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The “breaking of bread” was an ancient rite that expressed the attachment and fellowship of a special group. Jethro coming to Moses and eating bread with Moses and the elders is an example of the rite. Here the group were the disciples attached to Jesus and the bread that was consecrated by the cup of blessing acted as an effective representation of the broken body of Christ that signified that by His death (broken body) He was entering into His inheritance (His Kingdom). This effective representation is similar to Isaiah 6 where the coals off of the altar were a representation of God forgiving and purifying Isaiah's sin, The altar was not God but a representation of God. By the breaking of bread and eating the representation of the broken body of Christ the disciples were anticipating the sharing in His inheritance (I will not drink or eat with you again until in the kingdom). It was an eschatological rite for His family that signified they had been transformed from the mundane into their inheritance in the Kingdom.

That’s why they knew Him by the “breaking of bread” the rite of the special brotherhood to which they belonged. The identification with the scriptures was the evidence that Jesus was the rabbi of the brotherhood. The idea that the bread was transformed into His body would be completely foreign to these disciples as there is no evidence that they were there at the Last Supper and it was foreign to the ancient rite they were participating in and yet they were familiar with the "breaking of bread" rite of the brotherhood.