Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Bread
(927 words)

Bread was by far the most important foodstuff in early modern Europe. In the German-speaking countries, it accounted for approximately 50-75 % of calorie consumption in the overall diet during the 16th-18th centuries. Its importance increased from the 16th century, for the following reasons: falling meat consumption, expansion of grain cultivation, population growth, and increasing use of bread instead of porridge dishes and soups. Up to 50% of living expenditure had to be spent on bread, though there was wild cyclical fluctuation in its price. Bread p…

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Hirschfelder, Gunther, “Bread”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_017798>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160907



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