Around 10,000 BC, with the dawn of the Neolithic age and the spread of agriculture, grains became the mainstay of making bread. Yeast spores are ubiquitous, including on the surface of cereal grains, so any dough left to rest leavens naturally.
There were multiple sources of leavening available for early bread. Airborne yeasts could be harnessed by leaving uncooked dough exposed to air for some time before cooking. Pliny the Elder reported that the Gauls and Iberians used the foam skimmed from beer, called barm, to produce “a lighter kind of bread than other peoples” such as barm cake. Parts of the ancient world that drank wine instead of beer used a paste composed of grape juice and flour that was allowed to begin fermenting, or wheat bran steeped in wine, as a source for yeast. The most common source of leavening was to retain a piece of dough from the previous day to use as a form of sourdough starter, as Pliny also reported.
Bread has significance beyond mere nutrition in many cultures because of its history and contemporary importance. Bread is also significant in Christianity as one of the elements (alongside wine) of the Eucharist, and in other religions including Paganism.
In many cultures, bread is a metaphor for basic necessities and living conditions in general. For example, a “bread-winner” is a household’s main economic contributor and has little to do with actual bread provision. This is also seen in the phrase “putting bread on the table”. The Roman poet Juvenal satirized superficial politicians and the public as caring only for “panem et circenses” (bread and circuses). In Russia in 1917, the Bolsheviks promised “peace, land, and bread.” The term “breadbasket” denotes an agriculturally productive region. In parts of Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe bread and salt are offered as a welcome to guests. In India, life’s basic necessities are often referred to as “roti, kapra aur makan” (bread, cloth, and house).
According to the Irish Times, “The smell is almost universally loved and promotes a Pavlovian response in almost everyone because it prompts “odor-cued memories” at a subconscious level which catapult people back to very specific points in their childhoods, according to a piece of research by UCD food scientists published on Friday morning.
Through a combination of scientific analysis, an extensive poll, and focus group-based research, Dr Amalia Scannell and researchers from UCD’s Institute of Food and Health zeroed in on what people love about bread’s distinctive aroma.
They were able to detect over 540 distinct volatile compounds in a typical loaf of bread with just under 20 contributing to its aroma.
The key aroma compounds create between eight and 12 notes which create the familiar smell of bread.
Some combinations are to be expected, particularly the ones that create milky, buttery, and malty aromas but the researchers also identified more unexpected undercurrents including cooked spaghetti, flint, green olives, grapefruit, and baked onions.”
So here I have prepared a few recipes of my own favorite loaves of bread that you can easily make and I promise you, you will never want to buy store-bought bread again!
Is there something better than fresh, warm bread? Of course not! My easy no kneading vegan ‘honey’ go-to bread | 90 min from start to finish is my go-to bread whenever I want a fast, sweet-ish, and fluffy bread! This bread is foolproof, and this means that anybody, from the most expert to the most inexperienced bread maker, can master this recipe beautifully! So get your hands on this amazing dough and make magic!
Step by step method you get when you watch this video
In a large bowl, add the lukewarm milk, the sugar, the maple syrup, the salt, the melted butter, the yeast, and the turmeric, stir to combine.
Add the flour little by little and mix well to combine everything and form a lump-free dough. Preheat the oven to 180℃ (356℉)
Grease two loaf pans and add the dough.
Cover with a cling film and let it proof until it doubles in size.
Put the bread in the oven and let it bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the loaves of bread from the oven and immediately brush it with the mixture of 1 tablespoon of sugar and 4 tablespoons of water.
The ultimate recipe for whole wheat bread and jam! This is my foolproof whole wheat no-kneading bread and berries jam and with those recipes, you can make your own homemade bread and berries jam! You will ever again need to buy bread or jam again!
Step by step method you get when you watch this video.
Fast, easy and delicious oil free rye bread
My emergency bread: 1 hour from start to finish – delicious and easy oil free rye bread.
This bread was not only an emergency but an accident – with a pleasant ending I must add. I have started making bread and suddenly I realized that I was out of yeast! Oh, snap! But since I have had all the ingredients already mixed up I have decided to take the chance and add baking powder instead. And it worked wonders! They say that the best foods come from culinary accidents… Well, this is absolutely right!
Step by step method you get when you watch this video.
Better than pizza
This is way better than pizza: cheese and vegetables stuffed bread very special because it is very forgiving, it’s simple and fun to make, you can use practically any vegetable or vegan cheese of your preference and it’s ready in no time at all! So amazingly original, I promise you are going to get addicted to it!
Step by step method you get when you watch this video.
1. In a bowl, add the warm milk, sugar, and oil, stir to combine, add the remainder of the ingredients for the dough, mix to combine; cover it and let it proof it in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
2. Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the filling in a separate bowl, separate a little bit of this mixture to put it on top of the dough, reserve.
3. After the dough has risen, remove it from the bowl, place it on a dry and floured surface, and stretch it into a circle. Make a ball with the filling and place it in the center of the stretched dough, close the dough by joining the ends, close it tight, press the top of the dough until it forms a disc, place it in a baking sheet, with the seam facing down, brush it with the ketchup/mayo/water mixture and add the remainder of the filling on top of the dough.
4. Put the bread in a preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes at 180℃ (356℉).
5. Remove from the oven, wait 5 minutes before cutting and serve it!
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