The recipes of the Ancient Roman Bread
Carmelo Esposito
In this video Carmelo Esposito from Esposito bakery, Pompeii, prepares and describes some types of bread that were part of the gastronomic landscape of the Ancient Romans and classified on a the social status basis. For the noble class and celebrations of abundance, there was Artolaganus that consisted of white flour, red wine, honey and candied fruit. A gingerbread with incredible scent and flavor. And there was also Cibarius or bran bread, a rather large loaf for the people. And then there were focaccias, cookies, (sweet bread) and others. All the loaves were cut into various pieces when the dough was still raw in order to help distribute the portions because there was no knife at that time, as we used them now. The Pompeian baker also reveals his baking secrets and the way to reproduce these types of old bread with modern techniques and ovens.