Everyone must have heard this well known phrase. So when was sliced bread invented? Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa invented the first loaf–at–a–time bread–slicing machine. A prototype he built in 1917 was destroyed in a fire, and it was not until 1928 that Rohwedder had a fully working machine ready again. The first commercial use of the machine was by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri, who produced their first slices on July 7, 1928. Their product, "Kleen Maid Sliced Bread", proved a success.