Sohla Recreates Bread & Cheese From Pompeii | Ancient Recipes With Sohla | History

Join Sohla El-Waylly as she takes the food you know and love and traces it back to its origins in Ancient Recipes with Sohla! Watch new episodes every other Saturday and check out more here:
histv.co/ancientrecipes
The Romans weren't the first to feast on bread and cheese - but it was a major staple of their diet! In this episode, Sohla bakes Panis Quadratus, a type of bread that was discovered fossilized in the ruins of Pompeii, along with a cheese made from fresh goat's milk.
Roman food archaeologist Farrell Monaco has done extensive research on ancient Roman breads. She proposed that a wooden wheel-like tool may have been used to make Panis Quadratus loaves in Roman bakeries. Learn more about bread in ancient Rome here! tavolamediterranea.com/
Recipe for Panis Quadratus and Goat's Milk Cheese:
For the Bread (Panis Quadratus):
Ingredients:
600g biga acida (sourdough starter)
4 tsp salt
500ml water
1000g spelt flour
1. Pour the spelt flour onto the work surface slowly creating a sort of pyramid. Using your hand, create a crater shape in the middle of the flour in order to create the well.
2. Dissolve the salt in the water.
3. Mix the sourdough starter into the flour mixture bit-by-bit by pouring it into the well. Roughly mix in the sourdough starter.
4. Pour the water into the crater slowly bit-by-bit mixing it gently with your hands as you go. Add & mix until all of the water is gone and the flour is fully incorporated.
5. Shape into a rough ball. Knead the dough gently folding it back on itself so it can take in some air. Knead until you can make it into a smooth ball.
6. Slightly flatten the dough into a circle. Place it on an oiled baking tray or other surface. Cover it & let it rest at room temperature for 1 1/2-2 hours.
7. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
8. Gently press a dowel rod into the bread to create the unique Panis Quadratus shape.
9. Bake for 30-45 minutes.
10. Let it cool & then eat!
For the cheese:
Ingredients:
1 gallon of whole goat's milk
Salt
Water
1 tsp rennet (1 tablet)
1. In a large pot, bring the milk to a boil on high. Stir the milk the entire time to ensure it doesn't burn or clump.
2. When it gets to a boil (about 10 minutes), turn off the stove.
3. Let the milk stand for about 15 minutes.
4. Crush up the rennet tablet & dissolve it in a little bit of water. Pour it into the milk mixture & stir.
5. Let the milk mixture stand for 30 minutes as the curds start to separate from the whey.
6. Cover a colander with 2 layers of cheese-cloth so there is enough room to eventually pull the cheese-cloth over the curds.
7. Cut the curds & whey mixture into 1"x1" cubes. Ladle a few scoops of the mixture into the colander. Pour the rest in. Let it stand for about an hour.
8. Add a little bit of salt to cheese to season.
9. Gather the edges of the cheese-cloth & wrap it over the top of the curds. Twist it tightly. Place a clean, heavy object on top of the cloth enclosed cheese. Let it stand for another hour.
10. Enjoy!
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Ancient Recipes with Sohla takes the food you know and love and traces it back to its origins. In each episode, Sohla El-Waylly details the surprising history of some of our favorite dishes as she attempts to recreate the original version using historical cooking techniques and ingredients. Along the way, Sohla highlights the differences between the ancient recipe and how we would prepare the modern version today.
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CREDITS
Host
Sohla El-Waylly
Created By
Brian Huffman
Executive Producers
Sarah Walker
Brian Huffman
Jon Erwin
Executive Producer
Sohla El-Waylly
Co-Producer
John Schlirf
Writer
Jon Erwin
Historian - Scripts
Ken Albala
Post-Production Supervisors
Jon Erwin
John Schlirf
Editors
John Schlirf
Craig Brasen
Colorist
John Schlirf
Mixer
Tim Wagner
Manager, Rights & Clearances
Chris Kim
Executive Creative Director, A+E Networks
Tim Nolan
VP, Marketing Production, A+E Networks
Kate Leonard
VP, Brand Creative, History
Matt Neary
Music Courtesy of
Extreme Music
A+E Signature Tracks
Additional Footage & Photos Courtesy of
Getty Images
Alamy
Pond5
Wikimedia

[@Zastier]

In a year Sohla went from being under appreciated by some barely known company to starring on the history channel and I am so happy to see it.

