Did You Know – Banned Bread
Discover the unique history of sliced bread in the U.S., from its commercial debut in 1928 to its brief World War II ban and public backlash.
Did you know the U.S. once banned sliced bread? Sliced bread was first sold commercially in 1928 and quickly grew into a culinary sensation, until its rise came to an abrupt halt when it was briefly banned 15 years later.
On Jan 18, 1943, amid World War II, US secretary of Agriculture Claude R. Wickard announced a ban on selling sliced bread in an effort to conserve wartime resources. The government hoped this ban would preserve the country’s supply of alloyed steel that was used in making the slicing machines and waxed paper that was used to both wrap sliced bread and protect military equipment from the elements. It was common practice to ask Americans back home to ration goods in the name of the war effort, but the ban on sliced bread was met with furious and immediate backlash.
U.S. housewives in particular were dismayed over the ban. One woman named Sue Forrester wrote to the New York Times, “I should like to let you know how important sliced bread is to the morale and saneness of a household.” While hotels and restaurants were given a 60 day grace period to prepare, bakeries weren’t so lucky and saw sales decline up to 10% while facing sizable fines for defying the ban.
Given the ration’s widespread unpopularity, many government bureaucrats played dumb and refused to admit being involved, pointing fingers at others instead. Wickard finally rescinded the ban on sliced bread on March 8, 1943, claiming “The savings are not as much as we expected,” while conveniently neglecting to acknowledge any public outcry.
Sorce: U.S. History
Image: WP AI
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Categories: Bread, Did You Know
I would ban sliced bread as we have it – it goes soft and soggy wrapped in plastic. A fascinating story
When I recently made my first sourdough bread, they said to only slice it when you are ready to eat. They said lay the cut side down on a cutting board or counter and wrap a dish towel around it. They weren’t kidding, it stayed fresh for days. Thank you Derrick!
Thank you so much Ned!
wow, new to me
It was me too Beth.
I never knew this, Diane! Thanks for enlightening me!
You’re welcome Betty!
Banned bread!!!
Right, they must have had a screw loose!
What an interesting story, Diane! When we buy unsliced bread, Berto always has to slice it (he is left-handed), because if I slice it, we end up with a very wide piece at the top and a very thin one at the bottom. I will quote Sue Forrester’s words if such a ban ever comes to our country!!
I slice about the same as you Corna. A few years back I had a bread machine and I could never cut the bread right. I bought a gadget that you put over the bread and it had places to slice, even slices!
I had no idea.
Luckily it didn’t last long!
Who would have thought? Yay to those who stood up for this one little convenience for hard working women. I just wish they had encouraged a healthier sliced bread than the white bread with no nutrients. Thanks for sharing that story including all the finger pointing which it seems goes back as far as Adam and Eve.
Well said Linda!
Thanks for sharing another government absurdity!
You’re welcome and I hope you are doing better!
History is so fascinating, Diane. I did not about this temporary ban on sliced bread!
It sounds like the people threw a huge stink about it. I would have been right out front protesting! Lol
I love your food history and education posts! Wow sliced bread was once banned – that is wild!
Thank you Tierney!
I had no idea that sliced bread had been banned. That’s funny. I can understand the outcry, but funny enough, most of the bread I buy is not sliced.
I can’t fathom putting a ban on to stop making slicers. I mean, seriously, how many slicers are sold every day. I would find a way to make bread without them knowing! Lol
That seems very illogical to me Diane. I don’t even think I have a breadboard anymore – I only buy sliced bread and my mom didn’t bake bread, but we occasionally bought a fresh baguette or boule, it seems we would have uneven pieces and lose some of the bread where the bread slicer was more precise. Years ago we always bought our bread at a little bakery – we only had white bread then, but it was so fresh and they sliced it in front of you. I don’t even know of any bakeries around here anymore that do that.
From age 14-19 I worked at a small family owned bakery. My job was machine slicing the bread, slicing buns and icing all the donuts. That was in addition to waiting on customers, it was a great first job and I loved the perks. Lol Slicing bread evenly is difficult. Years ago I made bread in a bread machine, within 6 months the bread always stuck. We just threw it out when we cleaned out the basement. What’s funny is no matter how it’s sliced it turns out delicious!
