🍞 Who were the world's first bakers?
Tracing grain processing and early bread-making in human history
📌 Fast Facts
- Grain processing: at least 23,000 years ago
- Earliest baked goods: around 14,500 years ago in Fertile Crescent
- Indigenous Australian grain processing: thousands of years before European contact
- Global development: independent innovation across multiple continents
The origins of baking extend deeper into human prehistory than the invention of bread itself. Archaeological evidence demonstrates that humans began grinding and processing grains into flour at least 23,000 years ago, with multiple civilisations independently developing baking techniques suited to their local environments and available flora. Indigenous Australians developed sophisticated grain-processing methods that rank among the world's most enduring baking traditions. As of 2026 ...