early times, in North America, things like bannock and hard tack were staples. Thanks for sharing this video. The content is very informative and awesome. Cheers!

[@nos9784]

It's a little sad how in many places, white toast is the standard. People don't even know what they are missing! I love fresh grey bread, especially the crust when it's still crisp. (rye and wheat, I think... I don't even know. We still have semi-traditonal bakeries here, so I never made anything myself except ciabatta. Awesome with some chili peppers in there- stops you from eating it all at once! 😅)

[@BaNaNaCeZeT]

Greetings from Prague! Vladyka would probably mean something along the lines of a Ruler/Nobleman, great surname ;)

[@nilo70]

@@BaNaNaCeZeT thank You for this insight , Cheers from California 😊

[@elijahsanders3547]

I just crmbled up the last stale piece of a few days old loaf in our soup tonight (checked it first), it was a nice addition :)

[@samuraibat1916]

Do you have any recipes that have been passed down?

[@CDale-tc3xz]

People really don't realize how essential bakers were/are see until you start making your own bread. I recently moved out to the metaphorical sticks and it became much simpler just to make my own bread. I'm making bread every other day if not every day. You don't realize how much you go through until you have to make it yourself.

[@dereinzigwahreRichi]

The baker couldn't do his job without the farmer and the miller before him. But they all are important and should be appreciated.

[@cearachonaill8149]

My mother made bread every Thursday. By the time I’d get home from school, the loaves were cooling yet still warm. We’d slather homemade cream and honey on our slices. Where I volunteer, we have three toasters: two singles and a double slice toaster. They hold think slices and we tell the visitors that the reason is because bread is life. And they nod in agreement.

[@cearachonaill8149]

Make that homemade butter from our cow. 😄

[@patsydanec7864]

I think if I could only have one food to live on it would be homemade bread and real butter-yummmmm!

[@jamesellsworth9673]

I made bread and other baked goods for my family. The food and its memory have meant a good deal to us through the decades.

[@quinnlollis7211]

Thank You! I forgot all about how my mom would make fresh hot bread and have fresh made cheese ready at the same time!

[@dtroy15]

I want to join everyone else in expressing my thanks for this video and this channel. Townsend's has provided hours of educational entertainment for me - and my wife, who usually is not interested in whatever I watch. I happened to put together a loaf of sourdough last night which is in the oven now as I'm watching. I can't help but contemplate how the bread I'm making (at great expense of time) for a deeper connection to my food was once made in this same way by my ancestors - of necessity. Many thanks for sharing content of such high quality and such surprising depth.

[@BronzeTheSling]

Yeah, that's it! That's one thing that makes homemade bread taste so much better, is the satisfaction of knowing how and where it was made, and that it was made personally and with love.

[@orctrihar]

As a french, I love this video, there just too much to explain all, it's just perfect, a lot of effort but you really have it ! I Hope you stay online and well for a really long journey !

[@freedomlovingporcupine914]

I'm just going to come out and say this. This is definitely one of the coolest and educational channels on KZbin. Thank you!

[@montrellz]

They would go crazy if they saw the way we looked at bread today.

[@anthonysteban2334]

this channel keeps me going. The perspective it gives is unmatched - PBS couldn't tell a story this well if they tried, because no one lives through the story writing quite as all of you over at Townsends do. thank you.

[@xlDysenterylx]

I have spent a lot of years bouncing from job to job, never staying with anything long. I have been baking for almost five years now, and I will never do anything else. I have never been truly fulfilled by my work until now. I love knowing that my effort provides nourishment and life to my community. Thank you so much for this video. You brought tears to an old man's eyes. "There is not a thing more positive than bread." -Dostoevsky

[@mustwereallydothis]

Isn't it amazing that the most important jobs in the world pay so much less than the ones that provide entertainment and indulgence?

[@nonamepasserbya6658]

They pay a lot, but only for companies with mass plantations Speaking of, sugar and tobacco companies lobbied against fat because they don't want people to know sugar and tobacco is bad

[@mustwereallydothis]

@@nonamepasserbya6658 I know, right? How is it we haven't sued everyone responsible and their estates into absolute poverty? There isn't even the slightest question remaining as to their guilt at this point, yet, somehow their successors and decendants are still living large off of their lies.

