The established archaeological doctrine states that humans first began baking bread about 10,000 years ago. Despite the age of bread and the existence of many kinds of related products in the market, any machine for slicing bread did not exist until a century ago.
Sliced bread made it easy for people to eat bread, as they didn't have to spend time slicing it themselves. Also, the machine gave them thin and uniform slices that were easier to work with.
Around 1928, the first machine for slicing and packing bread was invented by Otto Frederick Rohwedder. In this article, we will become more familiar with this important historical invention and its difficult commercialization path.
Bread is one of the oldest food products in the world. The established archaeological doctrine states that humans first began baking bread about 10,000 years ago. To know about the variety of bread, it is enough to look at the food culture of different countries and regions of the world. Interestingly, there is also a substantial variety of bread including Sangak, Lavash, Barbari, and also industrial products in the market. By hearing these names, you probably remember delicious foods such as bread, cheese, vegetables, broth, and other traditional Iranian dishes, which, thanks to a slice of fresh and toasted bread, bring ultimate and permanent pleasure to human beings.
Despite the antiquity of bread and the presence of all kinds of related products in the market, sliced bread did not exist until a century ago. In other words, the history of machines for slicing bread, which is widely eaten by people today, especially in Western countries, is less than a century old. It should be emphasized that the meaning of sliced bread is loaves of bread that have been cut by automatic machines and have exactly the same dimensions. Before 1928 when the invention for slicing bread was introduced by Otto Frederick Rohwedder, people had to do it (slicing bread) manually.
Regardless of the method of baking bread, the consumer had to cut it every time he wanted to eat it. Apparently, the asymmetrical and large slices can’t be used easily. Making a few sandwiches, for example, meant making unwanted size, which took a long time to make and resulted in a lop-sized portion of the bread which has made by dissipation
The solution came from an optimistic inventor in Iowa, USA. Otto Rohuder became interested in the subject in 1912 and began working on a simple and uniform bread slicer. The primary Prototypes of his innovative machine named the "Rohwedder Bread Slicer". But they were unpopular and, of course, ridiculed by bakers. They believed that sliced bread would quickly stagnate, and so they considered the idea as impractical idea However, Rohuder was convinced that this invention could bring more comfort and convenience to consumers, and therefore did not pay attention to what bakers were saying.
Rohweder, who initially focused only on how the bread could be cut by the machine, for the next step prioritized the freshness of the sliced bread. To solve this challenge, he added a feature to his innovative machine that after cutting bread, he could wrap it in a piece of waxed paper. However, this packaged loaf of bread also could not convince the bakers. They stick to the traditional form of the product and refused to accept any new innovations in this field. This is a problem that has been observed in many small and large human inventions, and in some cases, despite the extraordinary function of the invention, it has led to mass rejection and, consequently, the devastating failure of commercialization of the product.
In addition to the technical hurdles ahead, the Rohuder seemed to have a difficult path to satisfy the market demand. But this hard-working and motivated inventor, as he did not hopeless over his years of trying to build an efficient device, could not stop him from trying. A fire in 1917 destroyed the prototype and all its related plans, but Rohuder was determined to keep going and was not afraid of anything and therefore he tried other ways to satisfy the market. To try. He was sure that if his invention was used, it would be welcomed by the public. So he looked for someone who was willing to use it. He eventually found Frank Bench in Missouri. Bench, who managed the Chillicothe Baking Company, was a good choice for applying the bread slicer machine. He welcomed the idea, and finally, the first loaf of bread, on July 7, 1928, hit store shelves. The result was extraordinary, Frank Bench sales increased rapidly.
Just in time for the product presentation in July 1928, Rohuder wrote and published a fascinated report in the Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, noting that although some people may find the new sliced bread strange, a housewife will enjoy it when they observing the same dimensions and perfectly uniform slices of bread. "Certainly someone who has sliced bread with a knife and with many difficulties, understands well what the bread slice brings to and will be immediately welcomed," he added. In this article, it was emphasized that after careful and comprehensive research, the appropriate thickness of each piece of bread was determined to be less than half an inch.
Another change that helped to commercialize Otto Rohuder's invention more rapidly was the change in people's tastes and the tendency to use factory bread products. These products were softer than home-baked samples or small, local bakery products, and therefore more popular with consumers attracted to this new machine. This created a great opportunity for the Rohudar bread slicer, as it was very difficult to cut these soft, modern loaves of bread evenly and regularly
In a short time, sliced and packaged bread spread to all American cities, and even the famous brand called "Wonder Bread" began to produce and supply this product on a large scale. Nearly ninety years have passed since then, and perhaps no one in the present century would have imagined a breakfast without sliced bread.
It should be noted that Otto Rohuder was aware of the importance of protecting his idea and therefore filed his application on November 26, 1928 (approximately at the same time as the successful manufacture and initial public offering of the device). The result was a patent certificate, US 1867377, dated July 12, 1932. Interestingly, this inventor was not satisfied with only this patent and by adding the subsequent innovations in his innovative device, he also filed other patents. The set of Rohuder patents, which includes ideas filed during initial research and development (before 1928) as well as subsequent innovations, is as follows:
«US 1867378»; «US 1740038»; «US 1591357» «US 1724368» «US 1759592»
«US 1935996» «US 2034250» «US 2061315»