[@AskMiko]

And featured regularly on three other channels!

[@Iroxinping]

F conde nast

[@Phi1618033]

Bon Appetit is "barely known" ??

[@yunniekal]

@@jc3930 If you compare her to the well known BA people then yeah one could see that. But she is s bit more awkward especially when she was on BA cause she didn't have the practice. Now she is finding her stride and people love the bit of awkwardness. It feels more real. 🤷‍♀️

[@wickandde]

Honestly even on BA she was my favorite event though she wasn't featured nearly enough

[@shenee1226]

Sohla created bread destroyed by a volcano by making a volcano of flour and starter. Full circle.

[@buebitohonguito4061]

💥

[@diniscorreia]

Haha, I had the exact same thought!

[@brandonkomolo7251]

Shes amazing. Made me laugh in hellish sitches.

[@StaticTeeth]

I was about to comment this lol

[@yesterdaydream]

Thank you for perfectly articulating this lmao

[@juliancentavo3927]

I could literally watch 100 episodes of this. Please keep making them, History Channel!

[@SMPTEColorBars]

Same!

[@AskMiko]

Agree! I love this

[@hayesminich2367]

Yes, one of my favorite segments.

[@HISTORY]

Thanks for watching! We’ll have new episodes of Ancient Recipes with Sohla every Saturday at Noon!

[@SMPTEColorBars]

@@HISTORY Can't wait! This is mashup of two things I love, history and cooking!

[@Bluebelle51]

Fun fact: some of the larger bakeries in ancient Rome, Pompeii, etc. used water wheels or geared donkey wheels, and paddles to knead large amounts of dough at once

[@WyattRyeSway]

True, bakers animals were found dead when the ancient towns were discovered.

[@ktiemz]

That's doughp

[@jgt2598]

Yes! Roman bread is one of the few ancient recipes were you can go, "alright, we're going to do this like the ancients would [pulls out stand mixer]"

[@PhoenixLyon]

@@jgt2598 Indeed! Although, I must admit, that chef be did say "ancient Roman bread recipe" rather than "making bread in the ancient way". That's why I like Sohla, it's done the way it used to be done. . ✌️🐱

[@clancyson]

I herd long ago they took a squab and put it in a chicken, put the chicken in a goose then the goose in a goat and baked it in the ground. Can you attempt a version of that? Love your show/C

[@caitlinkasiacassidy1070]

Sohla is an interesting contrast to Tasting History. She culinarily trained in such a beautiful way, but Max is just such a history nerd so you get interesting quips and all of the research he had from the era. I'd love to see them do one episode together, culinary-history expert explosion.

[@ArloMathis]

Seconded

[@JessieCochran37]

I need this collaboration in my life!

[@lcflngn]

We have one now, need more!

[@raynemichelle2996]

This happened

[@loribriggs3346]

Most people did not have ovens in their houses so they took their bread to a baker to have it baked. Thus why so many bakeries were needed. People stamped their emblem on it so they were sure to get their bread back.

[@zardozmyrh7789]

P perhaps that was one of the earliest uses of trademarks?

[@TanukiSC]

Sohla is just a legend. So happy to see her getting the kind of respect and appreciation she always deserved!

[@taurigirl]

That what happens when you're allowed space to shine and be your authentic self. I'm so happy for her!

[@drummerlovesbookworm9738]

The snitch

[@td866]

She is selfish, a bully and a race baiter.

[@taurigirl]

@@td866 you need to explain that one with some PROOF

[@td866]

@@taurigirl She selfish used BLM to gain publicity for herself and didn't engage her colleagues, she bullied Brad, Claire, and Gaby, and she has cried racism as a cause for failures (BA, Serious Eats, BATK, and her own restaurant).

