Bakeries

Bread bakeries heralded the dawn of civilization. Often government-run or regulated because of the importance of a reliable supply of this staple food, bakeries flourished in Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Greco-Roman world, and throughout medieval and early modern Europe. Indeed, wherever villages grew to a critical mass, bakers made and sold fresh, perishable bread. Within a generation of establishing successful colonies in America, commercial bakeries opened in Plymouth, Massachusetts (no later than 1640), New Amsterdam (by 1645), and New Haven, Connecticut (by 1650). However, most baking in America was done at home until the mid-twentieth century, when the balance shifted to favor store-bought products.