Baking bread for the troops U.S. Signal Corps photo, 1918. A soldier places a block of bread loaves on a wooden rack to cool, behind him another soldier removes a tray of loaves from the outdoor oven; they wear shirts made from flour sacks; three soldiers stand to the left. According to 1916 edition of the Manual for Army Bakers, the bakery company baked bread for the troops in the field and in garrison. Since the bread ration in 1916 consisted of 18 ounces per man, the company could produce almost 34,000 pounds of garrison bread each day.