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Three women cut an array of cakes on a long table.
Cutting cakes, Pie Town, New Mexico. Russell Lee, 1940. Prints and Photographs Division.

Great Baking: Bread, Cakes, and More from the Library of Congress

Posted by: Katie McCarthy

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This post was written by Dianne Choie, Educational Program Specialist at the Library of Congress.

This year, we’re celebrating the 15th anniversary of a certain popular British baking program. Inspired by this anniversary, we dug into the wealth of material the Library of Congress holds relating to baking. What might a baking competition look like if it were made up of only items from our collection? Read on for images from the Prints & Photographs Division, photos and videos from the American Folklife Center, and even recipes you can try at home from books in our General Collection.

Up first is the Signature Challenge. Today the bakers will be showing off their skills in making bread, just like the Virginians pictured below. Remember that the judges will be looking for the highest quality texture and flavor in these loaves. Bakers, are you ready? On your marks, get set…bake!

A woman in a flower print dress demonstrates kneading dough while a second woman interviews her. They are in a home kitchen.
Ruth Newman baking bread, Galax, Virginia. Geraldine Niva Johnson and Lyntha Scott Eiler. 1978. American Folklife Center Collection.

Have you ever made bread from scratch? There are several important steps involving different ingredients like flour and yeast. Here we see Delfina Zatica getting into it with her dough! She was photographed as part of an American Folklife Center project documenting ranching culture in Northern Nevada. “Knead” I say more?

An old woman with white hair leans over a ball of dough she is kneading in her home kitchen.
Forming Loaf from Dough. Delfina Zatica and Suzi Jones, 1978. American Folklife Center Collection.

It’s interesting to see all the different techniques that come out during the competition, isn’t it? What’s familiar and what’s less familiar in these images of bakers? What do you think it was like to bake bread before we had modern appliances?

Two women in traditional clothing bake bread in an outdoor bread oven.
Pueblo Indian Women Baking Bread. Milton E. Porter, New Mexico, ca. 1907. Prints and Photographs Division.

A Japanese-style art print of two men baking bread in a domed oven.
Amerikajin No Zu – Pansei Nokamato. [Portrait of Americans – breadmaking]. Yoshikazu Utagawa, Japan, 1861. Prints and Photographs Division.
If you’ve ever been in a kitchen with a lot of baking going on, you know it gets quite warm working with the oven on. I think some of our bakers are feeling the heat!

A man in a white tank top pulls a tray of bread loves from an oven.
Baking bread. Arthur Rothstein, Columbia, Missouri, 1939. Prints and Photographs Division.

And now it’s time for the judging! Isn’t it wonderful to see our bakers’ work out on display?

A woman places a bowl of bread buns on a table. Stretching in front of her are several different types of buns and bread loaves, filling the bottom half of the photograph.
Mrs. Kness with baked goods to be sold at the market. Jack Delano, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, 1940. Prints and Photographs Division.

Oh dear, the loaf pictured below appears to be rather dry and hard. Can’t win them all, right? It does seem that this judge could have been a bit kinder with his critique, though.

A man uses a saw to cut a loaf of bread while a disgruntled woman looks on.
“My wife baked this bread,” 1890. Prints and Photographs Division.

What kind of bread do you like to eat? What kind of bread would you like to make if you could choose? There are some recipe ideas in this March 1962 edition of The Frontier newspaper in Nebraska. “Chunk o’ Cheese Bread” sounds intriguing, doesn’t it?

A page of a newspaper showing recipes such as "chunk o'cheese bread," "county far egg bread," and "sweet surprise rolls."
The Frontier. (O’Neill, NE), Mar. 8 1962. Chronicling America.

While our judges are deliberating, check out this video about a contemporary bread baker. This short documentary is about Jose Vargas, a baker in Baltimore, MD who runs Vargas Bakery with his wife, children, and siblings.

Let’s pause the proceedings for a word from our sponsor. A baker knows that any bake is only as good as its ingredients. For delicious breads, cakes, and cookies, you need the finest available flour. Take a look at the advertisement below. What do you think viewers in the 1920s would find interesting about this commercial? Would it convince you to buy their product, even with no sound?

We’re back from our break! Let’s continue our baking show celebration! Because it’s a special celebration, we’re jumping right to the Showstopper Challenge. This time, the bakers are tasked with creating a cake that has not only outstanding flavor, but also an appearance that will surprise and delight our judges. Let’s see how they do!

A teacher leans over a group of girls as they scoop batter. They are in a cafeteria-like setting.
Teacher helping girl put batter in a cake pan as other children look on. Thomas J. O’Halloran, United States, 1979. Prints and Photographs Division.

