How to make 2,000-year-old-bread

In AD 79, a baker put his loaf of bread into the oven. Nearly 2,000 years later it was found during excavations in Herculaneum. The British Museum asked Giorgio Locatelli to recreate the recipe as part of his culinary investigations for the cinema production 'Pompeii Live from the British Museum'.
RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS:
600g biga acida (sourdough)
4 tsp sugar
4 tsp salt
c. 500ml water
500g spelt or buckwheat flour
500g wholemeal or plain flour
METHOD:
Mix the wholemeal and spelt flours together, and pour this on to your work surface. Create a large depression in the centre.
Dissolve the salt and sugar into the water. Mix the sourdough into the flour bit by bit, pouring it into the well you’ve just created. Once the sourdough is roughly mixed, begin to pour the water into the well slowly, mixing gently with your hands. Mix until all the water is gone, and any excess flour is incorporated into the dough. You will end up with a rough ball.
Start kneading the dough gently, folding it back on itself so it can ‘take in’ some air. Knead for a few minutes until you can form it into a smooth ball.
Flatten the ball slightly as in the video, and transfer it to an oiled baking tray. Cover it, and leave it to rise for 1.5-2 hours in a warm room. While you’re waiting, perhaps investigate some other ancient recipes to enjoy your bread with!
The next two steps are optional, but if you’re going for historical accuracy here, they’re a must. Cut a piece of string long enough to go round your risen dough, with a bit left over to tie a knot. Wrap the string around the sides of the dough, pull it tight so it makes a lip around the side, and tie a knot to secure it.
Now, take a knife to score the top into eight equal segments. Real loaves from the Roman period were often stamped too. If you want, now’s the time to add your own stamp. It could be your initials or whatever you want, but bear in mind that your stamp must be oven-proof, and will need to be weighed down during baking with something heavy (like baking beans wrapped in foil).
Bake for 30-45 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (around 400 degrees Fahrenheit). Keep an eye on your loaf so it doesn’t come out looking carbonised like the one from Herculaneum!
Let it cool and enjoy your Roman bread!
HISTORY:
In response to the many interesting, thoughtful and sometimes amusing comments we've received for this video, we've asked Paul Roberts, the curator of our Pompeii exhibition 'Life and Death in Herculaneum', to give us the academic background:
It was one of the Romans’ great boasts at table that they could serve white flour bread at fine banquets (at normal tables they might well have eaten poorer grades of wheat or other grains, such as spelt or barley, and even beans, lentils or chestnuts.)
You will see that Giorgio scores the loaf: I’ve examined lots of the loaves and I am convinced that they are scored. It's important to remember that the loaves survived because they were carbonised. They have, in effect, shrunk somewhat from their original form, because of the loss of liquid on exposure to the sudden blast of heat form Vesuvius - conservatively estimated at 400 degrees centigrade. All other foodstuffs - figs, beans, grain etc are noticeably smaller than they ought to be - and there is no reason the same shouldn’t be true of bread.
This could explain why the scoring and the stamp seem implausibly clear - in effect they may have contracted to a smaller (and in the case of the stamp, more legible) form. This carbonisation must, I think, be taken into account and means the loaves when complete and fresh from the oven may have looked very different from how we see them now - not just in colour.

[@britishmuseum]

If you'd like to make the bread yourself, the recipe is in the description, but you can also find it here: bit.ly/3KQEx7p And if you want to make the bread with history-inspired cookware, the Museum has a range of exactly that: bit.ly/3ifS6RI All purchases support the British Museum's research, object care and help us to make more videos like this.

[@vegard3940]

Why does your recipe contain sugar, when it was not known in the Roman Empire and has only been brought to Europe some 1000 years later?

[@onexpressocafe1821]

Perhaps they used honey back then?@@vegard3940

[@ErbyboyMV]

God what am I doing here. I have to study for two tests for tomorrow. I don't even cook.

[@MI-jp4nq]

Haha get some sleep. Or nootropics if you're in Physics, Chem, or Engineering. /partially kidding

[@silvervixen007]

Same, beside the only ingredient that I have is water 😅

[@cams.3287]

ErbyboyMV It's life ... just go with it

[@carissajordan7757]

ErbyboyMV omg same! I have a chemistry and an environmental science test tomorrow and yet I'm watching some guy make bread

[@franekdolas1364]

how did it go?

[@P-Bass_Pete]

Instructions unclear, covered my town in burning Ash and lava

[@FfblastBlogspot]

Pete Pompeii reference nice

[@KimiHayashi]

that got dark

[@Phelan666]

Close the oven, stupid.