[@swampdonkey1567]

​@@nonamepasserbya6658 saying sugar is bad is pretty loaded statment

[@shironee_2384]

Patroning things has been in human history since beginning. But back then it wasn't an issue because what we patroning into was someone talented, brave, or heroic; they deserved to be. Nowadays not so much people have those traits (plus internet has revealed stuffs that many supposedly great people their gray/dark side, so we can hardly believe anyone to be a saint throughout)

[@SterbenCyrodill]

In my families ancestral villages', on the interior of Portugal, most of the people would also make their own breads in communitarian ovens that were build, fuelled and maintained by the village community, which planted their own cereals, went to the miller to get them grinded to flour and then they would bake their breads. Wheat, and barley too, but most often Rye. Now most people don't do it anymore themselves, but the Bakers are still there, selling their bread to the people. On my gradma's village there is actually a small museum dedicated to it, it's awesome!

[@willchrisman4048]

My great-grandfather trained as a baker in Germany, earning the status of a "Master Baker". Seeing what that means spelled out this way means so much.

[@HealthyMaxwellRoth]

First of all:sorry for the bad english. In France, these days, bakers spcifically are facing critical financial issues because of bad managment from our goverment. They are people who work 80 hours a week and TRUELY prodive a vital service to the whole city. And now most of the bakeries in France are facing barkruptcy because of electricity bills. They are FORCED to leave behind what they beleieve was their life purpose. My uncle was, no, IS a baker. He has been all his life. He barely understand english, but I showed him your video straight up, and he bursted out in tears. It juste happenend right now, but I can tell if he's going to leave bakery for good or persevere in this way. I'm not 100% sure. But what I am 100% sure is that your video gave my uncle, a dedicated baker, some relief. And a strong support for him, and what he does. For all the cities, large or tiny around the world, and above all else, for my uncle: thank you for this video.

[@wampuscat7433]

God bless your uncle! I believe that in most instances when the government gets involved in most anything, they take it to rack and ruin. Give your uncle my regards and I wish him the best!

[@HealthyMaxwellRoth]

@@wampuscat7433 I will. Thanks you.

[@robinsonstegard538]

I sent this on to my daughter, a baker who sells at farmers markets in the Fort Wayne area. During the vid, the market was considered essential, so she and her dad continued to bake bread, cookies, and pastries. Thank you for this video.

[@outstretchedwings]

There's a novel called Bread Alone about a woman whose husband left her, and it forced her to reconsider her life. She ends up becoming a baker after the divorce (she'd been an apprentice for a baker in France and up until the divorce breadmaking had been a hobby of hers).

[@greatrulo]

As a sourdough baker that only bakes with a wood fired oven, I felt this. I was hugely inspired by your videos about baking bread in a cob oven, and even took a lot of advise from them when building it. Thanks for your work, now I make a living out of it.

[@davidbenner2289]

Butcher, baker, candlestick maker. My wife has recently passed after years of Alzheimer's. People used to "almost" dump the contents of her pies and cobblers just to get at her crusts! Her pizzas were superior because of the crust! Almost every morning, after she would get me off to work (I was a shift supervisor and firefighter-paramedic, driving in 73 to 92 miles away, getting up at 2:30 to 3:00 a.m.). We all miss her cooking. Especially her bread stuff. Sadly, none of this passed on to her children.

[@kimfleury]

May she rest in peace 🕊️ That's a beautiful memory.

[@debrakessler5141]

This is so cool! I just told my daughter this morning that I'm taking on the responsibility of the bread baking for our mutual assistant group. I ordered more proofing bowls and will be installing my wood burning oven shortly.

[@PhantomSavage]

A baker was even more important than an experienced hunter. They both bring home food, but a baker brings food home every day.