[@br_ycee]

the fact that she calls figs jam bags is simultaneously unsurprising and so cute

[@malloryknox6802]

"Look at me, I'm so quirky!"

[@teehlfx5238]

@@malloryknox6802 guess that makes you jelly.

[@callalily4052]

Oh my God, I actually know why they had so many bakeries! Most people didn't have ovens. Either their apartments were too small, too high up or too rickety. Ovens were shared, sometimes on the first floor of the apartment building, if they were lucky. Otherwise they made the dough and then took it to the bakery and paid them a fee to bake it. Obviously, some folks just bought bread and didn't make their own dough. Also there were grain rations to citizens but that's a whole other story... Anyway, bakeries were busy back in those days. p.s. I'd love to see the earliest chicken pot pie.

[@jamesdominguez7685]

Apparently in some societies it was also common for there to be one central mill and you'd bring your grain to be ground into flour and you'd pay the miller with a portion of the resulting flour.

[@tessat338]

Also in wood-built Roman cities, there was a constant risk of fire. Cooking in houses or apartments was banned in some places, so people had to take their food in containers to a bakery to be even cooked.

[@jraaccounts]

@@tessat338 taking food to the bakery to be cooked is still done in morocco in some cases. i stayed with a moroccan friend and one morning we bought ingredients for a tagine, prepped them, but then took them to the local bakery, who put them in the tagine and cook it in the oven after finishing baking the day's bread (when the oven is a bit cooler). and then we went back and picked it up in the evening.

[@tessat338]

@@jraaccounts That is SO COOL! Thanks for sharing that with us! How did they keep track of whose food was whose?

[@nekodromeda]

Here to recognize the Tall Sohla joke which will inevitably be underappreciated

[@Zanpaa]

The editing is great in these videos in general. Good job to the editor(s)! Just enough fun additions and little jokes without it becoming annoying.

[@lightlysaltedman]

here to add that the Regular-Sized Sohla joke is also underappreciated

[@rileykveton9866]

I was just looking for a comment like this because I chuckled out loud at it

[@vadalia3860]

I love that they keep giving Sohla blades & the epic music when she uses them.

[@hannahluke9381]

LOVING the continuation of Sohla using weapons to do random tasks

[@zardozmyrh7789]

🎩👍 I better husband doesn't mess with her the way she can wield these weapons I know I would respect her a lot I just enjoy her work. 🚨😹😂

[@MortemInteritum]

"30 bakeries seems a lot for a whole city." Germans: "Hold my beer."

[@l.c.8475]

Right? I have 7 bakeries within walking distance from where I live, granted 2 of them are supermarket bakeries, but still, that's already almost 1/4 of the way in my neighbourhood alone, my small hometown easily has 30+ bakeries

[@nothere_cora]

For real like I'm french and this just seem awful to me, like man you gotta WALK to get to a bakery in manhatan?

[@aubreyarchives]

This series is so good! Love Sohla. Smart move mixing her with historical cooking :D

[@gotanygrapes831]

For real

[@HISTORY]

Thanks for being a fan! Subscribe to never miss a new episode of Ancient Recipes with Sohla!

[@lizlorenzsonn9999]

You should make some of the stews from the Mesopotamian tablets they have at Yale!

[@shamrizanjamaludin1383]

dear editors, you guys should record how long are the time sohla took a few moment to comment after tasting her food, and set records everytime loll, like this is probably her new record

[@olivier8278]

Seconded

[@celiazamarripa3375]

Yes! I love that she tastes and savors her food and gives us an accurate opinion but she chews so much!!! I guess that’s healthy though 🤷‍♀️ timer would definitely be a cute idea!!

[@blue_champignon5738]

The production quality is so good on this series

[@BraxtonRwells]

These videos are my new favorite cooking show

[@AryaWinnenson]

Lol at Sohla with a dagger. I love her using weapons. Next episode will probably be her making pudding and be like “i feel like they would have used a glaive or some polearm to stir”

[@defaultuser1447]

No doubt some fine Damascus steel.

[@-EchoesIntoEternity-]

3:45 missed opportunity for Mt Vesuvius joke 😏

[@redbeard36]

It’s good for us fans, but insane that BA didn’t value the gigantic talent and skill of Sohla. Great chef, warm personalitity, excellent food educator..