[@freddiemercury8288]

He is Italian. I'm italian too And he's restaurant is LOCANDA LOCATELLI in London

[@MB-rc7qk]

@@freddiemercury8288 don't go there unless you like the test of his under nail collections

[@Ian-nl9yd]

this guys accent is caught between england and italy

[@Lovetrain-io6kt]

Ian ok

[@emilyreed28]

Exactly what I kept thinking 😂

[@andreyking2062]

And Morocco

[@cosmicblu4726]

@@cejannuzi as a rhotic speaker I find it more difficult to understand

[@antidoteify]

and a bit of american

[@kornelcajka5320]

Only AD 70's kids will remember this bread

[@mz7315]

Ayyy!

[@Side_Bar]

You mean 70CE

[@kornelcajka5320]

@@Side_Bar "In AD 79, a baker put his loaf of bread into the oven." Its in the description buddy, and if it wasn't then 2021 - 2000 = 21 AD

[@Side_Bar]

@@kornelcajka5320 CE or Common Era is scholarly notation as opposed to the religious AD. You probably thought i meant BCE- Before Common Era

[@kornelcajka5320]

@@Side_Bar Yeah my bad mixed those up, looks like I'm the dumbass here :(

[@Zach-tf2qu]

I tried this recipe out today but my bread is still only a few hours old, has anyone else encountered this problem?

[@Scbubzor]

Ah yes I encountered the same problem, my bread would have been done by now but some dickhead street performer decided to steal it to feed some slaves.

[@TheBluBalls]

Zach the secret ingredient is ash, copious amounts of ash.

[@fullmindstorm]

Give it a 2,000 year old birthday party and voila.

[@barbarajoseph-adam8337]

Zach you did something wrong, mate. Mine came out perfect - volcanic ash and all.

[@chenelson185]

you had to pray to the god (Priapus ) the god of the garden ,look him up ,

[@HolgerLovesMusic]

bake bread; wait 2000 years.

[@fallindeshields3047]

H. W. 😂😂😂

[@sectionq1]

H. W. Exactly and who in this day and age has got that much spare time?

[@thomasscream4179]

Just divide your time in a disciplined manner, and keep a strict schedule. You'll find that 2000 years is quite easy to come by.

[@FfblastBlogspot]

lol

[@tinymetaltrees]

I don't have 2,000 years to watch this guy do it.

[@666THEMARK666]

step 1: read comments section step 2: realize your joke about waiting 2000 years after baking bread are unoriginal.

[@CriticalRoleHighlights]

It's not a joke. It's a comment to show the absurdity of putting a stupid title on a video.

[@MC-xw2ro]

Critical Role Highlights Or you could think about it for just a moment and realize they're obviously reffering to a 2000 year old recepie for bread. You don't have to click on the video to realize that.

[@yamiyomizuki]

@@MC-xw2ro yes but they really should have just called the video How To Make Ancient Roman Bread, it would have been less open to dumb jokes and still attracted views

[@Marqan]

it's not unoriginal, it's just that someone else already made it... you can have original ideas just cause you're not the first..

[@maxxomega6599]

Bah...you are stuck up...

[@LeastTresCharLargo]

As having been a baker for half a decade. It's not surprising how little things have changed. A little flour, a little yeast...and sometimes a little salt or oil, plus patience. I miss being a baker. It was once a very honorable profession for many thousands of years.

[@spumantemerrick2832]

Why did you stop baking? Asking for a friend!😊

[@LeastTresCharLargo]

@@spumantemerrick2832 Started a family and needed more money. 🤷‍♂ I still remember it rather fondly. Easy work and it was very easy to get in "the zone" as it were.

[@thetwistedsamurai]

"add a little bit of weight" smooshes entire half of piece

[@Ramdodge582]

step 1: make some bread step 2: wait 2000 years

[@DrewskiTheLegend]

Ram-n_dodge beat me to it.

[@vivianp5962]

right, lol.

[@marykacyy6802]

Wtf was that second ingredient !????

[@popotoproductions3015]

Mary it was a sourdough starter. its what they used instead of yeast back then

[@mancavestudios8955]

F+/*. BEat me to the punch.

[@georgeghleung]

On a serious note: Maybe the "equator" around the bread is not due to a string, but possibly baked like a Prosphora, which is always assembled from two separate round pieces of leavened dough placed one on top of another, and baked together to form a single loaf?

[@DanielBrownsan]

Once again, "string theory" has been proven to be questionable.

