SC - barley

[Decker, Terry D.]

> stefan at texas.net writes:
> 
> > 
> >  According to Waverly Root in "Food", most definitely. Among some of
> what
> >  he says:
> >  
> >  "Barley was the chief grain from which the Hebrews made bread".
> >  
> >  "Barley was the chief grain of the Greeks in the most distant times of
> >  which we have knowledge, and was apparently endowed with a religious
> >  significance."
> >  
> >  "Barley was the chief bread grain of continental Europe until the
> >  sixteenth century, as important in the European economy as is rice
> >  in many Asian countries today. It was first brought to America in
> >  1543 by the second Spanish governor of Colombia."
> >  
> >  "Barley lost much of its importance for breadmaking when leavened
> >  bread became common, for its low gluten content makes it refractory
> >  to the action of yeast."
> >  
> 
> Hmmmmmm..........
> But, if leavened bread was uncommon, why was it unusual for the bread to
> be
> unleavened in Biblical times?  Why the Jewish proscription against
> leavened
> bread for certain religious celebrations?
> What is the consensus of the list as to the definition of leavened?  Does
> Waverly mean any rising agent?  Or does he mean artificially induced
> carbon
> dioxide by means of chemical additives, such as baking powder?  Or does he
> mean simply the addition of salt?  From the context, I would say he means
> any
> rising agent, as do the Jews in their dietary restrictions.  But, if he
> means
> the use of yeast in breadmaking, why would the world suddenly stop using
> barley to make bread in late period after thousands of years of using
> yeast? 
> 
> Mordonna
> 
The first thing to remember is there are a lot of unleavened flat breads
still being baked today.  Our primary heritage is European, where wheat and
yeast leavened bread came into common use, so we are most familiar with
leavened bread.  To answer Stefan's question about the uncommonness of
leavened bread, I would say that in Europe for the period we study leavened
bread was not uncommon, but that unleavened bread and porridges were more
common than today.  

The earliest known bread recipe is for an unleavened barley flat bread which
is still baked in the Middle East.  This recipe was set down about the same
time the Egyptians discovered yeast leavening.  In Egypt, leavened bread
became the choice of the rich and powerful.  The Biblical definition of
leavening most likely originates during the time in Egypt, refers to yeast,
and has expanded to include other methods of leavening.

Leavening came to Rome from Egypt.  Pliny comments on the Vandals (IIRC)
using ale barm to leaven their breads and it's superiority to the Roman
method of leavening.  So leavening has a long and ancient history.

Wheat and rye are the two grains commonly used in leavened bread.  They
contain enough gluten to produce a proper rise.  Unfortunately, they are not
as efficient as barley and other non-gluten cereals and produce fewer
bushels per acre.  They also require better soil than barley, which is why
barley does better in the Mediterranean countries.

During the Medieval period an increase in real wealth (one of the effects of
the Plague), an increase in the efficiency of wheat farming, the opening of
disputed land suitable for growing wheat and rye, and a growing social
demand for white bread did much to change the way Europeans grew and used
grains.  Braudel in his Structures of Everyday Life provides a clear picture
of some of the economic reasons for the change.

Looking at that rambling response, I think I need some more coffee.

Bear
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