Breaking Bread: How Baking Shaped Our World

by David Wright

"An amazing book." – Dan Lepard

"The rich and fascinating story of bread." – Lily Vanilli

"A brilliant, timely and important book full of compassion." – Olia Hercules

"A fascinating exploration of our universal love of bread. David traces the past, present, and future of bread through his personal lens as a third generation baker." – Edd Kimber

Discover the story behind the world’s most essential food in Breaking Bread.

Third generation baker, food writer, and presenter David Wright examines the universal questions about bread and baking. Is bread good or bad? And what does its future hold?

Bread is more than a staple; it is a mirror of our story, our health, our very being. Every civilization has a form of bread, and how we create, make and bake it, how we sell it and buy it, our food security, our access to it, affects everything.

Breaking Bread provides a unique look into these themes,

The craft and science behind creating, making, and baking bread. Bread’s journey through history, from ancient rituals to modern revolutions. The health why bread divides opinion and what science reveals. Industrial vs artisan baking: economics, ethics, and the fight for quality. The politics and power of bread in shaping societies and conflicts. How bread connects to religion, identity, and cultural traditions. Expert insights from leading bakers, food writers, farmers, and campaigners. A vision for the can bread survive and thrive in a changing world?
Featuring interviews with Olia Hercules, Dan Lepard, Felicity Spector, Brad Leone, and many more, as well as with pioneers of regenerative farming, Breaking Bread is both a heartfelt memoir and a thought-provoking manifesto. Wright’s journey—from the closure of his family bakery to rediscovering the soul of bread—invites you to rethink what’s on you plate.

For food lovers, home bakers, and anyone curious about the story behind their daily loaf, this book offers a passionate call to protect one of humanity’s oldest and most vital foods.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cookbooks

Audible Audio

Published March 18, 2025

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is centered around the disconnect between actual proper bread made in bakeries or at home, and the soft squishy slices of pre-packaged "bread" that is sold in supermarkets. The author is a third generation baker, and his experiences are woven throughout the book. His struggles to attempt to retain/introduce quality standards into the product while managing a failing business with surly unmotivated employees and unappreciative customers is relatable, but the fact that he failed and was forced to close the 75-year old family business makes this an elegy more than a how-to guide. A lot of the history and the cultural attitudes are also uniquely British, which is hardly a place renowned for its appreciation of high quality foods. Of course there are many parallels to the American food industry, with its reliance on mass produced factory processed "food" and the various efforts to move away from these culinary atrocities. A comparison to France or Germany would probably be more relevant to his experiences, but despite presenting an overview of the historical trends of bread in the 20th century, there isn't a lot of actual data, just anecdotes.

Wright is honest about the challenge of selling a small batch of "artisan" loaves for $10 each from an independent bakery when the supermarket next door sells a loaf of "bread" that looks similar and fulfills the same purpose for a tenth the price. He discusses various potential solutions, but as with his failed business, ultimately people need to feel like the extra cost is worth it. So ultimately, the book is a marketing manifesto urging people to value their bread more highly, and be willing to part with more of their dough [pun intended] to obtain it.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an unexpected delight! Bread is one of those everyday items that we don't think much about, but if we dig beneath the crust, we'll find a rich inner core.

Wright takes on a winding journey through his own personal and familial history in the bread world, as well as the larger chronicle of bread, both modern and legacy, within and outside of the West.

The author wrights with ease and passion. This is truly an enjoyable read. And I rarely eat bread. I had no idea what goes into bread, what certain nations require in the materials used, how the industry has shifted through industrial revolutions and economic pressures and, most recently, the turmoil caused by the invasion of Ukraine (and perhaps one more reason for Russia's attack: the gorgeous soil that Ukraine is known for). Even the word "artisan" is debunked.

I appreciated the author's honesty, sharing the brutal truth of his career, the racism and misogyny in the baking world, the narrow-mindedness and vicious competition, and ultimately bringing in less-voiced perspectives through a series of interviews.

At the same time, this was a bit all over the place. The chapters are rather loose. Inevitably there is repetition. Moreover, there's a lot we have to take on Wright's word.

I'll end on a sentiment that feels baked into humanity's core: "There must be something inside us that wants to atomise and then reconstruct everything."

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Aurum for the advance copy.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Edelweiss and Aurum Books for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a delightful read, even though it wasn’t what I was expecting. Wright weaves the history of bread making in different cultures and around the world through time, all while wrapping his own journey with breadmaking into the fold. It was really interesting as I am currently interested in breadmaking in general.

Chapters include:
1 Why Bread? – Creating, making, baking
2: The Wheel of Life – A loaf’s cycle
3: Frankenloaf – Science and the perfect loaf
4: Sicker by the Slice – A marriage not made in heaven
5: Big Bread – Industrial vs artisan bakeries
6: The Breadline – The economics of crust
7: Flour Power – The politics of bread – very interesting given the current climate
8: Bloody Bread – The costs of conquest
9: Our Daily Bread – What the gods want
10: Breaking bread – A once ropey baker looks to the future

Every culture has some sort of bread, and everyone has a story about the bread. How making it is a sign of love, how it nourishes people, how it is vital to certain communities in a financial sense. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in finding out more about your food.

[I Read, Therefore I Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Wright is a baker, writer and presenter. This thought-provoking book examines bread and its role in society and the economy, its impact on health and the environment and industry challenges (which is particularly strong and draws on Wright’s own experiences with his family bakery). I wanted more on how gluten intolerance decreases when “proper” bread is eaten and Wright constantly repeats his credentials but it definitely held my interest.

[Em M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bread is an economic chess piece in the victories of warfare.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breaking Bread reads like a love letter and also an exorcism of the author's experience in his family bakery simultaneously (and I mean that so positively). The collection of contributors he features and their personal histories with bread were beautiful. Reading such a varied representation of people and their connections to the industry reinforced my feeling of pride of being a baker. It made me feel very joyful, and reminded me that we as bakers are contributing to a much wider food and emotional landscape, standing shoulder to shoulder in our mission to ultimately bring joy and to unite all of us. This book feels like a beacon of hope, a rallying cry and a manifesto for change.