[@DanielBrownsan]

Wow, was not expecting an intelligent response given the rest of this thread. Had never heard of this but that does seem to be the more likely explanation. Wildly curious why they did it that way. Wanted thicker bread but leavening was easier separately?

[@b33lze6u6]

nice profile pic

[@cazek445]

George Leung I actually tried this (yes I bake bread) and it did not make a line, instead the top piece kinda folded over the bottom piece, making a weird crusty part in the bread...

[@raffaeleirlanda6966]

Stranded NYer None said it was to be hanged. Chef said it should be a measured string of a fixed lenght, in order to bake bread loafs of the same size. It is Locatelli joking with the string and hanging it.

[@funghoul2199]

I've seen always wondered what bread this would taste like when reading about the ancient civilization with the volcano science, history, & many years later I'm 20 and bakers are reviving this lost art what a time to be alive

The string is baked into the bread so that when it comes out of the oven, you can hang it up to cool. This eliminates the need for cooling racks that take up valuable horizontal space in the kitchen. Plus, it's easier to sell if the customer can see all sides of the bread without too much handling.

[@haroldhenderson2824]

Áine MacDermot Another possibility: sale by street vendor. Not everyone would buy an entire loaf. Needed to carry around to be delivered.

[@aklassen3525]

I didnt know you were there in Pompeii when they did this

[@benbarker8154]

Brilliant comment! Very insightful. And makes perfect sense.

[@kikkoman789]

Then.. a littlé weght

[@iLitAfuseiCantStop]

A Klassen don't be a dick. It actually makes a lot of sense. That is unless you have a better hypothesis.

[@Thathappened703]

3:55, there is a very interesting image on the left

[@DumbassAdult]

Alexander Hoang Thank you, world's greatest detective!

[@bpuppin]

+Alexander Hoang Kids back then were all 7 years old making bread

[@mgbsecteacher]

+Alexander Hoang Could it be a variation of an Egyptian ankh?

[@Kakifruit194]

+Alexander Hoang that was a special kinda cake for people like you. recipe: www.cockcakesforbatman.com

[@lalalalopez1631]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@PandaBurrie]

It’s amazing to me how little bread making has changed. Flour, water, salt, and depending on the region some sort of yeast/sour flour, mix it, knead it, and throw it in a hot oven or hot surface. It’s the foundations of global civilization yet it’s basically the same that it’s been for thousands of years.

[@jasperc6101]

3:41 Did anyone catch that? (On the left)

[@saulgoodman7450]

mines bigger

[@jerryaldrin93]

I'm waiting for this comment. Hahah

[@bjadi6670]

LOLOL

[@alexainezm]

yes the romans were really into phallic symbols actually

[@pitipua62]

😂😂😂

[@ImadZeryouh]

Found it anoying that I couldn't find the ingredients in the description. So guys thumbs up and here it is Ingredients: 400g biga acida (sourdough) 12g yeast 18g gluten 24g salt 532g water 405g spelt flour 405g wholemeal flour

[@alexmcclellan5302]

WTF?!?!?

[@kleineroteHex]

really quite different from what he says in the video!

[@ImadZeryouh]

kleineroteHex I got it from the website, just trying to help

[@cinzyahrox7203]

Didn't he mention buckwheat flour at the beginning of the vídeo? He even stated which is the flour they used all the time but it's not in the recipe

[@dnmurphy48]

He did say buckwheat. I also doubt they had gluten separated from wheat. Also, you need the recipe fr the sourdough, which they don't give

[@danzigrulze5211]

He really sounds like an Italian Christopher Walken.

[@deckiedeckie]

phony

[@jadegecko]

So it wasn't just me

[@BobbylightRCE]

Danzig Rulze omg dude foreal 😂😂😂

[@rygnyr3083]

Danzig Rulze t

[@brandonmanley3013]

Danzig Rulze glad you noticed too haha

[@reggiemartin4505]

That is absolutely the coolest thing ever. As someone who loves to bake bread I find this infinitely fascinating.

[@vacatiolibertas]

As someone who can't cook, this guy's hand motions alone are absolutely mesmerizing.

[@patrickkeller2193]

The original doesn't look like the top was cut, more like they put a wheel shaped weight on it.

[@antoniofarinaccio541]

I agree. it doesn't look like it.

[@floravermette312]

Antonio Farinaccio

[@jesamindee6783]

That was what I thought, a wheel shape was placed on top of the loaf, which caused the indentation, and the initials came out nothing like the original, so had to have been made a different way!

[@mav598]

they actually used bread as wheels back then ;)

[@TheDemethar]

And the logo was probably engraved on the weight.

[@chaoticB81]

you are not even going to cut it so we can see the texture?

