“This is the best thing since sliced bread!” How often have we all heard that one? But, the real question is, how long has sliced bread actually been around? Sliced bread was invented by Otto Rohwedder in the late 1920s, with the official patent being filed in 1932. Rohwedder, an inventor in Iowa, created a machine that sliced loaves of bread into individual pieces. At first, bakers did not like the idea. They worried that the bread would become stale too quickly or that the pieces of bread would fall apart in slices. The slices were first held together with pins, in order to ease the worry of those who said the bread would go stale. Once Rodwedder realized what a nuisance the pins were, he began wrapping the sliced loaves in wax paper right after slicing.
Rodwedder had meant for this innovation to be a commercial product, but local bakers still had trouble believing that anyone would care about pre-sliced bread. One company in Chillicothe, Missouri took a chance on the slicing machine. Chillicothe Baking Company sold their own sliced bread, known as “Kleen Maid Sliced Bread”. A local newspaper ran a front-page story about the new brand, comparing sliced bread to coffee grounds and pre-sliced bacon. It praised pre-sliced bread as being a time saver. An ad in the newspaper also detailed how to wrap and save the bread for maximum freshness. The success of the bread caught everyone by surprise. Just two years after Chillicothe debuted their brand of sliced bread, Wonder Bread created their own slicing machine and made a name for themselves in the world of sliced bread.
During World War II, the production of sliced bread was banned for two months. The government felt that materials and resources, like the wax paper that had been used to wrap the bread, could be put to better use elsewhere, and that the focus should be on manufacturing products deemed necessary for the war. The public, having gotten used to sliced bread, was not happy about the ban, and it was lifted in March 1943. Sliced bread has remained a staple on store shelves—and in household pantries—ever since.