[@MsInsanityMadness]

I love how she’s everywhere on KZbin now that she has left the company.

[@riariotraichu]

Discovered you through Babish and followed you here. Love that there's finally historical cooking content that takes in immersion as a factor, but stays funny too

[@cryosteam3944]

this kind of video has been done a hundred ways lol

[@johannahidalgo7738]

Whoa!!!!! That looked marvelous!!! Would you do some ancient Egyptian food??? I’d love to see (taste some day) what they ate and how they made it!😉😻👍

[@Yungbeck]

Now THIS is my type of show! And of course you nailed the casting with the ever so talented Sohla.

[@lindsayr5734]

THE EDITING of this series is so good. Mad props on the cheeky lower thirds

[@chubby_deity3143]

I've always been curious about desserts from ancient China

[@changingman7256]

I like how they specified that the stomach lining is from a “lamb or kid (goat)”. 😂

[@Frostdraga]

I bet someone in the past read that recipe and had a long think about how much their child meant to them 😂

[@JamesonNichols]

It’s for the history channel, it’s got to have some semblance of accuracy

[@changingman7256]

@@JamesonNichols yes-but it’s humorous that they felt that they have to emphasize that a kid refers to a baby goat and not a human child🤔

[@laurawolfe4328]

History needs to pair up with Tasting History with Max Miller on these too!! I LOVE Sohla, and her and Max together would be awesome.

[@maudglazbrooke1287]

Awww she misses Tiny Whisk!

[@lauramartens1015]

i neeed some close up beauty shots of this bread though and the final plated dish, please and thank youuu

[@O2life]

There are probably 30 bakeries just in Chinatown in Manhattan. Regardless, this looks delicious. I'm loving this show!

[@PhatTrumpet2]

Me: "Wait, so are you a chef chef? Or a pastry chef? Or a bread baker? Or a culinary anthropologist? Or just a really smart and fun KZbin cooking personality?" Sohla: "Yes."

[@georgiasw7512]

This series with Sohla made a subscriber outta me History! I adore her. She is so good at this and with great editing that matches her personality. WINNER.

[@traceyleonard9175]

Love Sohla, love the editing on this, and love this new direction History Channel is going. Please keep doing this!

[@EvelynQKelly]

18:48 I have a suggestion! I would love to see Sohla make an episode of the origins/history of Native American fry bread. ☺️ Also, great video 💜 I adore this series and the host 🎶

[@melissap5649]

Yes!!! Please this!!! Natives are so underrated and we need to keep trying to preserve their beautiful culture.

[@johna8445]

Native American fry bread isn't traditional native food. It was created by native cooks using government surplus flour and shortening that was given to reservations. It's history all right but not necessarily the history you thought it was. It's good, but it's also very unhealthy if eaten on a regular basis.

[@bigbird2451]

As a request, could you make pemican and acorn "Mush" that doesn't taste as bitter as the stuff we made in third grade. Might as well do Fry Bread too! Edit: I suppose that those are all from different locations and timelines. Fry bread being more modern, acorns from the West and pemican from the plains. All are worth exploring though.

[@mekko902]

Agreed! I would love to see some indigenous North American cuisine.

[@zardozmyrh7789]

Did you use whole acorns cuz because only half of them are edible the other half goes into the ground to grow the trees that's why the squirrels only eat the sweet half.

[@sabrinalopes8461]

love the cuts to lava after sohla says Pompeii

[@LiliLovesStuff]

I love that Sohla is also a slow chewer. We need more slow chewer representation.

[@jraaccounts]

hear hear! slow chewers unite! :-D

[@zardozmyrh7789]

Did you see Sohla and Mrs music eating gnocchi I mean ancient gnocchi that was very chewy you had to chew it slowly I guess.

[@umsami]

This is just like Tasting History with Max Miller. I'm OK with that, but kudos to him for doing it on his own with zero budget. The more historical cooking, the better!