[@StrangeQuark]

no you have to wait 2000 years

[@GenghisKhanBruseySkyz]

beat me to it.

[@MightyYoungSir]

king quark ROL

[@tatsu326]

You have to wait till Sliced bread was a thing

[@bobwildlybilly6020]

chaoticB81 he's God Bro it's perfect

[@BELCAN57]

I think that the ridge around the loaf was made using a round mold that put the wedge marks in the bread. It was a way to standardize the process.

[@ATINKERER]

I think you're on the right track.

[@alexainezm]

I'm also aware that at the time there was an issue of people making "fake bread" things like ridges etc could be sort of a certification for the bread to say it was baked properly by an authenticated baker

[@johndefreitas1888]

That was my first thought when I saw this video too. I believe you have the right idea

[@EricLS]

My immediate thought as well. Literally looks like it squished out of the ring mold/scorer.

[@steveythefox]

they would have found a mould, he mentions that

[@sethguest781]

It's really amazing when people recreate ancient foods, truly unique, different and unlike anything we eat today!

[@DanielGonzalez-op9ez]

i was gonna make a time travel joke, but then my future self showed up and told me not to

[@seedee42]

ha ha(this is like the first joke online that has made me smile)LOL(serioulsly)

[@DanielGonzalez-op9ez]

:D

[@GenghisKhanBruseySkyz]

They forgot to mention you have to wait 2000 years after you make this bread.

[@jeebtheweeb]

Genghis Khan 8 months and no reply Bro

[@loreedavis9592]

Wow, I find this so fascinating. The bread looks beautiful and the carrying string around the bread is genius. Thank you for sharing this!

[@Hotshotter3000]

This has been extremely informative. I started baking traditional English bread, and some medieval bread. I would really like to go as far back as possible in history with baking. It's really a piece of history that you can taste.

[@sail2byzantium]

Dear British Museum, Given that Mr. Locatelli can be at times difficult to understand, did you HAVE to put the closed captions in WHITE letters against a VERY LIGHT GREY background??? Jesus. I mean you guys all have Oxbridge degrees right? . . . .

[@britishmuseum]

+sail2byzantium These are the default colours for captions on KZbin. However, if you go into settings in your KZbin account you can change the font size and/or colour of the captions on any video on KZbin. Hope this helps!

[@biggreenblob]

Was it that difficult for you to understand what the man was saying???

[@sail2byzantium]

In parts, yes.

[@biggreenblob]

I guess I can understand, I just had no problem understanding everything he said.

[@sail2byzantium]

Well, he has a notable accent to me, there is some noise in the kitchen and I'm on a new computer whose sound I have not been able to fully adjust to my liking compared to my prior computer. Thanks!

[@Honeymoon1988]

I bet that bread taste amazing! I also love watching him make it too. You can tell he really loves doing what he does.

[@MikeRoberts1964]

I love the times there's a hint of cockney creeping in...@1:20-ish. "ear I gaht a little bit a wahtuh..."

[@laurie-dk9zf]

It is tricky finding the page with the recipe, so here you go... www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/past_exhibitions/2013/pompeii_and_herculaneum/pompeii_live/live_event/bread_recipe.aspx

[@giodrakes]

laurie 00000 , thank you SO much. I tried to search the site and wasn't able to find it, so thank you!

[@jennifermcgaffey3269]

+laurie 00000 Ditto - I searched it all over and found nothing. Thanks a million.

[@lemonke8132]

Fine, i clicked on it, are you happy youtube?

[@cooper5324]

the recommended is so messed up I constantly have the same videos recommend for months at a time until I click on it.

[@hoodwinkedfool]

How does one even get listed on "appear on everyone's recommendation regardless of preference" registry? I'd love to spam my terrible videos and force people to watch my garbage.

[@hanswurst5420]

Yes, same with me :(

[@KnuxSD]

i think they pay for that

[@KnuxSD]

Cause i love jesus

[@charzipuddin6129]

Loved this, love Chef Locatelli! So interesting and fun, thank you!🌺

[@Orbweaver-Creations]

This is so amazing, thank you for posting!

[@TheMurlocKeeper]

I love the idea of the string around the bread so you can hang it up later, no doubt when it's put out for sale. I have not seen any modern day bakery do that at all! The art of bread making interests me greatly, so I really appreciated seeing this historical technique! Thank you for making a vid of this!

[@pAoLiNsTO]

TheMurlocKeeper I am more than a fish...I am more than a man...death will rise, from the tides...

[@SarthorS]

That is not an historical technique. That was a modern chef guessing. They didn't even bother asking a baker.

