Bread has been used as food for many years. Just how long no one knows. Loaves of bread have been found in the Swiss Lake Dwellings and in Egyptian tombs. All other foods decayed.
The most important bread, both of the past and the present, is made from wheat. Who do you suppose first found out how to make it?
The growing of wheat has been an important occupation for centuries, but where wheat first grew is unknown. The Chinese people say wheat seeds were a gift to them direct from heaven. The ancient Egyptians claimed wheat originated with their goddess Isis. People today believe that wheat was first grown in the Tigris and Euphrates valley. We can safely say that wheat has been our faithful servant for at least 6,000 years.
The Egyptians first perfected the making of bread. They mixed with their dough of wheat flour and water a little mash made from fermented barley sprouts. This acted as our yeast of today and made the bread rise and become light in weight. They called this bread leavened bread It was baked in many sizes and shapes, sometimes in the shape of animals.
There is an interesting story in the Bible in Exodus XII. The Jews I escaped from Egypt where they had been slaves of Pharaoh. They left in great haste, "and the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders." Therefore their bread did not rise and was baked in flat cakes. Today the Jews celebrate this occasion during The Feast of the Passover by eating unleavened bread.
The Egyptian baker's aim today is to bake the biggest possible loaf from the smallest amount of flour. The loaf is two pieces pinched together at the edges. When the loaf bakes, it rises and swells like a balloon; one would think it an enormous loaf of bread but what a disappointment. It is hollow in the center!
From Egypt the leavened bread spread to Greece and Rome. The Romans ground their wheat into flour in small mills. The Matron, or the slaves under her direction, mixed the dough in the home; then slaves carried it on a tray to the public bakery where the bread was baked.
Gradually leavened bread spread to other countries. In some it became the chief food, but in rural parts of a few countries bread is still made, without yeast, into flat cakes. Leavened bread is also unknown in parts of China even today.
Once upon a time, in the country parts of Sweden, bread was baked twice a year. This bread was made of rye, shaped into small cakes and was as hard as flint.
An interesting story is told of an English Captain who stopped in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1812. There the Swedish baked just small cakes of bread. The Captain wanted some loaves of fresh bread and ordered the baker to bake him some to the value of a pound of sterling, or a little less than five dollars. The baker was astonished at this large order and the fact the Captain wanted loaves instead of cakes. He refused to bake the loaves until the Captain advanced the money because he would never be able to sell the loaves to his people.
Long ago in Norway, the bread is made of barley; the dough is rolled out into great flat, thin cakes. They are as thin as paper and as large around as tubs. Each cake was baked on a stone over a fire. Then all the flat cakes are piled up and stored in a dry place for the winter. That bread was the main food of their poor people.
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| The tortilla de rescoldo is a traditional Chilean unleavened bread prepared by rural travelers. It consists of a wheat flour based bread, traditionally baked in the coals of a campfire. |
A famous bread in Mexico is made from Indian corn and is a sort of flap-jack. They call each cake a tortilla. If you vacation in Mexico, you can try their delicious street food served with the local dishes.
In England, white bread was historically used only in the churches in the early days. After a time, the nobility was permitted to use it and still later the middle class. The poor people ate black bread made from barley or rye. The wealth and class of a person could be told by the kind and age of bread he ate. The royal family used freshly baked bread; the nobility received bread one day old; the gentry received bread two days old; the friars and scholars received bread three days old and the peasants received bread four days old. All the bread was baked in the Manor ovens and the Lady of the Manor distributed the loaves to the different classes. The word "Lady" means "a loaf giver" coming from this old custom of giving out bread.
A great deal of bread is eaten in Spain. When Spaniards come to our country and see our thin slices of bread they are sometimes surprised and offended. In Spain, the absence of or small amount of bread on a table for guests is a breach in etiquette and very impolite. Wood
More Bread Crafts to Enhance The Lesson:
Coloring Pages of Bread:
Kids can make bread in a bag.
Coloring Pages of Bread:
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