[@Deathven1482]

Can’t discount Townsends either! Another great channel

[@forgingstrength6119]

He's neither the first nor last to do it. He appeared during covid at the right time. Townsends have been around for over a decade with a focus on colonial american food. And there's been other smaller channels that never made it big that dabbled in it. I thought about starting one almost 20 years ago and thought no one would be interested in my weird, quirky interest in historical food, particularly middle ages and how that carried over to the colonies, and ancient rome. At the time, it probably was true. But with everyone stuck inside during lockdowns and baking bread, lol, Max got in at the perfect time. He also has a great personality.

[@julianneborgardt9226]

No idea how I'm just stumbling across this now but i know what I'm marathoning this weekend!

[@aaravvaidya]

6:33 Sohla channeling Bob Ross

[@samanthajohnson56]

I am so happy to see Sohla she's so quirky and fun and she seems much happier and seems genuinely excited to check out these ancient cooking techniques. This seems so fun and intriguing to explore where our food comes from

[@Toopie00]

for those who enjoy these, i highly suggest watching Tasting History with Max Miller. His channel is very similar and he has a multitude of recipes from throughout history including one similar to this very video!

[@luanasari5161]

yea i subed to him

[@lreed9880]

I do wonder if History got the idea from Tasting History

[@Toopie00]

@@lreed9880 I've speculated the same thing

[@addchickpeas956]

Sohla is a gem as always, but definitely gotta give props to the whole team behind these videos. They give a lot of room for Sohla to just be Sohla while adding their own little flairs. The editing is fun and lighthearted, but not overly. The shots also just feel a smidge longer than you see in a lot of other modern cooking videos, which I like. I think it fits the "ancient" tone as well as serves Sohla well.

[@charityhebert2640]

As an archaeology/anthropology student who has a deep love of food culture, I am loving the fairly recent uptick of interest in food history channels from the past couple years! Food is one of the most basic requirements for life, yet throughout history we take it and make it fun and colourful and yummy and extravangant and we imbibe it with meaning and significance, we find joy and enjoyment in it and I think that's so cute of us.

[@elin9120]

How about cooking food underground with embers? We learned that it was done in Sweden way back in the day ☺️

[@mariapaularubianoa.6890]

Sohla is so charismatiiic , everytime I watch one of her vids I feel like we're just hanging out as friends lmao

[@TanyaLagandaonHayes]

I love Sohla and love that she's doing this series! My kids are learning about Rome and Pompeii and this was such a fun addition to their learning.

[@itsanit123]

Sohla seems like the most chill person ever

[@nynaofcumae1677]

My birthday is coming up, and all I wish for is a crossover episode with Sohla and June from delish!

[@michellegvalles]

I love watching Sohla cooking videos! ❤️ Thank you, History Channel. And love all the sound effects & animations too! 🤣

[@juliesweeney9390]

I heard Sohla on the Getting Curious podcast and had to check out the episodes of Ancient Recipes. Fascinating! Thank you for bringing history to life!

[@cynthia4242]

I would love to see a video on Polish Pierogi!

[@santiagohernandeznieto4657]

3:20 I wasn't ready for that joke, choked on my own saliva while dying from laughter.

[@FranciscoGomes11]

I'm loving this series.

[@HISTORY]

Thanks for watching! We’ll have new episodes of Ancient Recipes with Sohla every Saturday at Noon!

[@natalieolguin527]

*GO SOHLA* *GO HISTORY CHANNEL* Food and cooking and History Channel and a fun chef? Yes! Pompeii has always been one of my favorite subjects! Maybe a Viking dessert next??

[@natim.4557]

the edit of her tasting and coming up with words to say is what i look forward to every episode 🤗

[@jasperriceherdt]

How am I only finding these videos now!! So awesome!

[@rossjones1530]

I spent the whole "oil your wood" section trying to avoid saying "...lucky Ham..." out loud.

[@alisha8201]

This is such an added delight to my weekends!!! I would love to see the editors and behind the scenes people credited so we can appreciate their part, too!!