[@WOWfunnyVideos]

+TheMurlocKeeper : WoW player?

[@nnelg8139]

SarthorS - In order for a technique to become historical, someone has to write down about it (and that text must survive until modern day). In absence of such records, we can only speculate.

[@SarthorS]

Nnelg, what's your point? Read my comment. I said that what we saw in the video is not an historical technique. I also said it was a guess by a chef, not a baker. So a related profession, but not the most relevant one. Are you trying to say that the expertise of the person doing the speculation makes no difference? That a baker knowns no more about baking bread, or the realities of running a bakery than a chef? It's like asking a builder who's a carpenter to speculate about how the Parthenon was built instead of asking a mason.

[@LucasOliveira-dj6gg]

"First of all, you will need to be born in 17 AD..."

[@ranindyzahra6432]

17 AD. Dec 12 0017 Isnt it?

[@Kruegernator123]

@Raiden Browning 19 A.D.

[@JEAthePrince]

@@Kruegernator123 20 A.D

[@valkeakirahvi]

You shouldn't let kids bake the bread, you'll just end up burnings the whole city down!

[@Mobin92]

I'm low key mad at the cuts he made....

[@trixr4orkids70]

5:20 I would like to see how to make that bread on the left

[@OhBoysPaintball]

For everyone who is curious about the penis in the book, the bread recipe is coming from Pompeii. They believed that this phallus shape would ward off evil and bring good luck. Most businesses or homes would have one. It would have been a common sight to see in a place like Pompeii at that time.

[@Skitdora2010]

Lots of good luck it brought them.

[@qasimzaffar2119]

Skitdora2010 Lol!

[@sim392]

nerdd

[@Hy-Brasil]

in a way i guess they are telling forces of evil to fuck off...

[@DanielBrownsan]

My phallus has brought on many bad things. Okay, granted, not as bad as being buried by a volcano, but close...

[@ziwao]

probably the string would also be used to make the cuts on top

[@iahelcathartesaura3887]

Absolutely great & fascinating!! I've been to the Pompei exhibit there. I lived near the museum. It was chilling, heart warming, heart breaking & like seeing the past come to life in the eyes of the many portraits of Pompei citizens. I highly recommend it (ditto for the ancient Egypt room too).

[@cynthiaklenk6313]

One thing that made me want to cry was the carbonized infants cradle. It was found with the child's skeleton in it. The wood had turned to carbon from the heat.

[@ella5024]

I made this last night using 50% WV-grown buckwheat, and 50% white wheat. It turned out really good! I used a tad of peanut oil, honey, and salt to help keep it fresh longer. I used cold water in it, I never use warm water on my bread, it makes it dry, and coarse.

[@Waltham1892]

Here is my recipee for 2000 year old bread: Give teenage daughter 5$ and ask her to go to the store and buy a loaf of bread. Wait 2000 years for her to do it...

[@tapokatapoka2168]

defo sounds like my daughters.lol

[@UnclePutte]

Fascinating! I wonder if Giorgio had the courage to try a bit of Finnish ancient cuisine in form of the famed robber's roast? The recepy starts several days before the cooking itself, with by cover of night infiltrating an unsuspecting farmer's estate, evading his hounds and his servants and stealing away with one of his lambs. The lamb is then butchered, drained and hung, but not skinned or wooled. At this point one must already have a secure camping position beyond the reach of lawmen, vigilantes, and other robbers alike, but more importantly, with a spot of exposed fresh clay loam in its surface terrain. As the lamb is hung in a dry and cool place, the rogue chef now has to build a fire within a rock-laden pit which he must always keep full of glowing embers, and await patiently, for he needs rain. Once a proper squall presents itself, our rogue must make haste to stir the clay vigorously, to produce a suitable lean mix of clay. Then he must have his seasoned lamb filled with herbs of the wild, and then sown or tied into a neat ball of external wool, with all the meat to be cooked inside. The ball of lamb-fur is then rolled in this puddle of clay until a solid covering encases the carcass, after which the firepit is opened, a shovelful of embers be removed, and the clay-pot lamb laid over a layer of remaining coals. The rest of the embers are then piled up top, and another campfire built on top of it. Within a hour or two, spent drinking and gambling and carousing, the menu is ready - the formed small clay vase is retrieved from the fire, and cracked carefully over a bowl, after which the entrapped scaldingly hot juices spill out - these will be used for dipping both meat and bread, and for drinking gleefully. Then, once the case has cooled a little, the pieces of the jar are pried away. With them the fur and the leather peels off, leaving only the moist and succulent lamb to be consumed by our greedy evildoer.

