Bread has a history at least thirty thousand years old. Unleavened bread, like flatbreads and pittas, contain no raising agent. Pliny the Elder noted that the skimmed foam on beer, a result of the yeast used in the brewing process, produced a lighter bread. The yeast used for the fermentation process in beer is the same as the yeast used to make bread.
In the ruins of Pompeii, the poignant remains of bakers' shops can be seen. It is the domestic details most of all that often highlight a tragedy.
Yeast needs moisture, food and warmth to grow. A loaf of bread can be made from flour, water, salt, sugar, perhaps some butter. In the nineteenth century flour was often adulterated, with additions such as chalk.
Some bakers added sea-water to save on salt and customers complained.
Monks in the twelfth century Augustinian Priory in Haverfordwest ate their food off large slices of bread, using the bread as plates. These were known as 'trenchers' and were meant to be distributed to the poor of the town, but often they were given to relatives or even stray dogs.
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