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 Charred loaf bread discovered in an oven in Pompeii (from A Taste of Ancient Rome, IIaria Gozzini, translated by Ana Herklot, 1992) |
Baking Bread Initially, water was probably mixed with flour, then formed into cakes and baked by sitting the dough on a hot stone, burying it in hot ashes or laying it in hot sun light. In time crude ovens were created. The Egyptians created a clay oven in the form of a cylinder. Early bread was flat and unleavened (no yeast or fermentation) much like pita bread today. Charred remains of bread were found perfectly preserved in the excavations of Pompeii. It was probably an accident that fermentation was discovered. Most likely some bread was left too long before baking and the grain began to work. Wild yeast spores developed trapping gas bubbles within the dough and causing it to rise. Some thrifty person, not wanting to toss out the now swollen bread, decided to bake it anyway and the results were tasty. The word spread and several cultures began baking leavened bread. Little by little improvements were added. Greeks had milled wheat into flour of various textures and added seeds, nuts, spices, milk, honey and eggs to experiment with different flavors in their breads. When Rome conquered Athens, they adopted many of her customs including bread making. By 170 B.C., Greek slaves began to teach Romans about bread making. Romans continued to refine flour. They considered white bread as superior. It did cost more because of the extra refining stages the flour had to endure. How we have changed! Today good whole grain bread is far more expensive than a loaf of Wonder Bread. Romans dried the sour dough, soaked it in water and used it as a starter for new dough. One still enjoys the same type of sourdough bread today. Better milling techniques provided finer grain and thus finer bread. Some Roman bakers tried to lessen the cost by using seawater rather than investing in salt which was an expensive commodity (the word salary comes from the Latin word for salt, sal, because Roman soldiers were often paid in salt). In Roman days, most milling and bread baking were done on the same site, as a small scale industry. In rural areas, baking was a household task but in towns, bakeries were more common. Most homes did not have ovens. If one lived in a large country villa, bread baking was done on the premises |
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