[@TheProCactus]

OMG, That made me hungry.

[@ivymike2691]

That string is super clever. I could easily see stringing a bunch of loaves together to carry on a journey or to a market or what have you.

[@gabrieletedeschi7744]

"E il pane mi piace" "Ti piace il pane?" "Mi piace il pane." "a te il pane piace?" "Joe, a me, piace il pane"

[@marksierra3522]

How to make 2,000 year old bread Step 1: Make Bread Step 2: Wait.

[@Venomal16]

Exactly what I was about to comment! How to make bread for beginners :D

[@lykandra1]

Wonderful idea for special feasts or meals at home ... thanks for uloading it ..

[@JulieWallis1963]

Man can not live by bread alone. Although when it’s fresh, handmade and as lovely as this, I’m willing to give it a try.

[@Itxazoa]

Very interesting.Thank you so much.I can't find the recipe though.The bread looks awesome and tasty.I bet the smell attracted customers just as Bakeries still attract customers nowadays with their delicious, comforting aroma.Thank you very much for sharing.I subscribed.Best regards from Delaware, USA.

[@britishmuseum]

+Itxazoa Cheers for subscribing and glad you liked the video! You should be able to find the recipe at www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/past_exhibitions/2013/pompeii_and_herculaneum/pompeii_live/live_event/bread_recipe.aspx

[@Itxazoa]

Thank you very much. It is fascinating.

[@mauroj.bonazzi4440]

+Itxazoa Ingredients 400g biga acida (sourdough) 12g yeast 18g gluten 24g salt 532g water 405g spelt flour 405g wholemeal flour Carbonised loaf of bread, AD 79, Roman, Herculaneum. © Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei Method Melt the yeast into the water and add it into the biga. Mix and sieve the flours together with the gluten and add to the water mix. Mix for two minutes, add the salt and keep mixing for another three minutes. Make a round shape with it and leave to rest for one hour. Put some string around it to keep its shape during cooking. Make some cuts on top before cooking to help the bread rise in the oven and cook for 30-45 minutes at 200 degrees.

[@Itxazoa]

Mauro, Thank you very much. This will be a nice project. Best regards.

[@sail2byzantium]

+The British Museum I saw the recipe for the bread itself and I am willing to try it. However, I am a bit frustrated by the recipe's incompleteness: You do not state what the recipe is for the biga. Yes, I can easily go on line and look one up--but I'd prefer to know exactly what Chef Locatelli is using in terms flour type, ratios of water and yeast and any other additives--esp. as most biga recipes I know of tend to be thick and more dough-like, but was much intrigued by Chef Locatelli's for how fluid and pourable it was (my bigas even when starting out fairly fluid get all stretchy, stringy and glutenized--I am quite intrigued, and very puzzled, as to how fluid and pourable the biga was in the video. Did it sit out for any length of time? My first guess is "no"--but then why bother with a biga? Just combine flour water and yeast as the first step and go from there. So, still confused. And as I'm writing from the States, I assume the 200 degree oven temp is in centigrade / Celsius rather than Fahrenheit. Thank you kindly,

[@Jenibirm6114]

How to make 2,000 year old bread: 1.Find a loaf of bread at local store. 2. Let it sit in your pantry for 2,000 years. 3. You're done! Enjoy!

[@Kakifruit194]

+Jennifer Birmingham I should hire you!

[@davidmair9894]

My guess is they had a topper for the loaf. Something to always have the same design and portions. The edge is just where it sat on the loaf.

[@andresvillanueva5421]

Highly likely.

[@hannibalburgers477]

I am sure that's 99% true, here in near Near east we use some mold of weight to shape bread to make it look similar to one in the book

[@gameapril]

Great work! Thank you for the thoughtful video!

[@georgei4756]

*makes joke about waiting 2000 years for bread before seeing video*

[@hafe19]

DEAR GIORGIO, THE THREAD WA USED TO HANG IT WHEN SELLING. THEY HAD A CORD ALONG AND THE PIECES OF BREAD HANGING. THANKS GEORGIO.

[@daroth7127]

i believe that with those strings they could easily hang fresh bread on racks. imagine the sight and smell of a bakery, with the walls completely covered in breads, freshly baked. absolute prodigiosus

[@kaylasuecoleman3642]

This is so cool! Please make more old time recipes please

[@PierreElRey]

Don't you have to wait 2000 years though for it to be a 2000-year-old bread?

[@ethandagamer255]

the recipe is 2000 years old

[@PierreElRey]

Diy crafts and Projects with Ethan Come on...

