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A bakery (also bakehouse, baker's shop or bake shop) is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, , , , , pastries, and . Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises. In some countries, a distinction is made between bakeries, which primarily sell breads, and pâtisseries, which primarily sell sweet baked goods.
This trend became common, and soon, baked products were sold on the streets of Rome, Germany, London, and other European cities. A system for delivering baked goods to households arose as the demand increased significantly. This prompted bakers to establish places where people could purchase baked goods. The first open-air market for baked goods in Europe was established in Paris; since then, bakeries have become popular places to socialize.
On July 7, 1928, Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented an automatic sliced bread machine, in a bakery in Chillicothe, Missouri. While the bread initially failed to sell, due to a perceived "sloppy" appearance of the loaves and the fact that it went stale faster, it later became popular. In World War II, bread slicing machines became rare, as the metal in them was required for wartime use. When they were requisitioned, creating 100 tons of metal alloy, the decision proved very unpopular with housewives.
World War II had a profound impact on the bread industry in the United Kingdom. When the war began, baking schools closed due to food rationing, manpower shortage, and other material factors. Once WWII came to a close, there was a lack of skilled bakers in the UK. This baker shortage resulted in new methods being developed to satisfy the world's desire for bread, including chemical additives, premixes, and specialized machinery. Old methods of baking were almost completely eradicated when these new, mechanized processes were introduced, and the industry became industrialized and dominated by large commercial firms. The older, more labor-intensive methods were, by and large, seen as burdensome, out-of-date, and commercially unprofitable. As a result, few traditional bakeries were left open by the end of the twentieth century.
In many countries, many grocery stores and supermarkets sell cakes, sliced bread (sometimes prepackaged or presliced) and other pastries. They may also offer in-store baking, with products either fully baked on site or part-baked prior to delivery to store, and some offer cake decoration.
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