Welcome to the Celtnet Bread Recipes Home Page

Welcome to Celtnet's Bread Recipes — This is the first of an occasional series on staple foods and dishes. We know that bread has been baked for at least 7000 yars, from the stone age through to today. Indeed, before the availability of potatoes bread formed the staple foodstuff of much of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. As a foodstuff bread is so versatile that almost any starch-based foundation can be used for the production of bread (not just oats, wheat and barley). Indeed, there is a move now to introduce more millet (a native African grain) into the breads of Africa, as wheat only grows in a few African countries. Other breads include flours made from cassava, yams and plantains as well as grated or mashed versions of these foodstuffs. As a bread can be any type of savoury baked dough that includes a rising agent (typically yeast, but also baking soda) I'm using a fairly loose definition in terms of selecting bread recipes for inclusion on this page. I also have bread recipes from the stone age to the present day as well as representative breads from all across the globe. Bread is incredibly versatile as a foodstuff, keeps for many days and there's nothing like the aroma of your own freshly-baked bread filling your kitchen on a sunny weekend morning.

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.

Leaven

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

Iumbolls

Shellbread

Short Cakes

Course Ginger Bread

Manchet

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.

Date and Walnut LoafDate Loaf
Apple Bread with ToppingPineapple Bread
Banana Bread 1Banana Bread 2
Breadfruit BreadCarrot and Coconut Bread
Coconut BreadPapaya Bread
Philippines Banana BreadPumpkin Bread
Bara BrithLemon Nut Loaf
Altdeutsche BrotchenNthochi Bread

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 BreadLiberian Rice Bread
Cassava and Plantain BreadPan di Spagna
Caribbean Cassava BreadPhilippines 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 StollenPanettone
Hot Cross BunsNigerian 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:

GyngerbredeCourse Ginger Bread
GingerbreadOatmeal Gingerbread
Gingerbread MenPlantain Gingerbread






The Origins of Biscuits and Cookies

By gwydion | Published 2008-08-22 15:53:26 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Learn a little about the origins of British biscuits and American cookies and how these classic baked goods differ from one another. Also presented is a recipe for a classic American chocolate chip cookie and a traditional British tea-time biscuit.

The Origins and Importance of Main Courses

By gwydion | Published 2008-11-23 22:38:39 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

The main course is the most important part of any formal meal, with preceding courses leading up to it. Here you will learn a little more about main courses as well as how they developed in Ancient Rome. In additional a recipe for a classic Roman main course is provided.

The World's Hottest Chilli Dish?

By gwydion | Published 2008-03-10 11:47:34 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Chilli recipes to blow your brains out... Here are three recipes from India and Africa, incorporating the world's hottest chillies. Each could claim itself to be... The world's hottest chilli dish...

British Dessert, Traditional and Modern

By gwydion | Published 2008-05-21 15:47:25 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

British cookery is often seen as a joke, yet with the range of available fresh ingredients British desserts are some of the most divine and inspiring in the world. Here I present two classic desserts: one modern and one traditional for your enjoyment.

Baking Breads with Non-wheat Constituents

By gwydion | Published 2008-09-15 16:11:09 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Bread relies on wheat and barley for it's property as a bread for it's the gluten in these grains that allows bread to rise and keep its shape and texture. However, it is possible to add up to 20% other ingredients into a bread dough and if you add pea or bean flour then you can prepare a bread recipe that provide for all the essential amino acids you need. This article tells you about how breads works and gives you a basic recipe for a wheat bread containing maize flour.

The Surprising Recipes of Tanzania

By gwydion | Published 2008-05-01 19:48:03 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Tanzaia is a diverse country comprised of the mainland, Tanganyika and the island of Zanzibar. The cuisine of this country are influenced by Arabic, British, French and Indian cuisines producing a fusion of native and imported culinary influences that are vibrant and fascinating. Here you will see two typical Tanzanian recipes for a main course and a dessert...

Nigerian 'Efo' (Stew)

By gwydion | Published 2008-02-05 19:56:02 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

'Efo' is the generic term in Nigerian for a stew (which, confusingly, are typically called 'soups' in West Africa). The recipe given below is for the archetypal 'soup' base which can be extended by the addition of meat and vegetables. If you want a classic Nigerian meal then this is the basis you need.

Classic Curry Recipes - Create the Perfect Curry

By gwydion | Published 2008-10-24 11:54:49 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

A curry in a South Asian or Southeast Asian dish of meat or vegetables cooked in a spiced gravy. The traditions of classic curries lie in India (and the name derives from there) but these days curries have become a truly international dish. Here a classic spice blend and classic curry made from it is presented.

How to Maximize your use of Mushrooms

By gwydion | Published 2008-05-01 19:43:21 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Mushrooms are an amazing foodstuff, neither plant nor animal but a whole kingdom of life all their own. Though many mushrooms are cultivated the vast majority can only be found in the wild. Here you find recipes for both wild and cultured mushrooms so that you can know how to get the best out of them...

The Recipes of Ghana

By gwydion | Published 2008-04-28 21:20:37 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Ghana is one of the most fertile and productive of West African countries. It is also the inheritor nation of the Ga and Ashanti poeples, ancient rulers of West Africa. The cuisines of Ghana are diverse and characterized by he use of chillies, native spices and boiled eggs in the cooking. Here you will find two typical Ghanaian recipes.


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