[@Amy-cz3xk]

Best show the History Channel has put out in a decade or more. Please keep it up

[@harryparmley1193]

Wow, no way I could be doing this, but certainly appreciate watching being done. Beautiful... and I'm sure I would like, too..!

[@ShyShyMarieLyons]

Best new series! Love Sohla!

[@megant7410]

Editors, I love you. Your little touches of flair are amazing and entertain me way more than they should

[@cherrymate20lite24]

I absolutely adore this series!

[@iac4357]

@16:55, The cheese can also be used to make a Roman cheesecake, called Savillum. Mix the cheese, honey and flour, and pour into a baking dish brushed with olive oil. Top with more honey & poppy seeds/crushed walnuts, and bake till browned and slightly firm. So Good !

[@VictorAndScience]

Sohla is so talented! And she looks totes cute with her curls. I would love for ger to do a cookbook with all of the things she has learned while doing this show. With her amazing creativity, we would get the most amazing and unexpected flavors.

[@funniburnz4942]

Love this series ! Do good. In so many ways ! Yes please !

[@mainpage725]

This is awesome! And the host is the best! This is what the history channel needs, more of stuff like this!

[@scottschultz1721]

Loving these videos and u are awesome plz keep them coming wish i could taste it with Ya

[@HISTORY]

Thanks for watching! We’ll have new episodes of Ancient Recipes with Sohla every Saturday at Noon!

[@ipazilla]

Sohla's demeanor is so relaxing. Really enjoying this new show.

[@jessicabruno1316]

We need much, much, much, much more of this. Thank you! xox

[@irenabe973]

Loved this episode. TY.

[@wick2005]

Yess! So cool to see Sohla get her own show! And such a cool one

[@missy541]

Never stop this!! It’s sooo good 😍

[@morganbeverlyhoover1587]

I love watching Sohla in this series. More please!

[@e.b.4942]

I’m living for these sohla videos👏🏽❤️

[@atomdent]

Will try this soon with my duaghter it looks fun if slightly challenging good job and cool channel, thanks Sohla!!!!

[@lifestories7957]

So much interesting. Thanks for this post.

[@HISTORY]

Thanks for being a fan! Subscribe to never miss a new episode of Ancient Recipes with Sohla!

[@laurenloggins826]

I hope Sohla is treated much better at History 💕 two of my favorite things combined. I’m so happy

[@matthewrobinson6872]

More stuff like this History loving this!

[@rikkicrowder7134]

This is the first episode of Ancient Recipes with Sohla that I REALLY want to try the food she makes :D

[@alphonsofrett2757]

Thanks for sharing your hard work

[@fencewalker]

"Tall Sohla: tall chef" 😂😂

[@dang.9926]

yayyyyy closed captions!!! thank youuuu

[@gemmycapati7894]

I love this series!!!

[@yuantheblue]

I've been binging this for a few weeks now, and while they are all great, I finally found something that my non dairy diet will allow :)

[@pbsjones]

These episodes are so fun! I find Sohla's awkwardness charming -- and don't get me going about her giggle! I think I'm going to look forward to her tasting what she has made and watching her self-consciously chewing. Great job!

[@aislin2989]

I would literally watch 15 seasons of this

[@justwannapost69]

The journey Sohla went on with that bite was a 5 volume epic

[@cmd406]

That looks delish! I would do that! Loving this show and Sohla!

[@Kallah_DaughterOfYAHUAH]

I love how sohla has multiple shows on multiple channels.

[@EricMartinez-pv9xp]

I love this show!

[@milkjugs4771]

Sohla this series is so good. They better be sending you to these places when covid is over

[@ivylee42069]

This is the first video I watched on my brand new phone and I couldn't be happier 💗

[@brunogiambroni1422]

Loving the new series!

[@HISTORY]

Thanks for being a fan! Subscribe to never miss a new episode of Ancient Recipes with Sohla!

[@raukuracave4714]

I love how they leave so much of her personality in the edit.. ❤

[@MindaRox]

Beautiful dough Sohla, this is so enjoyable to watch

[@marialorentzen4365]

I love all of her recipes!!!!

[@victorialobato3652]

The editing and addition of sound is getting better, good job :)