You had to slice it by hand Diane? I can remember this bakery, if you wanted it sliced, they ran it through a machine very quickly. I am not good at slicing … so occasionally I’ve bought a small baguette and I just tear it apart and eat it like that with butter and peanut butter. I don’t stand on formality and it gives the jaws a workout. 🙂 My neighbor Marge got a bread machine from one of their kids, the son I think whose hobby was gourmet cooking (his garage was where he kept all his pots, pants, fancy culinary machines). When her husband retired, they made a loaf of bread daily, until they couldn’t button their pants anymore and she offered it to us. 🙂
WOW! A loaf a day for what, two people? I start my next sourdough in a few hours. I am going to try English muffins. They have a total rise time of about 13 hours so I have to make the dough at 11:30pm so I don’t have to rush in the morning. Can’t wait to see if they turn out.
How did the English muffins turn out Diane? (I lost my power yesterday from 4:00 to 11:00 p.m. as an animal chewed on a circuit, then the backup circuit couldn’t work because of all the strain on the grid and no power – yes, lucky for me having the generator – but then I lost my internet as well for three or four hours too. Hope you did okay with the storms yesterday. We never got the storms as they fizzed out, just the other stuff and we’ve had animals chewing the wires before – maybe they could put the equipment in a cage?)
I spent yesterday and today making them, never again! I’m not a huge lover of English Muffins (give me a bagel with cream cheese) and these were too time consuming but they were easy. I always add jelly to them so they tasted good too. Because of the 12-14 hour rise I stayed up and finished the first day rise at 2:30 am so that everything else would fall into a good time frame. I still need to try the bagel recipe from Michaels!
You were so smart when you bought that generator Linda! Darn critters need you to feed them more or they will eat some more of the power lines feeding your house! 🤣😂🤣
I like English Muffins, but considered them too much work (you’re laughing) for such a small amount of bread/toast. By the time you pry them apart and sometimes lose some of them doing that, then how many times they get caught in the toaster and you worry about a fire, so I quit buying them – bagels are easier and don’t get caught in the toaster! 🙂 You are industrious! I haven’t looked at Michael’s website in a while … I guess since I’ve been doing the Julia classes and she has a ton of free videos on YouTube. I have had AT&T techs out to the house several times (three I think) all when I was still working – my phone blinked like it was in use and the window said “in use” but it was not (Robb did not understand so I took a photo and sent it to him – sigh). The squirrels chew the outside sheath of telephone wire that is strung between the poles (not the one to the house, but the poles under the electrical line and had to be replaced. The tech was funny and said “those darn squirrels eating the wire coating give me job security!!”
I agree with you about English Muffins Linda. I’m not sure if I will post them. That’s wonderful you are getting free classes, take advantage while you can. Darn squirrels but he does have job security!
I’m sorry I’m so late replying here and everywhere Diane. I think my internet is finally back 100%. I shut down here last night as it kept going out and I’d type a comment and halfway thru it disappeared. I did errands, my allergy shots and went grocery shopping today – it was horribly hot. Came home, cooled down and plopped down and no internet again. So I called them and they did an over-the-air modem check and restarted it. I was going to go pull the plug on it and restart the power, but I always worry, something will go wrong and if they have to replace the modem, the generator is no longer attached to it as they make you change your password with a new modem and the generator won’t get software updates. This was easier. We used to get the Thomas English Muffins as they seemed to hold together better, but I worry about fire too much, so stopped.
Thank God you finally have your internet working again! I agree, Thomas English Muffins are the best.