Isn’t it lovely to see how the bakers help one another? Bakers of all ages learn by helping and watching one another work. Have you ever baked or prepared other foods with family or friends? What is your favorite recipe to make? Cookbooks can offer good guidance for ingredients and measurements as well as techniques and skills. The 1926 book “One Hundred Four Prize Radio Recipes with Twenty-Four Radio Home-Maker’s Talks” by chef and radio host Ida Cogswell Bailey Allen collects recipes from women across America who were part of Allen’s National Radio Home-Maker’s Club. If you’re interested in baking your own delicious cakes, she offers the following advice:

A page from a book, answer the question "How can I make good cake?"
One Hundred Four Prize Radio Recipes With Twenty-Four Radio Home-Maker’s Talks, Ida Cogswell Bailey Allen, 1926. Library of Congress General Collections.

Here comes my favorite part, assembling the cake layers and adding icing. The photo below shows a woman frosting a cake using glass cookware. This photo was published by the Office of War Information (OWI) during World War II, when metal was in high demand by the military. The OWI might have staged and taken this photo to convince viewers to use glass over metal when cooking! What sort of supplies do you use when baking?

A woman is posed spreading frosting on a cake, with glass cooking dishes around her.
A woman demonstrates baking using glass materials in place of metal. Albert Freeman, William Perlitch, and Roger Smith, United States, 1943. Prints and Photographs Division.

These bakers are putting the finishing touches on quite the impressive cake topper. Can you identify what they’re using to dress up their cake? How would you decorate your Showstopper cake if you had the time and materials?

Three men in white chef's clothes and hats gather around a large wedding cake topper.
Preparations on the wedding cake, in the White House kitchen. Washington D.C, 1971. Prints and Photographs Division.

To see some expert cake-icing, take a look at this short video of Patricia Ann Glover at Joe Gambino’s Bakery in Louisiana. Can you believe how quickly she works?

Bakers, time’s up! Please bring your cakes to the judging table. Let’s take in this gorgeous dessert display!

Over a dozen cakes and pies are lined up on a picnic table with a colorful table cloth. In the background, lines of people serve themselves from a picnic buffet.
Cakes and pies line the tables at a family reunion. Carol M. Highsmith, North Carolina, between 1980 and 2006. Prints and Photographs Division.

My goodness, but we do have some impressive cakes in competition today! This cake in the shape of a ship is astounding. How do you think it was put together?

A cake carved and decorated to look like a ship.
Cake in shape of the protected cruiser OLYMPIA, 1898. Prints and Photographs Division.

This Christmas cake is fit for a president and nothing short of spectacular. Can you see all the details in its decoration?

A man in a woman display a large, very round cake in an office setting.
Brig. Gen. Edwin Watson, a Presidential Secretary, accepting for President Roosevelt a fruit cake from Miss Mildred Cook, Secretary to Rep. A.J. Elliott of California. Harris & Ewing. Washington D.C., 1939. Prints and Photographs Division.

While it might not be as flashy as the others, I must admit a fondness for this itty-bitty birthday cake that’s perfect for two little kittens. What flavor do you think this pair would prefer?

Two kittens are posed on small chairs on either side of a small table. On the table is a mini cake.
The Birthday Cake. Harry Whittier Frees, ca. 1914. Prints and Photographs Division.

You be the judge: what breads and cakes are your favorite? What would you bake if you were part of this competition? If you want some inspiration, here’s a selection from the digitized baking cookbooks that the Library of Congress has available online:

If you want to try baking some of these recipes yourself, these “Cooking Up History” blog posts offer guidance and tips:

The Everyday Mysteries blog delved into some of the science behind baking:

If seeing that flour advertisement whetted your appetite for more ads, take a look at this deep dive on baking powder advertising cards:

Whether you’re a baker, a baked goods consumer, or just a fan of things happening in the kitchen, we hope you enjoy lots of happy baking!

  

Comments (4)

  1. Margaret J Cofer says:

    Wonderful topic made better w photos.

  2. M Garnett says:

    Thanks for the great article! I really enjoyed reading it and am going to explore more of the LC baking collections.

  3. Susan says:

    Loved topic and the incredibly rich way it was enhanced with the collections of the Library of Congress. I remember my grandmother always smelled like Crisco from greasing the baking pans or frying chicken – thanks for taking me back to her kitchen for a little while.

  4. Nabcy says:

    I am a bread bakers. It is my favorite hobby. I just loved your article, along with the photos

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