In all its variations and forms, bread is the most widely consumed food in the world and, in the words of Lewis Carroll’s Walrus, is chiefly what we need and rely on for our meal planning – although unless our meal includes oysters we may not serve it with “pepper and vinegar besides”!‘Such is our reliance on bread, it has become synonymous with the basic needs of life in sayings like ‘bread and butter’ meaning someone’s primary source of income, or ‘breadwinner’, the household income earner.
As one of the oldest manmade foods, bread has been a part of many historical events and is steeped in tradition. The Israelites fled their Egyptian captors before their bread had a chance to rise, making the unleavened Matzoh bread a symbol of the Jewish faith ever since. Hundreds of years later in Italy, Mt Vesuvius erupted and buried the entire Roman city of Pompeii in dust and ash. Many centuries later a fossilised pan of bread was discovered and still bears the stamp of the Roman bakery. Much later again, the pioneers began settling the American Frontier many miles from civilisation. These frontiersmen substituted fresh yeast with a sourdough starter and became forever known as ‘sourdoughs’.
Despite its evolution the essentials of bread remain the same and this ancient craft is nothing short of a magical transformation of the most basic of ingredients: flour, water and yeast. Yeast, which is essentially a fungus and is activated by warmth and liquid, consumes the flour, creating gas which elevates the otherwise dense mixture into a light, springy dough. Often additional ingredients are added including eggs, butter, salt or herbs according to cultures and regions. Ask any home cook about their bread technique and you will get a vast array of recipes and methods; some heavy, some light, sweet, savoury, flat or round, white or grain.This is due primarily to the rising trend of artisanal breads, which gives us access to ingredients and methods from all over the world. We may serve up Indian naan bread with our chicken and rice or turn to focaccia sandwiches to pack the picnic basket, in a nod to Italy. Also thanks to Italian bakers, we have the chewy, holey ciabatta, perfect dipped into a rich tomato soup. From the Mediterranean we get pita pockets, designed to be filled with delicious fillings – think generous portions of salad, lamb, and tzatzikisauce. The list goes on with rich French brioche and long baguettes, hearty Danish rye, soda bread from Ireland and dark, dense pumpernickel from Germany.
Once you have mastered your preferred recipe, it can be transformed into countless different dishes – if you can resist eating it warm from the oven! Toasted and served with jam is a quick breakfast on the run or use up leftover sliced bread in French Toast for a Saturday brunch. Softened and seasoned richly with herbs it becomes a delicious stuffing for turkey or as a binder in meatballs. Then, of course, what would we pack in lunch boxes if not sandwiches? This is perhaps the most common use of bread and deserves a nod to the 4th Earl of Sandwich, Sir John Montagu. Legend has it that Montagu was loathe to leave the card table and insisted on his servant bringing him his dinner encased in two slices of bread. Thus was born the sandwich, now the iconic component of lunches around the world.
With so many methods and variations available there is a bread recipe for everyone, and you are limited only by your imagination. So, start experimenting, you might create something that’s the best thing since sliced bread!
