How to make 2,000-year-old-bread

From the creator

In AD 79, a baker put his loaf of bread into the oven. Nearly 2,000 years later it was found during excavations in Herculaneum. The British Museum asked Giorgio Locatelli to recreate the recipe as part of his culinary investigations for the cinema production 'Pompeii Live from the British Museum'. RECIPE: INGREDIENTS: 600g biga acida (sourdough) 4 tsp sugar 4 tsp salt c. 500ml water 500g spelt or buckwheat flour 500g wholemeal or plain flour METHOD: Mix the wholemeal and spelt flours together, and pour this on to your work surface. Create a large depression in the centre. Dissolve the salt and sugar into the water. Mix the sourdough into the flour bit by bit, pouring it into the well you’ve just created. Once the sourdough is roughly mixed, begin to pour the water into the well slowly, mixing gently with your hands. Mix until all the water is gone, and any excess flour is incorporated into the dough. You will end up with a rough ball. Start kneading the dough gently, folding it back on itself so it can ‘take in’ some air. Knead for a few minutes until you can form it into a smooth ball. Flatten the ball slightly as in the video, and transfer it to an oiled baking tray. Cover it, and leave it to rise for 1.5–2 hours in a warm room. While you’re waiting, perhaps investigate some other ancient recipes to enjoy your bread with! The next two steps are optional, but if you’re going for historical accuracy here, they’re a must. Cut a piece of string long enough to go round

Published 2013-06-14 · Watch on YouTube ↗
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