The Ancient Art of Bread Making

Crunchy on the outside & soft on the inside- The perfect Focaccia

It is thought that humans have processed and consumed wild cereal grains as far back as 23,000 years ago. Using simple stone mechanisms and handmade tools, they smashed and ground the outer, rather inedible layers of the grains. Grinding and mixing the grains with water to form a sort of pulp, which then evolved over many thousands of years. Many think this is how we arrived at our modern day form of porridge.

Grinding grains to make flour is a century old practice sometimes more predominant in one culture than another, which is how may societies are able to be distinguished from one another. Making bread has shaped each culture and society in a different way, as alternative grains produce alternative types of bread.

Over time, bread has gone from being a hard worked and earned product to being one of the most abundant foods found on the planet. We have familiarized ourselves with the different types of bread and its origins and now link some of the most famous breads in the world to specific countries.

-Baguette

-Bagel

-Brioche

-Ciabatta

-Naan

-Tortilla

-Bloomer

-Rye bread

And many more…

My favorite bread is the Italian Focaccia. This is the recipe:

½ kg strong white bread flour

3 tbs of olive oil

7g of fresh yeast = 1 sachet of yeast

½ cups of water

In a bowl, mix the ingredients together to form a slightly wet dough. Season with fresh rosemary, some chopped olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Then dampen a cloth and cover the dough and leave it to rise for a good 3 hours. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 180°