[@ericbell871]

When my family was young, so was the neighbors. The neighbor lady and good friend, was still a social worker. She cared for the poor. One of the local bakeries would throw the dough that didn't make it to the ovens pans into a container. They made dough for 50 pans and there was 51 pans worth of dough. So all of this bread at the end of a shift was all mixed together. The loves were gigantic. One time the food bank closed early. She had a Volvo full of bread! Give it to the neighbors! Two of these loves where the size of a carry on luggage bags. This was the best bread I have ever had. It was dense and flavorful. We got 2 loves and it lasted for 2 weeks for my family of 4. Bread stories, they are always good.

[@johnopalko5223]

I've been baking my own bread for close to 20 years and I really enjoy it. In 2020, at the height of the flour shortage, I started buying mass-produced bread because I couldn't bake my own. It was really disappointing. How can people eat that stuff? The really sad thing is the realization that there were, probably, thousands of pounds of flour stuck in the backs of people's cupboards that were eventually thrown out unused.

[@TheWyleECoyote]

I've been buying different wheats for years, we're grinding our own and my wife found the secret to using it is; soak the full ground wheat, or sift it but still give a good soak overnight to soften it. Grinders can be found cheap.

[@honuswagner9348]

@@TheWyleECoyote grinders are super expensive nowadays...

[@gwenb4531]

I love the timing of this video, I am proofing a loaf of bread for tonights dinner along with a hearty bowl of beef vegetable soup.

[@davidphilipp574]

It’s amazing to see how a baker can be that revered in the USA ….. but today you mostly find those sweet and soft loaf of “toast” in the supermarket…. while in Europe we still have bakeries on every corner of the street making all sort of bread, cake and tarts! Not just Toast but rye bread and bread with various corns ….. and not the soft and squishy kind!

[@Joseju]

Lovely video, as usual. Some things we take for granted now, so it's really nice to look back on the history of things as common as bread. Love your channel!

[@KLGChaos]

I was on the baking business for 25 years before my company decided to lay off 300 people and switch from fresh bread to frozen par-baked stuff. It'a no longer a bakery. Just fast food. One of my favorite stories is how Baguettes came about because of new laws that didn't allow baking bread before 4 am. Bakers needed something that could proof and bake quickly for the morning and the baguettes narrow shape helped with that.

[@danielle0624]

my given last name was Baker (I was adopted so it changed) but this is making me really realize how important my ancestors really were and that makes me happy about my history (:

[@Marastife]

1 minute in an I can say you half right. The brewer is also important. He makes the yeast, and the beer. Throughout history beer has been known as "liquid bread". It fills us, has carbs. Hell even the Egyptian gave a liter of beer per day to the workers. The only other occupation I'd think would be the farmers. Bread, beer, fruits, and vegetables. Seasonal meats from hunting. That's ALL a human needs to live. And even if you neglect beer, it's a useful ingredient and has useful byproducts. So brewing it still required, even if not consumed as an alcohol product. Love your channel though man. And don't disagree to any real/tangible extent at all. Keep doing what you do, we fricking love you, your content, and what you are doing! Seperate note, thanks for messaging me back with suggestions, very happy you engage with your community on an individual level, you are the shit! Stay strong and God bless you and all the people who help make your channel possible!

[@Rulzan]

Thank you gentlemen. You make us feel emotions from a different age, like we were part of history.

[@mollyscozykitchen4693]

This video is so timeless and important! It reminds me of my wonderful history teacher’s guide to taking over the world: don’t mess with people’s food. It’s the number one way to make enemies. Bakers and farmers have always been the backbone of our society. Love your passion and kindness!

[@righteousham]

I worked as a baker when I was in my twenties! It was a fun job and very fulfilling! One of my favorite's was the Egg Bread. Rolling out and wrapping the cords together was always a lot of fun. Available by special order only! Nothing quite beats a Baguette right out the oven, would always draw people over. Gosh, fun times.

