Historyofbread

　　Breadisoneoftheoldestpreparedfoods.Evidencefrom30,000yearsagoinEuroperevealedstarchresidueonrocksusedforpoundingplants.Itispossiblethatduringthistime,starchextractfromtherootsofplants,suchascattailsandferns,wasspreadonaflatrock,placedoverafireandcookedintoaprimitiveformofflatbread.Around10,000BC,withthedawnoftheNeolithicageandthespreadofagriculture,grainsbecamethemainstayofmakingbread.Yeastsporesareubiquitous,includingthesurfaceofcerealgrains,soanydoughlefttorestwillbecomenaturallyleavened.Thereweremultiplesourcesofleaveningavailableforearlybread.Airborneyeastscouldbeharnessedbyleavinguncookeddoughexposedtoairforsometimebeforecooking.PlinytheElderreportedthattheGaulsandIberiansusedthefoamskimmedfrombeertoproduce"alighterkindofbreadthanotherpeoples."Partsoftheancientworldthatdrankwineinsteadofbeerusedapastecomposedofgrapejuiceandflourthatwasallowedtobeginfermenting,orwheatbransteepedinwine,asasourceforyeast.Themostcommonsourceofleaveningwastoretainapieceofdoughfromthepreviousdaytouseasaformofsourdoughstarter.

　　Amajoradvancehappenedin1961withthedevelopmentoftheChorleywoodbreadprocess,whichusedtheintensemechanicalworkingofdoughtodramaticallyreducethefermentationperiodandthetimetakentoproducealoaf.Theprocess,whosehigh-energymixingallowsfortheuseoflowerproteingrain,isnowwidelyusedaroundtheworldinlargefactories.

　　Recently,domesticbreadmachineswhichautomatetheprocessofmakingbreadhavebecomepopular.