Our Daily Bread

 

yeastBy Richard S. Calhoun

Bread has been made in various forms for thousands of years. However, no one knows who first made bread. Maybe it was the ancient Egyptians that kneed the dough with their feet. Maybe it was the ancient Chinese that found a way to make it with rice.
Archeologist found pieces of fossilized bread 4,500 years old by a lake in Switzerland. This bread was made from ground nuts mixed with water and were cooked over hot rocks. The result was a hard flat cake much like a tortilla. Our Native Americans made bread the same way with ground acorns.
It is believed the Egyptians discovered the secret of leavening bread. Yeast cells occur in the air all around us and perhaps the baker left the uncooked dough out longer than intended and yeast cells landed on the dough that caused the dough to rise. Until that time, unleavened bread was flat in various thicknesses.
Bread and grains are mentioned throughout the Bible.

Exodus 9.31: Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.
Exodus 9.32: But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they are late in coming up.
Isaiah 28.25: When they have leveled its surface, do they not scatter dill, sow cummin, and plant wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and spelt as the border?
Isaiah 28.27: Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cummin; but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cummin with a rod.

You will note that cumin was used in breads. Cumin is a member of the parsley family and is native to the Mediterranean and is found throughout the Western Asia. Ground cumin seeds were added to bread for flavor, and cumin oil was used as a medicine.

Ezekiel 4-9: And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred ninety days, you shall eat it.

Yes, the Bible has given us a recipe on how to make bread. You will note that yeast is not mentioned in this text from Ezekiel. Hence, the bread would have been unleavened. Here is how I make it:

Ezekiel’s Bread


4 cups of bread flour
2 cups of barley flour
1 cup of bean flour*
1/2 cup of cooked and mashed lentils
1/2 cup of millet flour
2 tablespoons of spelt**
3/4 cup of water
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of cumin
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 package of yeast
2 tablespoons of honey

  1. In a small bowl, combine the warm water and yeast while gathering the dry ingredients.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
  3. Add the cooled lentils with the honey and olive oil to the yeast.
  4. In a large bowl, add 2 cups of the dry ingredients.
  5. Stir in the yeast mixture.
  6. Continue to stir in the dry ingredients to form a ball of dough. Kneed the dough on a floured surface until no longer sticky.
  7. Place in an oiled bowl and let it rise until double in bulk.
  8. Kneed again and shape into 2 loaves.
  9. Place in a greased loaf pans and let it rise to almost double.
  10. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for about an hour.
  11. To test for doneness, tap the top and sides of the bread, if it sounds hallow it is done.

*Soy four can be used.
**Spelt is a species of wheat. Most bakers replace spelt with rye flour, however, spelt is the correct flour to be used.

Richard S. Calhoun is a food and history writer and is the co-author of “The ABC’s of Food” book. The 632-page book is a study of food as history, story, tradition, and nutrition written in a directory format for both students and adults. The book is available from www.lulu.com.

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