[@Kareszkoma]

An interesting thing I realized while dieting. Real bread, not supermarket one, tastes really good and rich flavor when you are hungry, mainly because of physical work. Every flake has a sweet, and yet a salty flavor. Rich, savory, bit sour, but a very good sour. Brown bread, and different kinds of flours even more so. They have these salty, almost sesame or other seed like baked nuts flavor. Flavor enhancers, grease, salt, spices purchased in shops, with continuous usage dull the senses of the tongue. But on my diet, I mainly ate vegetables, and salt was almost out of my diet. This is when I ate home baked bread, and the feeling was amazing. Hungry from a workout. The rich, sour, baked nutty and salty, savory rich flavor hitting my tongue. It was amazing.

[@FritoParadox]

It makes me happy to learn about how important bakers were. I always wanted to help others with my work and my first career choice was being a baker. I ultimately decided it wasn't what I wanted to do for a career but I still love to bake as a hobby and to know this it seems like deep down I understood there was a connection there

[@lordofcringe6785]

Love the personal connections made with these informative videos. Thank you.

[@ej732]

I started working on my baking skills a year ago. I absolutely love it. Share the cornbread and pan de cristal with everyone.

[@krtt750]

As a retired baker myself I am proud of this video. Merci beaucoup! Bread is life, like in France. It is a noble trade that demands respect. Unfortunately in the USA the "bakers trade" is not on the same level as other skilled trades. It used to be. Thanks Mr. Townsend!

[@89128]

In the 19th century US west, army rations were 50 % finely milled wheat flour. Company commanders and First Sgts would take half the wheat flour into town to barter for fruits, vegetables, diary, eggs etc. This allowed solders to have some variety in their daily rations.

[@MTDixonSr]

Nice!! This is by far my favorite episode. Many people don’t really appreciate the role that bread, potatoes, and beer had in the very survival of people and societies.

[@drfenderfunk]

I wish there were more everyday life history channels like yours. Battles and kings are fun to learn about too, but knowing what it was like to live as the average Joe day by day is what fascinates me the most about history.

[@TheNamesDust]

Those who keep the bones going are so often forgotten. We stand on the shoulders of giants, but most forget we still have to maintain and build upon where weve gotten.

[@Populon993]

To this day there's always something "magical" about going to a local bakery and getting fresh bread first thing in the morning. Something warm, wholesome and almost nostalgic.

[@Kemirosho]

Video was a year ago but bakers keep baking!! Y’all do amazing work

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

A great tutuorial Jon, and about a subject most of us wouldn't even think about! Even if we should! The ignorance of a lot of people nowadays about the backstory of all the things we take for granted is pretty shocking, if not downright astounding.

[@stanvelchoxx]

This was awesome. Thank you so much for this lovingly made video. I love bread, and I have always told my family to gift me bread whenever they think of gifting me anything. To me, bread is the most honest food, and it brings to mind ancestral thoughts of the our beginnings as a society. I really appreciate the time and effort that people put into making bread, and thus is a perfect gift for me.

[@wfldfire]

Such a great topic, thanks for the high quality content

[@travisstreeter5092]

Your channel is the best of CHANNEL 3 in the 80-90's...reserved for soft education in a genuine way.

[@raggededge82]

I started baking bread from scratch recently and it's incredibly satisfying.

[@frankchen4229]

nothing beats a warm home baked loaf of sourdough

[@francisdhomer5910]

One year I asked my wife for a bread maker for Christmas. Up to that point we were like everyone sliced bread was what we had. Well I got it and I experimented. I tried different versions. Now a days we can take or leave it, but if you make it yourself you discover why it was such a staple. You could almost live entirely off from it. I enjoyed making Italian bread. and my cat loved it. tried giving her store bought once and she turned her nose up at it. Because of situations, including cancer I no longer have that bread maker, but once I'm able to eat normal food I will be going back to making my own. I encourage others too as well.

[@tuppybrill4915]

I generally use the breadmaker to make the dough and then create rolls or a loaf or pizza base. The other day I had to make four pizzas so put the breadmaker on for one batch of dough while I mixed and kneaded a second batch by hand keeping up with the machine. Boy, was that hard work!

[@canusantonius]

Such a great video as always, learning some historical culture while a deep roar rages in my stomach is the Townsends blessing.

