I'd argue that bread in 2021 has returned more to its roots thanks to the sourdough trend from 2020. I started baking along with everyone and I just cannot go back to mass produced bread.
For me, there's 2 entirely different kinds of bread:
* homemade bread: good flavor and texture
* supermarket "bread" for sandwiches: consistent size, soft texture for a sandwich where the fillings don't fall out, especially for eating away from home
Supermarket "bread" is more of an edible wrapper, but it has its purpose.
I don't buy a lot of baguette. We use it occasionally for cheese fondue or baguette pizza. So for me it probably goes into the "edible wrapper" category - a means to an end, but not something I enjoy on its own merits.
True! I also find it fascinating that the first recipe in the linked article (Wroclaw Trencher Bread) includes beer as an ingredient, which has had a popular revival recently as a bread hack to add maltiness/flavor. I've seen YouTubers complain that it isn't "authentic" somehow, but it looks like it really is more traditional than it seems!
Any premodern bread that wasn’t made like sourdough was made with beer barm. Bakeries and breweries were typical colocated. I’m not sure what was done in predominantly Muslim areas for yeast though, since they wouldn’t have had breweries.
For sure, however the trend really kicked into gear in '20. A local kitchen store owner said he sold more bannetons in '21 than he sold in the last ten years. As he said, the trend quickly switched from "gluten will kill us all" to "home baked bread or die".
Not sure, seems like Zwieback-type breads (twice-baked, very dry) were common for a long time as shelf-stable bread and canning reserved for other things. It certainly was a thing by WW2 though.