Ancient Roman Bread was baked everyday in the city of Rome. According to the historians, in 30 BC, there were over 300 bakeries in the city churning out a constant supply of different varieties of bread for the locals, travelers, prisoners, peasants, slaves and soldiers who inhabited the city.
History of Ancient Roman Bread
Most varieties of ancient bread were prepared from leavened wheat flour. However, the process of grinding the wheat into flour was very labor intensive. Slave women were pressed into service to produce the flour and the coarse meal was then mixed with water to produce leavened on unleavened bread. Ancient Roman historian, Pliny (79 AD) was the first to record the process of making white Roman bread. It was also common at the time to have fine wheat flour, mixed with barley, rye or spelt to form mixed grain loaves.
Ancient Roman Bread Recipe: Ingredients Used and Preparation Overview
The Romans used to grind wheat grains to form coarse wheat flour. Unleavened bread was called as maza. The bakers used to mix the coarse wheat flour with a yeast sponge to form leavened bread that was much more expensive. This was only purchased by richer Roman households. The bread was made into loaves and marked with the bakers sign and placed in wood or coal ovens called fornax.
Serving and Eating Ancient Roman Breads
Ancient Rome Bread was generally baked at home or at a bakery. Bread was usually served at every meal with wine, honey, meats and cheeses.
Popular Ancient Roman Bread Variations
There were several expert bakers in the city that specialized in local as well as foreign versions of bread. For example, Pliny refers to‘water bread’ which he states was light and full of holes like a sponge. This was also called as Parthian Bread. This variety of bread was kneaded and allowed to soak in water before being baked resulting in a light soft texture. Honey and wine soaked breads were also common. Picennum was a sweet bread that was baked with nuts and honey in clay molds. The molds had to be cracked before the bread could be eaten. Bakers also made suet, cheese, poppy seed, and sweet pastry breads which were served as snacks.
Trivia
A single loaf of leavened bread cost 1 dupondius or 2 As in Rome in 18 BC.