Chef Giorgio Esca - ANCIENT ROMAN BREAD

A brief History:

The ancient art of bread making began shortly after man learned how to cultivate the land and realized, that by collecting the seeds and processing them, the first loafs of bread became possible. Nations there after succeeded or failed based on the amount of bread their population was able to eat.

In our modernized industrial / western societies, wheat, corn and the many other raw ingredients for bread making is harvested in great quantities. Sadly, however, nations of the third world countries often find themself on the brink of starvation do to lack of water for cultivation, land disputes and political unrest – some things, never seem to change for the better.

During the last few weeks I’ve been contemplating in the kitchen about recreating the same type of bread once baked by the Ancient Roman bakeries. My research eventually lead me to Ancient Rome in 168 B.C.E. when a baker’s guild was formed and the baking industry started to grow on its own, with bakers achieving special status. White bread was frowned upon, and bakers used sea-water to save on salt in the baking of the bread. According to Athenaeus, the best bakers were from Phoenicia or Cappadocia, but like everything else in Italy, bread was and still remains, regional.

Bread may have been bought directly from the bakery, but it is likely that it was also sold from temporary stalls set up at different parts of the town as it is done today. I also found this great ancient proverb, “Chie hat pane, mai no morit” – Which translate, “those that have bread will never die.” I can’t guarantee that this bread will make you live forever, but you should give it a try since it’s easy to make and tastes good too!~!~

ANCIENT ROMAN BREAD - Recipe:
VERSION: 14 Oct 2011 - Using the Oster Regency Mixer with Dough Hooks ~ Makes 3 + ~ 1 Lbs. Bread Loafs
>>>----- YEAST PREPARATION ---------------
>Prepare the yeast first; let it rise while setting up work area
1. Place yeast amount needed inside bowl
2. Dissolve in separate bowl: ¼ Cup warm water + ¼ Tsp. Sugar
3. Add all at once ¼ Cup warm water + ¼ Tsp. Sugar into yeast bowl
4. Stir lightly
5. Let sit for about 10 Min. + until fully leavened
6. Add to dry ingredients before using electric mixer
>>>----- INGREDIENTS ---------------
1. YEAST: 4 Tsp. Dry Yeast + ¼ Tsp. Sugar + ¼ Cup Warm water 
2. WATER - H2O : 2 Cups Warm water + 1 Tsp. Salt = Pre-mix   separate
3. FLOUR: 3 ½ Cups Unbleached Hard Wheat + 3 ½ Cups All Purpose = 7 Cups 
4. OIL: 5 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil – Olive oil or Canola, Peanut etc.
>>>----- PLACE ALL INGREDIENTS IN MIXER BOWL-----
5. Mix ingredients until dough is elastic: 10 + Min. with electric dough mixer or hand knead for about 20 Min.
>>>----- LET IT RISE ---------------
6. Separate into individual loafs; place each loaf in well oiled bread pans or flat sheets with corn meal.
7. Let rise to at least twice the size – about 2 Hrs.
>>>----- BAKING ---------------
8.   For a great crust, place a metal pan with water on oven bottom shelf or heavily mist loafs before baking with water.
9.   Pre-Heat over to 400F.
10. Baking  time 30 Min. > Place bread pans for 30 Min. at mid-level shelf; remove when crust browns or sounds hollow when tapped. When using a fast/hot oven, switch top loafs with lowers loafs at half time to avoid burning.~!~

Note: Understandably the Ancient Romans did not have the
modern conveniences as we do, thus I have fine-tuned the
amount of water, in relation to bread baking in our modern
appliances. Please adjust to your baking needs. ... Send your
results to, Chef Giorgio Esca - E. N. Culinary Department.~!~