Revisiting Our Great Depression Peanut Butter Bread Story

You may have already read my previous blog post about Great Depression Peanut Butter Bread. It’s about how my son and I made a new take on the classic Peanut Butter Bread recipe and turned it into a math lesson when we calculated the cost. Well, the teenage kids I co-teach at our homeschool co-op mentioned History, World War II, and the Great Depression as topics they’d like to learn about. So, I decided to broaden the lesson with some history of the Great Depression as well as a new and cheaper Depression-era Peanut Butter Bread recipe. I have included the recipe and lesson plan below, as well as a few pictures of the newest batch of Depression-era Peanut Butter Bread.

Cost Comparison: Original vs. New Peanut Butter Bread Recipes

This Great Depression Peanut Butter Bread is an easy recipe that only costs $2.79 to produce, compared to the $5.73 that the previous recipe cost. The previous original recipe included 1/2 cup of oatmeal instead of the full 2 cups of flour used in this one. The oatmeal gave the other recipe a filling heartiness. This recipe is barely sweetened, more like white bread, whereas the other recipe contains a full cup of sugar! This version omits the use of eggs but increases the amount of milk by an extra 1/3 cup—just a little milk to bind the dry ingredients. Additionally, this recipe uses less peanut butter, reducing it by 1/2 cup, which leaves the bread much drier, almost like stale bread, but it still works great with jam. Since peanut butter provides most of the fat, the result is a drier, crumbly bread. Overall, I enjoyed the flavor of the previous recipe more, but it wasn’t as authentic to the Depression-era recipes when rationing limited certain ingredients.

I double-batched the recipe so I could have one loaf for co-op and another for home. I baked it for 5 minutes less than the recipe calls for, but it’s still dry and crumbly due to the low percentage of fat. Nevertheless, sliced warm with a spread of grape jam, it was a hit. This is a great recipe for those trying to experience a taste of the hard times people faced during the Depression.

Comprehensive Lesson Plan: Teaching the Great Depression

Grade Level: Middle School; Highschool
Duration: 2 class periods (45 minutes each)
Objective: Students will understand the causes and consequences of the Great Depression, encompassing the stock market crash, the lifestyle during that era, prevalent foods, and food rationing. They will also engage in an interactive activity on food rationing and learn to make a Depression era peanut butter bread.

Materials:

• Whiteboard and markers
• Projector or computer for a multimedia presentation
• Printed recipe cards for Depression-era Peanut Butter Bread
• Poster boards and art supplies for the activity
• Index cards or slips of paper for the rationing activity

Session 1: Introduction to the Great Depression

1. Introduction: Begin the lesson by asking students if they’ve heard of the Great Depression and what they know about it. Write down their responses on the board.
2. Overview & Stock Market Info: Watch a YouTube video about the stock market crash of 1929 and explain its causes and the ripple effects throughout the United States. Video: The Great Depression: Crash Course US History #33 (15 minutes).
3. Lifestyle: Discuss the altered lifestyles during the Great Depression, including unemployment, poverty, and the role of the war effort during the subsequent years.
4. Dietary Adaptations: Discuss how people had to be creative with their meals using simple and inexpensive ingredients. Talk about how home cooks adapted their meals to limited resources, focusing on foods like white bread, and banana bread, and the origins of peanut butter toast as a protein-rich alternative to more expensive items. Watch the following video: Creative Recipes from the Great Depression (4 minutes).

Session 2: Food Rationing and Interactive Meal Planning

1. Food Rationing: Explain food rationing during the Great Depression and its continuation into the Second World War. People used ration cards and had to get creative with dry ingredients and staples like whole grains. Weekly Rations Per Person:
   • Flour: 2 pounds
   • Sugar: 1 pound
   • Rice: 1 pound
   • Beans (dried): 1 pound
   • Potatoes: 4 pounds
   • Carrots: 1 pound
   • Onions: 1 pound
   • Cabbage: 1 head
   • Eggs: 4 eggs
   • Milk: 2 pints (1 quart)
   • Butter: ¼ pound (1 stick)
   • Lard or Cooking Fat: ¼ pound
   • Bacon or Salted Pork: ½ pound
   • Canned or Preserved Meat (Spam, Corned Beef, etc.): 1 can (12 ounces)
   • Dried Fruit (raisins, prunes, etc.): ¼ pound
   • Bread: 1 loaf (if not baking at home)
   • Cheese: ¼ pound
   • Coffee or Tea: 1 ounce (or 1 small tin)
   • Apples or other fresh fruit: 2-3 pieces
   • Syrup, Molasses, or Honey: 1 small jar (optional, if sugar is low)
2. Interactive Activity: Divide the class into groups. Give each group slips of paper representing rationed items (e.g., sugar, flour, butter). Have them plan a week’s worth of meals based on these items. Students will present their meal plans, and the class will discuss the challenges of food shortages.
3. Recipe Activity: Distribute printed recipe cards for the Depression-era Peanut Butter Bread and walk the students through how to make it, from mixing the ingredients to baking in a greased loaf pan. This recipe can be prepared ahead of time for students to sample, or it can be completed as an additional activity if time permits.

Closure:

1. Key Point Review: Summarize the key points of the Great Depression lesson, including its causes, effects, and the daily struggles of people at that time.
2. Reflection Prompt: Ask students to reflect on how the food shortages and challenges during the Great Depression compare to the abundance of food we have today.

This lesson provides a hands-on way to connect the Depression-era recipes and history, showing how home cooks worked with limited resources to provide meals. It’s also a fun way to introduce younger generations to the lessons of the past while enjoying a great recipe together.

But Wait There’s More!

If you love old recipes like this Great Depression Peanut Butter Bread, you’ll enjoy Mom’s Diner: Great Depression (1930s & 40s) Inspired Dinners. This collection features some truly “Great” Depression-era meals, from chicken sliders and wacky cake to depression meatloaf, hearty navy bean soup, goulash, homemade pizza, Poor Man’s meal, and even water pie. All recipes included!