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Egypt seems to be the first stop in its long history. Wheat was gathered in the port of
Alexandria and travelled from there everywhere on merchant ships. If wheat was not on
time, the populations in large centres were in danger of getting hungry. That’s why the
laws that regulated the travels of the merchant fleet were very strict.
The Romans took the art of bread making and developed it into small industries. In
Pompeii for example, under the lava of Vesuvius, many bakeries were found.
In Europe of the Middle Ages, bread was, besides basic food, part of the cutlery. A piece
of stale bread was used as an absorbent dish, which at the end of the meal could be
eaten, given to the poor or fed to the dogs.
For many generations white bread was preferred by the wealthy families, while poor ate
wholegrain bread. Things were reversed in the late 20th century, with wholegrain bread
being preferred because of its high nutritional value. On the contrary, white bread was
associated with the ignorance about nutritional foods.
Lato,
It seems that since the 5th c. B.C. already there was a bakery in Athens where one could
buy bread, made mainly of barley. Wheat bread was something special. The most
important reasons were its high nutritional value and the scarcity of wheat. The Egyptian
flour was transferred to Greece by ships and consumed only for the preparation of festive
or religious breads (=breads offered as a gift to the gods), or by the higher social classes.
Competition between bakeries about who makes the best bread seems to be something
that has already started at this period.
Athenaeus mentions 72 types of bread: with cheese, oil, honey … However, breads in
ancient Greece were named mainly after their raw material or the way they were
kneaded; and they were characterized as:
Lato,
Lato,
Bread was and remains in the conscience of the Greeks one of the basic ingredients of
life. That’s why, when they do not “knead” it, they give it alternative forms … The best
known is … a pie which combines everything that exists in the kitchen (depending on the
season) with flour and water which become pastry puffs.
Rusks were also an emergency solution and covered the needs of seafarers and
craftsmen as they could be kept for months.
Respect for bread may have begun in another era when goods were fewer and survival
more difficult. However, it has become a way of life and thinking, and until today it seems
to be exactly this way of thinking which asks us to place the bread on the table before
anything else as a “welcome” or hospitality indication. Not only in the restaurants but
also on our own table.
Lato,
These festive breads are always made with the finest flour and are decorated with dough
decorations and symbols. The decoration of festive bread has to do with the housewife’s
Lato,
One of the most famous festive breads is also tsoureki . With the aroma of mastic and
the sweetness of sugar it was one of the most official Easter breads. Also it was made
for very special other occasions. Today is to be found all year round but without the red
egg.
On Anafi island is made a special bread “Zaforisto “, special for the first day of the new
year. This bread is made with saffron and when it is baked in traditional wood ovens it
takes an intense yellow colour and has the particular flavour of crocus.
Another special moment in the life of a person is marriage. Bread in this case takes the
name Provenda! It is a bread made with much patience and effort by experienced and
skilful women. They take care to decorate it with elaborate decorations, such as flowers,
but also symbols for good life and fertility.
Religious breads
Lato,
“Artos” is flavoured with mastic and sugar and is offered in very special occasions. It
symbolizes the multiplication of the material or spiritual goods and also the blessing of
the house.
To those who participate in a memorial or similar ceremony small buns are offered. They
are shared “in memory of a soul” and are called “psichoudia” (little soul breads).
Fanouropita and Vassilopita are both festive cakes made on the name day of Saint
Fanourios or Saint Vasilios (=Basil). Saint Fanourios has passed in the consciousness of
the people as the saint who has the power to help them find things lost or things they
desire. St. Basil’s name day is celebrated on the first day of the year; that is why it is
indentified with the new year and all the hopes it brings.
Apart from all that there are numerous local customs combined with dough creations.
And they are always combined with a feast, a wish, etc. One of the most characteristic
traditions is the man-shape little breads made in Sfakia, Crete, on St. Anthony’s name
Lato,
In the past, parents urged their children to eat the last piece of their bread because there
“their strength” was hidden.
Also, when a woman gave birth, they used to put under her pillow and the pillow of the
newborn a small piece of bread, because they believed it would chase away all the
demonic and jealous spirits.
In the pocket of a groom they also used to put a small piece of bread because they
considered it a strong talisman.
Lato,