[@74stevedc]

Think this may be your biggest video with the most views, something so simple like scrambled eggs bread is the staple of Life, hooray to the Baker.

[@mikegallant811]

Yes Steve and you could tell even Jesus knew how important bread is if he put in the Lord's prayer"give us this day our daily bread"

[@deedoyle4069]

My family has a bakery in Boppard am Rhein in Germany. 'Bless all Bakers!

[@jeromethiel4323]

There's a reason that B&M canned brown bread is in my pantry. Keeps for a long time, is nutritious, and can be either bread, desert, thickener, whatever. Eat it hot or cold. Excellent modern survival food, and it's cheap! I buy this stuff by the case. I recommend it to anybody who hasn't tried it yet. It's dense, filling, and molassasy (is that even a word?) Not to mention you can get it with RAISINS in it! Yum yum!

[@sallymoen7932]

I would love to see this channel do a molasses brown bread video.

[@thejohnbeck]

No raisins! Lol. If they had blueberries, I'd be a huge fan Never heard of this before. Thanks!

[@irohito622]

​@@sallymoen7932 My guy, there is. Video title is Great Molasses Flood by Tasting History with Max Miller (Max Miller for short). Would 100% recommend the channel if you're into culinary history.

[@markeustace199]

There's a really old 2 plus centuries old bakers building in my home town and over the door it has the proverb " Bread is the staff of life"

[@Dr_Bombay]

as an amateur bread baker, i appreciate knowing more about this history of bakers.

[@etainvelorum5814]

Can concurr. Even though we're way past these times, if I don't have bread baked often, there will be civil unrest in my own home.

[@littlekong7685]

I think white bread was the most prized for 2 major reasons: 1) You could see what was in it, no surprise hard seeds or husks to catch a tooth on and the whiteness belied a certain purity of ingredients that the mixed loaves just couldn't compete with aesthetically. 2) Nothing to interfere with the much more expensive spreads you were using with the bread. Bran can be quite a strong flavour which might interfere with a delicate butter, or honey, or jam or meat spread you are showing off to your guests with. If you are going to use an inferior (Flavourful) bread, might as well not have any at all and just eat the spreads from the jar (Like a barbarian).

[@xena91388]

Actually no. White bread was prized because it was more tender than cheaper coarse bread which made it easier to chew and digest. The flour for white bread required much more work to process since the flour had to be sifted by hand through multiple sieves to separate the bran and such from the fine starches, which is what made it expensive and thus a luxury people desired.

[@boringbastard4920]

@@xena91388 i do too think the difference would be in the softness. The products used to make bread rise was expensive. So for poor people, rock hard bread

[@BronzeTheSling]

@@xena91388 Why can't both be true? Also just the simple pleasure of the unique flavors that can come out of a well-made white bread. If you have ever been to France or Italy you'll know what I mean. That stuff is so good you could just devour it with no toppings. While I usually prefer the heady nuttiness of whole wheat I have to say you can't always taste the delicate differences in technique. Also just the fact that it's fun to eat something light and fluffy. While white bread is easier to chew and swallow, I don't know that I'd agree it's easier to digest. The higher gluten content, unmixed with fibers that help you digest the gluten better, is an irritant to some. Also, it goes through your system more slowly, which is not ideal for older folk who already tend to struggle with slower metabolism. Finally, the nature of whole grain makes for a much more nutritious and straightforward food which is natural for our bodies to digest. While it does provide a small amount of nutrition, our bodies were not made to live off of white bread.