[@viviannadzharyan3558]

It will take another 2000 years to find the recipe in the webside provided

[@Robovski]

I think letting it cool for 2,000 years is integral to the recipie for 2,000 year old bread.

[@katiaitalia]

Seriously????? Are people that dumb!? Its the damn recipe which is to make a bread like the one discovered..

[@date_vape]

He forgot the final step: waiting 2,000 years

[@suzitagroom2869]

Fantastic. I love homemade bread. And the smell of homemade bread is delicious. My Grandma was good at cooking

[@jeffreynerhood1096]

Well done Giorgio. Quite educational. Thank you.

[@Larry]

Maybe the string was there as there was an upper crust to the bread. they sold the top and bottom halves seperately.

[@Menuki]

Larry Bundy Jr I don't know know what you're doing here, but it's cool. I assumed it was so it could be hanged for storage to keep it away from mice and moisture

[@7531monkey]

Larry Bundy Jr Are you a bottom? Call me!

[@kanesmith8271]

Larry Bundy Jr , Possible, It makes sense especially how even food we take for granted now like bread was a luxury back then.

[@caroegc]

Kane, nah bread was the ol regular regular even back then

[@BernieSanders-bn5dk]

7531monkey Gays at their finest

[@zipcaster]

1. Make bread 2. Wait 1999 years, 364 days (assuming no leap year), 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds. 3. Wait one second 4. Eat your delicious nothing! the was bread decomposed by bacteria.

[@amaulana090]

How about you put them in a stone oven during that time period? All the bacteria would die from the heat, first.

[@EmeraldCake3575]

DatGameh then we would have a bunch of ash dont we

[@elenacerasela]

Such a nice video!!! I learned something from it.

[@kanescrimes4848]

I finished making mine 200 years ago. We didn't have the same technology back then (in the year 180) so we actually had to make the bread and wait 2000 years. I started in the year 180 and it was done in 2180😃......it was so much fun dough...still feels like YEAST-ter-day.

[@brittaliperti3019]

Step 1:Make bread Step 2: Wait 2,000 years Step 3: Enjoy!

[@achanwahn]

It's KZbin. Not a graduate thesis, grammar troll

[@MetalKabu]

just clicked on the video to find this comment. thanks

[@kalolord]

1) Make regular bread. 2) Wait 2000 years. 3) ??? 4) Profit.

[@elenaraps6612]

Thanks for sharing! Beautiful loaf

[@aiai-j7i]

Oh what a lovely accent! I could listen to him for hours...

[@KimiHayashi]

There are only 2 kinds of comments in this comment section. The "bake a bread then wait for 2000 years" comment, then there's the "picture of a penis at 3:45" comment . MY GOD

[@anonymous-zk3mi]

yeah

[@CriticalRoleHighlights]

Well, they *are* both correct.

[@TheBlondfrog]

Welcome to the internet.

[@Grimmfandan]

Lol realy. There is a dick haha:D

[@christineagnew7372]

family girl Waiting now for 3:45, thanks!

[@chrisharrison763]

What a peculiar way of dividing a circle into eight equal parts.

[@shadodragonette]

I don't like to bake, but this was beautiful. Thank you! Blessed Be!

[@Litzbitz]

FASCINATING AND FAIRLY EASY. THANK YOU.

[@gmarial]

close but not quite... indeed they probably had used buckwheat and some kind of spelt flour (ancient grains), but the "biga" (the sourdough) hadn't have any yeast in it and also wasn't made from white wheat flour... most probably was made from spelt or buckwheat as well. and that's a bit more complicated to do... but it would have looked much more likely the bread in the image. (not much grown after the oven)

[@PleasanceLiddle]

But biga/poolish/starter acts as yeast. That's what it does, it collects the wild yeast bacteria from the air (that's why regionally sourdough tastes different, ex: SF sourdough). I didn't hear him say he didn't use spelt or buckwheat to feed the starter, and you can definitely do that, so the recipe sounds like it's quite an accurate recreation.

[@wendokendo2347]

Maria L Ilea Spelt was northern, middle-european grain. Wheat (different kinds) standard in roman empire and more so in central Italia. No sources of buchwheat found.

[@Tyke91]

Don't forget, if the oven was fired when he put it in, there's a very good chance the bread came out either burned or undercooked depending on how much fuel was required and how hot the external pyroclastic flow made the oven.

[@BD12]

"We're gonna need a bit more heat!" and then a volcano fucking appears.

[@igottwopeepees]

I was legit impressed on his conclusion, that a string was used for carrying, when trying to figure out why there was on a line on the bottom of the bread.

