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We know that breads have been made for at least 7000 years, based on the archaeological record. But it's likely that bread (using wild yeasts) has been made for much longer than that.
Once critical factor in making bread, at least traditional 'leavened' bread where yeast is the rising agent is the capture and storage of the yeast culture. The recipe below tells you how to make 'leaven', a live yeast culture and gives a taste of how our forebears might have kept their yeast cultures alive and flourishing.
Once you have your leaven or yeast culture, you can now use this to make your bread: Leavened Bread
Of course, once you have your basic bread recipe you can play around with it to make a richer variant, as for feasts: Rich Bread. Or you can add fruit and herbs or other flavourings to make it different and potentially more interesting: Fruited Bread
We know quite a lot about Roman breads because of the works of such writers as Cato and Apicius. Though a number of the breads that survive are actually either special types of breads used at feasts or large meals or they are breads used for sacred purposes or as offerings. This, of course, does not make the bread recipes given here any less tasty!
Libum
Hapalos Artos
Boletinos Artos
Mustacei
Streptikos Artos
Libum (Diced Cheese Bread)
Breads during the Medieval period were also fairly similar to their ancient and Roman counterparts. Though one major development was the advent of: Sourdough Bread. The Medieval period also sees the development of risen cakes that are also termed 'breads', such as the classic: Gyngerbrede (Gingerbread). A special form of bread, known as a 'trencher' (I have a Trencher recipe here) was also used instead or a plate and the ingredients for a meal would be piled on this bowl-shaped bread and both the bread and its contents would be consumed. |
Because more books and manuscripts survive from the Elizabethan period we have more knowledge of the breads and bread-like cakes produced during this time. Examples include:
To make Knotts or Gumballs
The term 'modern' is being used in a very 'fast and loose' way here. The breads in the list below originate from all over the world and some have very ancient roots, indeed. These are modern breads only in the sense that they are still cooked and consumed to this day:
The recipes below are all for 'cornbreads' though not strictly a 'bread' in that it's not risen with yeast it is used as a true bread would be and so i've included these recipes in this section, but given them their own table:
| Southern Cornbread | Mexican Cornbread |
| Buttermilk Cornbread | Jalapeno Cornbread |
| Cajun Crayfish Cornbread | Cajun Sour Cream Cornbread |
| Corn and Rice Bread | Liberian Cornbread |
| Swazi Cornbread |
The recipes presented here are for confections called 'breads' but which are actually, in terms of any meaningful definition cakes. They all have a raising ingredient and many are cooked in loaf tins, which may account for the confusion in terminology encountered.
Below is a table of varous fruit-based breads, ranging from banana bread to pumpkin bread with many variations in betwen. These are really cakes, using baking soda as a raising agent, but which are invariably cooked in a loaf tin.
The following 'breads' all have a starch source other than flour to bulk-out the cake. Many of these recipes are African in origin.
| Liberian Cassava Bread | Liberian Rice Bread |
| Cassava and Plantain Bread | Pan di Spagna |
| Caribbean Cassava Bread | Philippines Cassava Bread |
The following buns or cakes all have yeast as a rising agent. In effect they're 'sweet breads' though they are often classed in culinary terms as cakes:
| Dresdner Stollen | Panettone |
| Hot Cross Buns | Nigerian Buns |
| Chelsea Bun (Recipe 1) | Chelsea Bun (Recipe 2) |
| Sticky Buns |
Finally we have another type of cake or biscuit that's generally called a bread — and that's 'gingerbread'. The original recipes for this go back to the Middle ages where bread was used in the prodution of this confection. Gingerbreads can range from hard biscuits to risen cakes and here are a selection of recipes from throughout the ages:
| Gyngerbrede | Course Ginger Bread |
| Gingerbread | Oatmeal Gingerbread |
| Gingerbread Men | Plantain Gingerbread |
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Barbecuing, or cooking meat directly above a flame, is a very traditional cooking method and probably represents humanity's oldest cooking technique. There is nothing like a summer outdoor barbecue and here you will find recipes for a classic kebab and sticky ribs both designed to make the most out of barbecuing.
Game is one of the oldest meat types that humans have ever used. However, game animals tend to be very lean and need to be cooked carefully. This article provides some information about game animals and a recipe for cooking venison by braising slowly in dark beer.
Fruit have been a crucial part of the human diet for half a million years and more. Here you will learn a little about why fruit are so important and why certain foods are called 'fruit'. You will also learn a little about superfoods, what they are and what the next superfoods will be.
Fish is the staple protein source for much of the human population. Fish is an important high-quality protein source that much of the Western diet is deficient in. In this article you will learn a little about fish as well as gaining two classic fish recipes.
The egg is one of nature's finest storage foods, packed with protein and fats. Chickens have been domesticated several times throughout human history and they are mankind's commonest domesticated animal, raised for meat and eggs. Here you will learn a little about eggs, why they are important in cookery and how they have been used throughout the ages.
When you examine the history of drinks, what you see is the attempt by human civilizations to render drinking water safe. This article gives an introduction to the ways various civilizations have chosen to make water safe to drink as well as providing two recipes for a fruit juice drink and a spice infusion of lemongrass.
The Romans were the first peoples to formally add a dessert course at the end of a meal. Here you will learn a little about why we like sweet desserts and why they all, in one way or another, echo the fruit our ancestors used to eat. You will also see two recipes for classic fruit-based desserts.
Chillies (chili, chilé, ají) is an amazing spice that originates in Central and Northern South America. It was unknown in the Old World until the early 1500 but by 1549 had made its way across the world from Europe through Africa, the Near East and had reached China and Japan. Learn about the history of the spread of chillies and why this is such an amazing spice.
Humans have been making cheeses as long as they have been farming and cheeses represent a versatile and useful storage food available in a staggering array of variants. Learn a little about cheese and discover two classic cheese-based recipes.
Chocolate is a spice processed from the seeds of the cocao tree. It was first used and cultivated almost 3000 years ago and is a mainstay of modern snacks and sweet dishes. But chocolate is a much more versatile ingredient than this and can be used in a whloe range of sweet and savoury dishes. Here you will find recipes for a classic chocolate cake as well as a Mexican stew with chocolate.
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