Bread: the story on HearLore

Bread

The oldest evidence of bread-making dates back 14,400 years to a site in northeastern Jordan, predating the invention of agriculture by thousands of years. Archaeobotanical evidence reveals that the Natufian people, hunter-gatherers who lived before the Neolithic age, were already grinding wild grains like einkorn and spreading the starch on flat rocks over fires to create a primitive flatbread. This discovery challenges the long-held belief that bread was a product of settled farming societies, suggesting instead that the desire for bread may have been a catalyst for the development of agriculture itself. These early bakers utilized starch extracts from plants such as cattails and ferns, pounding them into a paste and cooking it into a simple, unleavened form. The process was rudimentary yet effective, transforming wild grasses into a staple food that would eventually sustain civilizations. The 14,500-year-old site in Jordan stands as a testament to human ingenuity, showing that the quest for bread began long before the first plow was ever drawn.

The Egyptian Invention

Around 6000 BC, the Sumerians in southern Mesopotamia began baking an early form of leavened bread, a technique they likely passed to the Egyptians around 3000 BC. The ancient Egyptians refined this process by intentionally adding yeast to the flour, creating a lighter and more airy loaf than their predecessors. They were not the first to discover fermentation, as airborne yeasts could naturally leaven dough left exposed to the air, but they were the first to control the process. The Sumerians had already been using ash to supplement their dough, but the Egyptians took it a step further by harnessing the power of yeast to transform the texture of their bread. This innovation was so significant that the degree of refinement in the bakery arts became a sign of civilization for the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. The Egyptians also developed methods to use the foam skimmed from beer, known as barm, to produce a lighter kind of bread, a technique that would later be adopted by the Gauls and Iberians. The legacy of these ancient bakers is still felt today, as the basic principles of leavening remain the foundation of modern bread making.

The Science of Rising

The structure of bread is defined by the interaction between two proteins found in wheat: glutenin and gliadin. Glutenin forms interconnected networks through interchain disulfide bonds, giving the dough its elastic nature, while gliadin binds weakly to these networks, providing plasticity. This unique combination creates an elastic-plastic foam, similar to styrofoam, where air pockets are trapped within the gluten network. The carbon dioxide and ethanol vapors produced during yeast fermentation result in these air pockets, which give bread its characteristic sponginess. When dough is mixed with water, the water-soluble proteins dissolve, leaving the glutenin and gliadin to form the structure of the resulting bread. The development of gluten improves if the dough is allowed to autolyse, a process where the flour and water are mixed and left to rest before kneading. This scientific understanding of bread has allowed bakers to manipulate the texture and volume of their loaves, from the fine crumb of commercial bread to the coarse crumb of artisanal sourdough. The interplay between these proteins is what makes bread possible, transforming a simple mixture of flour and water into a complex and delicious food.

Common questions

When and where was the oldest evidence of bread-making found?

The oldest evidence of bread-making dates back 14,400 years to a site in northeastern Jordan. Archaeobotanical evidence reveals that the Natufian people were already grinding wild grains like einkorn and spreading the starch on flat rocks over fires to create a primitive flatbread. This discovery predates the invention of agriculture by thousands of years.

Who invented leavened bread and when did the process begin?

The Sumerians in southern Mesopotamia began baking an early form of leavened bread around 6000 BC. They likely passed this technique to the Egyptians around 3000 BC, who refined the process by intentionally adding yeast to the flour to create a lighter and more airy loaf. The ancient Egyptians were the first to control the fermentation process using airborne yeasts.

What proteins define the structure of bread?

When was the Chorleywood bread process developed and what does it do?

The Chorleywood bread process was developed in 1961 to revolutionize the way bread is made by using intense mechanical working of dough to dramatically reduce the fermentation period. This high-energy mixing allows for the use of grain with lower protein content, making bread production faster and cheaper than ever before. The process is now widely used around the world in large factories, enabling the mass production of bread at low costs to both manufacturers and consumers.

How is sourdough bread produced and what makes it different from commercial bread?

Sourdough is a type of bread produced by a long fermentation of dough using naturally occurring yeasts and lactobacilli, resulting in a mildly sour taste due to the lactic acid produced during anaerobic fermentation. Unlike commercial bread, which relies on industrially produced yeast, sourdough uses a starter that cultivates yeast and lactobacilli in a mixture of flour and water. The longer fermentation process not only develops more flavor but also breaks down undesirable phytates and increases the bread's biological accessibility to trace elements.