The National Loaf was a bread made from wholemeal flour with added calcium and vitamins, introduced in Britain during the Second World War by the Federation of Bakers (FOB).[1] Introduced in 1942, the loaf (similar to today's brown bread) was made from wholemeal flour to combat wartime shortages of white flour and sugar. The loaf was abolished in October 1956.[2]
Working with the government, the FOB published four recipes for wholemeal bread, which became the only recipes that could legally be used to make bread in the U.K. The National Loaf was grey, mushy and unappetising; only one person in seven preferred it to white bread, which became unavailable. The government insisted on it because it saved space in shipping food to Britain[3] and allowed better utilization of existing stocks of wheat.[4]
Eleanor Roosevelt, the American First Lady, visiting Buckingham Palace in 1942, noted that "We were served on gold and silver plates, but our bread was the same kind of war bread every other family had to eat."[5]
YouTube Encyclopedic
-
1/3Views:26 33228 29337 171
-
British Ration Week Episode 4: The National Loaf
-
British Ration Week Episode 5: Woolton Pie
-
British Ration Week Episode 1: Introduction
Transcription
See also
- Rationing in the United Kingdom
- Woolton pie
- Koa kenkoku pan
References
- ^ "The 1940s House: The Kitchen". Discovery Communications, Inc. 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
- ^ "The 20th Century". Federation of Bakers. 2007. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
- Derek J. Oddy (2003). From plain fare to fusion food: British diet from the 1890s to the 1990s. Boydell Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-85115-934-8. Retrieved 15 March 2012. - ^ Richard W. Lacey (1994). Hard to Swallow: A Brief History of Food. Cambridge University Press. pp. 108–9. ISBN 9780521440011.
- Angus Calder, The people's war: Britain 1939-45 (1969) pp 276-77 - ^ "Unconventional Ingredients". The Great British Bake Off. Season 4. Episode 8. 8 October 2013. BBC Two.
- ^ Edna Healey (2012). The Queen's House: A Social History of Buckingham Palace. Pegasus Books. p. 275. ISBN 9781453265277.
Further reading
- Braine, Theresa (12 April 2020). "British bakers have reintroduced World War II bread in fight against coronavirus". New York Daily News. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
This page was last edited on 14 April 2024, at 02:52