Yes, I am happy … everything works now, except I’m behind bigtime. I’m going to try and get out tomorrow to Heritage Park. They said it would be cooler than today which was hot (real feel of 93) but now they say maybe an afternoon storm. I can make it there and back and walk around in two hours, but I’ll see how it looks. The only other day to get out is Friday as the weekend is not only hot, but stormy too. The weatherman said we are having not weather like this all Summer, especially August (no surprise there as August is always hotter, but he acted like August would be worse than June was. Thomas English Muffins are the crispiest. On another note, I was surprised to hear that Del Monte filed for bankruptcy today as they said people buy store brands now, more than their brand. They may try to reorganize but they’ve been in business since 1886!
That is one of my favorite brands! Say it’s not so!!!! The only reason people are buying store brands is because the stores got rid of so many name brand products, more money for the stores and less quality for us! My 4th of July picnic is Saturday and they are calling for 92º and humid. My dad cancelled, my mom and son want to eat inside. It’s a picnic people and I manicured the yard and scrubbed the cabana and chairs. My house is too small for everyone. I told them I am eating at the cabana, they can eat wherever they want. This is why I don’t have picnics here.
Mine favorite brand too! I have been going to mention that to you about Meijer – it is impossible to buy a lot of things now as they have shoved the Meijer brand down our throats. And if they carry regular brands, they are in small quantities and not displayed prominently. You know I was thinking about you and the picnic due to the heat advisory, but also due to the air quality alert if you have one there too. We have an air quality alert today and tomorrow, not just for wildfire smoke, but because of all the people setting off fireworks (both in the ‘hood and professional displays at parks, etc.)! Well you put too much work into this event for them to want to go inside. Stick to your guns Diane – you’re right. It’s a picnic. How about in the garage? It’s still outside but that’s hot and humid. After Marge’s son had the stroke and was paralyzed from the waist down, she had all family get togethers in the garage – Christmas and Thanksgiving they went to his house. He couldn’t get into her house, so that worked as it was a 1 1/2 car garage and she never parked there anyway. I don’t blame you for being angry after all the preparations.
Everything is spotless, inside and out, now just to make the food. I’m exhausted and didn’t do anything but bake the potatoes today, I needed a break. At this point as long as they show up I will be happy. It is so much cooler in the cabana than the garage would be, 90º and humid. 🥴
You have done a lot of work to get this party done – I hope everyone appreciates your efforts!
Thank you Linda, they seemed to enjoy it.
That’s good Diane – your hard work was rewarded with their enjoyment.
That was interesting….but I can’t quite picture the waxed paper wrap?
They didn’t have ziploc or plastic type bags back then. Goggle says it was invented in the mid 1950’s. I can’t remember the bread kind but I remember a waxed wrapper and the ends were folded in. If you google loaves of bread wrapped in waxed paper it will give you more information with pictures.
I googled Diane but I don’t remember those at all? My mom always bought Wonder bread. I know the bakery at the deli always puts the bread in paper on the same day it is baked, and it gets hard quickly so I asked them why don’t they put it in plastic so it doesn’t get so hard, and they said it was directions from head office as it makes it look better! I do remember taking a sandwich to school in folded wax paper though.
I bet the reason they used paper bags is because it was easier and cheaper.
wow – this is crazy news and people at the time must have been really outraged – but then again, during war time who knows how much worry and fear filtered the choices.
BUt I never would have guess sliced bread was banned!
I agree! I thought how strange they said bread slicers were banned. I mean, how many people are adding new bread slicers. Once you bought one they must have had them for years.
I know… hmmmm
PS, this post reminded me of the subway stores in ireland not being allowed to call their rolls bread because they had too much sugar and should be called cake…
“In Ireland, the Irish Supreme Court ruled that Subway’s bread has too much sugar to be classified as bread under the country’s Value Added Tax (VAT) regulations, and thus it is subject to taxation as a confectionery item”
OMG What a crazy thing they did. People do anything to collect taxes. Thank for sharing that, very interesting.
and it makes me sad that they sugar up the bread so much
I agree!
Thanks for sharing this history tidbit. I had never heard of this and it was an interesting read
I thought so too! You’re welcome.
I did not know this! I’ll have to ask my WWII history buff hubby if he knows.
Awesome let me know what he said if you have time.
He was unaware of this bit of trivia.
Thanks for letting me know.