[@rolux4853]

I am from Germany and my father in law has his own bakery and the family owned it since six generations. It is dying. He is the last one upholding the tradition and in a few years he will shut the bakery forever. The people are buying their cheap bread in the supermarkets. It’s a unbelievable shame that this tradition dies out. They make everything from hand, no industrial products, the sourdough is still traditionally leavened etc. They also make amazing cakes that are unbelievably delicious! The problem is that they have their bakery in a small mountain town in the Harz Mountains of Germany called Bad Grund. It’s a beautiful town full of history and beautiful nature! Unfortunately the few old people who live there who value the bread are dying out and most of the young just buy cheap toast and supermarket „bread“ from cheap mass bakeries from Eastern Europe without any nutritional value.. It really breaks my heart to see this, bread is wo important to me and the German heritage of the baker with its thousands variants is being destroyed by ruthless companies and lazy people who by their „bread“ in supermarkets. Most of the younger don’t even know the taste of real bread anymore, only the stale and tasteless stuff from the supermarkets, that has no real sourdough in it. I wish this tradition could be saved, Germany is losing its most valuable national heritage due to the laziness and „I don’t care about the quality of my food“ attitude of the masses. German Bread is even more important than German beer! How can people just let it die like this? To me it’s one of the worst losses of our society to see all those small bakeries that make everything by hand getting closed. The worst of it, is that it’s the peoples fault, the bakers can’t do anything about it. They already give everything they can! Their blood, sweat and tears go into our bread! Real sourdough bakers sacrifice the sleep of their night and the time with their families to feed people with the best quality bread. Nobody thanks them anymore, just looks at them funny when they tell about their job and how it prides them, it’s a unbelievable shame! He is a master baker and he is also in the bakers guild and sitting in the committee that watches over the degrees of apprentice bakers. He is guiding them to their degree, helping them to become a master baker themselves. This guild was their for many hundreds of years, I think even a thousand years! It was found in the darkest of medieval times with an oath to feed the people with high quality bread that has standard healthy ingredients, a standard weight and a standard price. He told me that they have so few new apprentices that he don’t knows how long this regional arms of the guild can be uphold, before it just becomes a curiosity of history. Every baker has to be in it to own and operate a bakery but huge corporations don’t. They can just sell their cheap stuff that they call bread to everyone without honoring this ages old tradition, because corporations don’t need to follow the law like everyone else.. I’m starting to ramble, but this is a topic very dear to my heart and it pains me so much to this tradition, the most important tradition of Germany die due to greed and laziness! Every German who contributes to this should hang their head in shame.

[@kalkhalinzhui1753]

I know it has been over a year since you posted this, but as a man from the Far East, your comment made me tear up a little. Fresh bread is something different. I once had an Irish soda bread, which I used to wipe the sauce from the chicken fricassee off my plate before eating it. Very delicious! No staple food should be reduced to such dullness.

[@rolux4853]

@ Thank you for your comment, it is nice to know now that someone took the time to read it. May I ask where from where you come in the Far East? I am very fortunate and had a job that let me travel quite a bit and for a few years I lived in Asia, mostly China and South Korea. I loved the history, culture and the food of those places. It was amazing to taste and learn about the traditional foods of a foreign nation I hadn’t much contact to before. Through a countries food you can learn so much about its history, that’s what I especially love.

[@kalkhalinzhui1753]

Sorry for the late reply. Notifications don't work well for some reason. I am from the Philippines. Here, the staple bread is known as pandesal which, despite it's Spanish meaning, is slightly sweet instead of salty. Filipinos often turn it into a sandwich by using filling of any kind (such as sardines, cheese, or peanut butter). Goes great with coffee too! Honestly, most of our popular local breads would probably qualify as dessert in Europe.

[@veesimmons2464]

Loved it! I appreciate your work so much. And the bread...ah!

[@danb366]

I love that this channel brings out that the everyday, steady workman is one of the most needed pillars of society. Thank you.

[@dianebondhus9355]

I've been making round loaves of bread lately. They look so pretty and taste much better than store bought bread. 😋 🥖

[@davidpowell5437]

From the UK. During the 19th Century bread, ie. physical loaves, were a feature of poor relief. And in the mill towns of Northern England it was commonplace for housewives to drop off a covered bowl of whatever meat and veg the family could afford at the local bakers on their way to the mill. Their working day was so long that they couldn't cook for themselves - the baker would cook them in his cooling oven after the days last batch of bread. It would be collected on the way home, divvied up and then to bed. Thus was Lancashire Hotpot born. Bread - aka "The Staff of Life"... and that was a promising looking sample in your thumbnail! Really fancied a slice...