[@cazek445]

i did my own one but i had 2 layers and put them on another, then i put a rope inbetween. Mine more closely resembles the one in the photograph, but i used wheat flour in combination with the buckwheat. Buckwheat does not have gluten so it wont form any stretchy dough or bubbles, yet i still ended up with a dense dough.

[@Connected2U2]

I'm pretty sure he over thought why the outside edge looked like that. If anything the bread was just starting to bake when the fire went out (ash smothered the oven) leaving the center uncooked. As it cooled more, the bread collapsed (top folded down over itself) causing a crease around the edge, as time pasted by (a lot of time) it dried out and contracted, leaving a more predominated crease.

[@nightingalewhiteowl8805]

+Connected2U2 That's hilarious, but having baked a lot of bread, not very plausible. The string idea is pretty brilliant though.

[@jennifermcgaffey3269]

+Connected2U2 Nope. The bread was instantly carbonized, long before ash smothered the fire (if it did - the heat may simply have devoured all the fuel, without the fire ever being touched by volcanic material). It's still in the shape it was being baked in, no collapsing happened (or it would have rotted away long ago).

[@WarriorsCats321]

Step 1: Make bread Step 2: Let sit for 2,000 years Finished

[@thedebatehitman]

5:51 ...when you realize that 2,000-year old bread packs a lot more fiber than contemporary breads.

[@Sunshine-zm1fx]

This is a fantastic video! I love it!

[@lwblack64]

The weight could be a monogram of the baker. OR it could be to show how soft the dough is. Too big of an indentation meant it was too wet a hydration and not enough indentation would have meant too dry a hydration. This would reflect upon the quality of the baked bread. It's a way for the baker to brag on their expertise without having to cut into the loaf and the cut portions dry out/turn stale...

[@Supermario0727]

How to make 2000-year-old bread: (1) make a loaf of bread, (2) wait 2000 years.

[@ilovemesomechickenbutimave7052]

Oh this was amazing very well done video

[@mamacia51]

WOW!!!! I would loved to had a piece of that bread it looks delicious

[@ghostsoup1313]

Such an interesting video. I just wish he had told us how it tasted!

[@abdallaaljarwan7176]

They used a frame to hold the bread not string that's why they are equal every single time

[@noahwood5686]

It's good to know I'm not alone in mixing my dough by hand

[@BernardvonSchulmann]

How very cool, the string thing is a brilliant thought

[@HeatherSpoonheim]

Ok, so pull that string through to slice it in half, horizontally - now make me a burger to fit that monster hamburger bun!

[@Mekanik.b]

Anyone else think the the reason the bread was that shape is because they used a preformed press the divide, shape and stamp the bread?

[@JogieGlenMait]

It's amazing how he figured the string part out.

[@truthfulkarl]

it makes sense. the string was to be able to hang it up in a stall or storefront. the markings divided the bread apart so its easy to portion, or even just buy a portion of the loaf

[@vilheimtheunsinkable9646]

2,000 Year Old Bread...someone get this to Stuart Ashen in Norwich, stat.

[@rexmundi3108]

2019. That bread is now 6 years old.

[@stoottroeper3423]

Now 7.

[@footsoldier857]

Only 1,993 years to go...

[@carmenroupp653]

so I take it that even back in AD79 they made and used sour dough as a leveling agent , that is awesome

[@chrisofnottingham]

That string was a great idea, I can just imagine a whole lot of them on a pole either being carried or hanging up behind the counter.

[@alangknowles]

I think you may have the reason for the string.

[@jeremiahshine]

Perhaps it was two raw loaves, one on top of the other. Let to rise, they would bond, and after cooking could be separated for a sandwich.

[@anilkraft1479]

The sandwhich won’t be invented for another 1700 years

[@paynevess8055]

From what I read around, that actually may have been what they did. They may have placed two leavened pieces of dough on top of each other to rise together and form a single piece of larger dough for a bigger loaf.

[@maggiesmith856]

@@anilkraft1479 I'm sure the Earl of Sandwich was not the first person who ever thought of putting a filling between two slices of bread.

[@hwh1946]

The Roman baking at that time focused on massive volume and people reserving a section of a loaf. Plebs lived in essentially low rise boxes without windows, water or stoves. Food would need to be purchased daily. The loaves from the baker would often have a "seal" from a certain customer imbedded in the top of the loaf so when you bought your "piece of the loaf" you got what you paid for. Stacking two pieces of proofed bread would be all but unworkable, the bread would not rise evenly and would twice the work to load the ovens.