From history of bread

There are no records of when or where bread originated. It is certain, however, that the known history of bread is longer than the history of any other food and that the history of bread runs parallel with the known history of man.

Although the history of bread is nearly as old as the history of mankind, the basic formulation has changed little. The history of bread is actually the history of the baking oven, and of the raw materials used in the preparation of bread – mainly the flour and leaven.

In very early times grain was pounded. During the Stone Age grain was crushed between stones and gave crude flour which was mixed with water, shaped to a round flat cake and then cooked on a large flat stone over a fire.

Wheat and barley were two of the earliest plants to be cultivated and primitive people living as early as 5000 B.C. are known to have eaten these grains. Eventually it was discovered that adding water to the grain made it more palatable.

The ancient Egyptians were known to grow barley and wheat. Excavations of their cities revealed that they enjoyed flat breads with nearly every meal. It is likely that leavened or raised, bread was discovered accidentally when wheat and water mixture was left in a warm place, causing the naturally occurring yeast to produce puffed-up dough.

Cooking the dough in an oven over an open fire produced an even better grade of bread. The first ovens were clay structures in which a wood fire was burned. When the wood had completely burned, the ashes were scooped out from an opening on the side of the oven. The wheat dough was placed inside the oven and then the opening was sealed. By the time the oven had cooled, the bread was baked.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-17