Bread and beer were the basic foods in the daily diet of ancient Egyptians, who, although their diet was very varied with meats, legumes, vegetables, among other foods, these two foods transcended throughout society, and regardless of a person's socio-economic status, they would be consumed by everyone.
Since the Neolithic period, the cultivation of grains such as wheat (bedet) and barley (it) began , which would be the raw material for bread and beer production, thus being present throughout Egyptian history.
Bread
Since the beginning of Egyptian culture, wheat and barley are present as the main crops in the Nile valley, more specifically in the Delta they appear already in very ancient times, "in Merimde two occupation phases can be distinguished. The oldest developed between 5890/5860 and 5790/5760 BC [...]. Among the preserved plant remains are wheat, barley, and peas" (Navajas, 2009, p. 41).
Moreover, grains were not only used for food production, but also to measure wealth, pay taxes and salaries (Ikram, 2001).
The Egyptians made bread with spelt wheat (tritucum dicoccum), which is different from modern hard red wheat. It could also be made with barley, lotus seed flour or tigernut flour for special breads. Among the ingredients that were often added are coriander seeds, dates, honey, sesame seeds, eggs and carob.
It was produced from humble homes to palace kitchens, having different types of bread depending on the ingredients. They could also have various shapes depending on molds or the appearance given by bread stamps, these varied between conical, elongated, circular, fish-shaped or animal-shaped, fan-shaped or plant-shaped (figure 1).
Representations of bread-making scenes that often appear in tombs, such as the one for Ti at Saqqara during Dynasty V, allow us to understand through these scenes how bread was made in ancient Egypt.
For its production, they would separate the grain from the husk, which was ground into flour. This was mixed with water or milk and salt to form a dough. Yeast was added and it was placed in bedjas or ceramic molds for cooking. Once the mold cooled down, the bread was removed.
The baking process varied over time; in the Old Kingdom, they were round loaves baked in heavy clay molds on embers, during the Middle Kingdom they used ovens with tall, narrow and almost cylindrical molds, and during the New Kingdom they were baked in a new oven which was a large open cylinder made of thick mud bricks (Samuel, 2001).
The historian Herodotus mentions bread consumption by ancient Egyptians in his book History II, Euterpe. He says: "Others live on wheat and barley; among the Egyptians it is very criticized to live off these cereals, for they make their bread of spelt, which some call scanda. They knead the flour with their feet; but clay, in turn, with their hands" (Herodotus, 1992, p. 319). Perhaps this mention that they kneaded it with their feet has to do with a bread-making process representation found in Ramses III's tomb (figure 2).
In addition, we not only have scenes of the bread-making process but also breads that have survived to this day in tombs as food offerings for the deceased. An example can be found in Kha's tomb TT8 in Thebes, which gives us an idea of their shapes.
Moreover, with the consumption of bread, tooth wear and cavities were generated, such as those observed in mummies like Ramses II, caused by grain milling. This was done between stones that left residues, including sand in the flour, which passed to the dough and the bread consumed by people, affecting their teeth.
Beer
It is also present since Neolithic times and appears in written sources along with bread (Samuel, 2001) as basic foods of the diet. But beer for Egyptians was not like it is known today, but rather thick and cloudy.
It was also rich in complex carbohydrates and sugars providing energy (Samuel, 2001), which was good for Egyptians, especially for the lower social classes that did not have access to a protein-rich diet.
Its production started with barley (hordeum vulgare) although it could also be made with spelt wheat. Other ingredients were added to vary its flavor such as figs, dates, dill, persimmon fruits, coriander or honey.
The production process initially is similar to that of bread. A loaf was baked and then crushed in water for fermentation. The duration of the fermentation depended on the desired alcohol level, after which it would be filtered and placed in jars for storage and consumption.
The scenes represented on tomb walls, just like with bread, allow us to understand the beer-making process, an example is Kenamon's Thebes tomb of Dynasty XVIII or models with daily life representations left in tombs (figure 3). Additionally, in the 4th century AD, Zosimus of Panopolis also provided a description of beer production (Tallet, 2006).
Along with bread and other foods, it was present among funerary offerings, both for the dead mentioned in food lists as well as on steles, as well as for gods in daily offerings made by priests three times a day in temples.
It was also used in medicine, for certain diseases or as medicinal brews, such as found in the Ebers Papyrus which says: "if, furthermore, some of its fruits are mixed with beer for a man who has 'wh' in his excrement, it will remove the symptoms from the man's belly" (Sanchez Rodriguez, 2003, p. 204).
Conclusion
Bread and beer were the foods consumed by any Egyptian, without social distinction. Moreover, grains served as a currency and measure of wealth for many years.
Their production was similar; they could be made in humble homes of peasants to the king's palace. Therefore, they were fundamental pillars for the diet of ancient Egyptians, related to being the two grains that appear before dynastic times and will span their entire history, even when they fell under Roman rule Egypt became the "granary of Rome."
Bibliography
Herodotus. (1992). History II Euterpe. Editorial Gredos.
Ikram, S. (2001). “Food”. In D.B. Redford (ed.) The Oxford encyclopedia of ancient Egypt Vol.I. Oxford University Press.
Navajas Jiménez, A.S. (2009). "Prehistory. From the Paleolithic to Nagada II". In J.M. Parra Ortiz (ed.) Antiquity of Egypt. Society, economy, politics. Marcial Pons Historia.
Samuel, D. (2001). “Beer”. In D.B. Redford (ed.) The Oxford encyclopedia of ancient Egypt Vol.I. Oxford University Press.
Samuel, D. (2001). “Bread”. In D.B. Redford (ed.) The Oxford encyclopedia of ancient Egypt Vol.I. Oxford University Press.
Sánchez Rodríguez, A. (2003). Writing in Ancient Egypt (Brief Anthology). Ediciones Egiptomanía.
Tallet, P. (2006). Cooking in ancient Egypt. Ediciones Folio.
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