History Of Bread: Basic Food Of Man In Ancient And Contemporary Cultures Around The World

A. Sutherland  – AncientPages.com – Bread has been known for millennia though its true history from the beginning is lost in time. It is the basic food of man in almost all cultures around the world.

Sale of bread at a market stall. Roman fresco from the Praedia of Julia Felix in Pompeii. source

The folklore surrounding bread was passed down in the form of oral tradition, hieroglyphics found in ancient Babylonia, and in the Egyptian tombs, and ancient records about bread left by ancient Chinese writers.

Bread played an important cultic role (for example, in the Old Testament) as well as cultural and symbolic. Christian tradition has been known as a popular custom to bless each new loaf of bread with the sign of the Cross. Also, the Sacrament of Communion (flesh and blood, bread and wine) is of great importance in Christian imagery symbolizing the blood of Jesus Christ.

In Judaism and Christianity, unleavened bread (prepared without yeast) has also symbolic importance.

It All Started With Herbs, Fruits, Nuts  And Grinding of Grain

At first, people lived on fruits, herbs, and later nuts, which they included in their daily menu. The next step was grinding of grain, recorded by early historians of Assyria, India, America, and China.  The grain was softened with water (forming a paste) and sundried in thins slabs similar to pancakes (but with a hole in the center of each cake). Then these pancakes were stored for winter and seasons of drought. It was quite primitive baking that satisfied hunger, but it was long before wheat was grown.

This practice (easier to prepare in warm countries) was also popular among the Scottish and Scandinavian people, where the climate did not help make this kind of food.

First Crude Ovens And Egyptian Bread Baking

The first crude ovens predated Babylonia by approx. 2,000 years. The first ovens consisted of holes in the ground dug to a depth of about four and one-half feet, and they were lined with baked mud. A fire was built over these holes, and the ashes were scraped out to place the dough inside it. A flat brick covered the top of the oven.

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