Grain and Fire

In Grain and Fire, Rebecca Sharpless traces the history of baking across the American South, showing how bakers, kitchens, and changing technologies shaped regional food cultures.

The book examines both home and commercial baking, connecting culinary practices to labor, gender roles, and commodity markets.

Sharpless uses archival sources, recipes, and material culture to illuminate how baking influenced social life and regional identity.

She explores technological shifts—like baking powder and mechanized ovens—and their effects on what people ate and how foods were produced.

The work contributes to understanding food history as central to broader social and economic transformations in the South.