[@natmorse-noland9133]

How timely - I just baked some bread the other day and traded a loaf to a friend in exchange for some beer he brewed. 😀

[@AdamBechtol]

nice

[@amkon7522]

This channel is what the internet was supposed to be.

[@FarmhouseWorthy]

I’ve been making bread for many years, it is a skill set which is important. I made a loaf today, the house smelled amazing. Learn a skill, bake some bread, learn how & thrive.

[@Cooil1]

Thank you for covering this, and thank you for keeping me fed.

[@karenblohm3279]

Homemade bread is the best. Smells wonderful.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

Well said.

[@patienthands]

Great episode!

[@TheGypsyVanners]

This is the kind of thing we don’t find in other places!

[@mkbijnaam8713]

I live in The Netherlands , and Sadly in the big cities most of the old bakers are gone . I live in Delft which is a super historic city and sadly even here . But when i go to Turkey to where my parents are from i see these bakers who can be a few 100 years old and you can really see how that neighbourhood is dependant on it . They even still bake food in it like how you told it you can just bring your cake they will bake it . Or as some of you might know all kinds of Borek types and Kebabs . long live the bakers!

[@rosswebster7877]

"Give us this day our daily bread" that simple line in St. Matthew pretty much speaks to the importance of bread in Near Eastern/Western Civilization. This is a great ode to baking and its role in society even up to the present day.

[@ToEuropa]

My kitchen is my Zen, and I like nothing better than baking bread. There's something calming and centering about it, and it's satisfying in that you're making something essential and wonderful with your own hands. When I was a kid, my mother and grandmother would bake bread together and cover the kitchen table with loaves of white egg bread and brown oatmeal-molasses bread, as well as rolls made from the same recipes. My great grandmother - who knew hard times in her life - would marvel at all the bread and talk about how much it would cost if we had bought it at a store. I'll never forget the taste of that warm bread with melting butter. In fact, I can't forget it because I still bake those breads today.

[@TotalWarMaster223]

First!!! Love the Townsends KZbin channel!! Much Love from Texas.

[@TheGypsyVanners]

So did you watch it before the comment? Lol! 😂

[@bobsiddoway]

Amazing video, per usual! 🔥🙌

[@crtmojo2705]

I love this kind of information. Bread as a social status, bread in a community structure. Great presentation of history.

[@TheSonicFairy]

I love bread so much, I'm getting more and more interested in baking. It's a very difficult task, but the results are all worth it.

[@williambrouwers5664]

This video has got me thinking, I wonder how blacksmiths and bakers would compare? Is there a hierarchy of who the most important person in town is? I remember hearing that the blacksmith was a highly valued person in a town, but it sounds like a baker would be more valuable? Without food to eat, people don't need the services a blacksmith provides, but without a blacksmith, the baker cannot provide his or her services. Very, very interesting! Thank you for sharing this!

[@beth8775]

How is the blacksmith necessary for baking bread? Loaf pans are not really necessary. Both are certainly important, as are the farmer and the miller. Well, I guess the farmer is going to have a tough time without the blacksmith, so by extension the baker too.

[@jalpat2272]

They are parts of bigger cycle of pre industries civilization, before our brutes of industrial technology replacing most jobs needed to keep a city or humble village function.

[@angbeebee1]

Thanks!

[@townsends]

Thank you for your support!

[@Commonmomhomeschooler]

Bread is life. I grind my own fresh wheat for my family and make the healthiest bread possible. Nothing compares!

[@irisdraws4749]

I have been enjoying your channel for years now, even my children are becoming interested in our American history and requesting to watch your videos! Love your content and keep it up! P.S. I can't wait to see an update on the smokehouse!!

[@Dino40707]

I honestly have to disagree, I don't want to talk down on bakers because they are among the most important people. However without a farmer the baker wouldn't have anything to bake his bread with.

[@skvader4187]

Farmers are THE foundation on society

[@gubgub3275]

Good point

[@travisstreeter5092]

I come back to rewatch things that make me feel good...your video is so special.