Posted on 08/29/2020 10:30:55 AM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
Around 2000 B.C., a baker in the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes captured yeast from the air and kneaded it into a triangle of dough. Once baked, the bread was buried in a dedication ceremony beneath the temple of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II on the west bank of the Nile.
There the yeast slept like a microbial mummy for four millennia, until 2019. That’s when Seamus Blackley—a physicist and game designer best known for creating the Xbox—suctioned it up with a syringe and revived it in a sourdough starter.
Blackley, an amateur Egyptologist, often thinks about this ancient baker as he attempts to re-create the bread of 2000 B.C. “I’m trying to learn from you, my friend,” he tweeted, as if speaking across time to the baker. “Your voice will never be silent … May you have life, forever.”
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Sourdough starter definitely adds its own flavor to the bread as well as acting as a leavening agent. That’s why modern bakers use it. That opening sentence about capturing yeast from the air and turning it into bread just shows that the author was clueless about baking bread.
More importantly, what did butter taste like?
There are still recipes around for making sourdough starter from “wild yeast”.
I love homemade bagels, I haven’t made any in over two months. I use the dough for regular bagels and mini bagel dogs I like to put little smokies in. I usually make over seventy doggies and they are gone in a couple of days or less.
You can easily make your own starter from wild yeast but the author of the article gave the impression that you could get enough wild yeast to make bread just by leaving dough in the air. You have to make your starter first then use the starter to make the bread.
The profligate Earl of Sandwich tried the Egyptian bread and said don’t gamble your house or wages on the stuff catching on.
“I read an article about Twinkies a long time ago. That cream filling was actually food grade plaster. Very appetizing.”
Yeah, I never saw the appeal.
Dry cake surrounding dry filling.
Roaches won’t even touch the things.
My wife is eating a freshly made sesame seed bagel with cream cheese. So good! Mine had sesame seeds and a bit of salt. I only make 4 at a time or else we would just want to keep eating them.
Allow me to clarify my comment: I have played around (without a whole lot of success) making sourdoughs. I love a good sourdough with a lot of foods. I just wasn’t sure that yeast — regardless of origins — that yeast plays any part in varying the flavor of the bread-type. So if you want’ to limit the discussion to sourdoughs or expand it to other types, as long as we’re comparing apples-to-apples.
I don't think you can just capture yeast from the air and instantly make bread from it so it has to be some variant of sourdough. You can make other yeast combinations from different types of fruits but irregardless of how you do it you're going to capture the essence of whatever medium you use to capture the yeast. The only way you can avoid that is by using a commercially prepared yeast, and even then I don't think you can avoid it completely. It's certainly a big topic of discussion among brewers and bakers: Does the yeast you use affect the flavor of what you use it on
Thanks for the link, I’ll check it out!
Gotta try that beer and their crab cakes recipes! (love history, love cooking)
The old Maryland crab cake recipes call for Saltines. Ritz I think would be better.
I’ve yet to be successful on making a great ciabatta bread.
Does bread flour have more gluten then all-purpose flour?
Yes it does. Here's a short article that explains the differences between different types of flours: Different types of flour
If you really want to kick up the gluten you can add Vital Wheat Gluten to your mix.
Here is a recipe with pictures for Ciabatta That shows you the technique, click where it says Recipe for the actual recipe. Take note that this recipe actually uses a Poolish rather than real sourdough starter, but if you have starter you can use that instead.
Just a little note on King Arthur: they decided to go woke and made a big donation to the SPLC, an organization that brands anyone opposed to the Democratic Party platform as a "Hate Group" I use their website, love their tips and recipes but won't buy their products.
Finally, if you have a Facebook account you can join groups like Sourdough Bread Baking that has recipes, tips and advice from bakers of all levels from around the world.
I had an uncle that worked in a bakery.
He made lots of dough................................
So he was able to rise through the ranks?
Yes, but he was light skinned and would never brown properly so he was replaced by people who were.................
Well at least it would have a flavor (unlike Coors Light).
A recipe would be nice....
Also, how did the bread become sweet? They didn’t have sugar. Did they use honey? Malted grain?
Thanks!
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