A short history of bread

At Kempinski, we take great care over the bread we serve. Bread, after all, is an essential food that has been present throughout human history. Rye, sourdough, wholemeal, gluten-free, brioche and flatbreads – there’s something for all tastes and all cultures. Faithful to the values of our brand, our bakers serve the traditional breads of their location alongside timeless classics, recreating time-honoured recipes or surprising guests with their innovations. Their creativity is fired by this magical synergy of flour and water, with its infinite possibilities.

It's 9:30am, time for breakfast at Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea, Jordan. Standing in front of the buffet, it's easy to be impressed by the variety of breads on offer. Jordanian shrak, sourdough, gluten-free, wholemeal, granary, rye, brioche, baguette... a fascinating collection of tastes, shapes and textures.

It’s also a neat summary of the Mediterranean basin’s history, which archaeologists have identified as the birthplace of bread. The oldest breadcrumbs ever found were unearthed not far from here in northern Jordan. They were 14,000 years old!

The Natufian people, hunter-gatherers living in small groups, are said to have cooked the first ever flatbreads in this region. And bread has been humanity’s companion ever since. An early kind of flatbread can still be found in the Middle East. Aiysh, khoubiz, barbari, mankoush, pitta, matlouh – whatever name it’s given, this round flatbread, soft when it comes out of the oven, is a staple in people’s diets across the Mediterranean. It’s an incredibly practical food: wrap a piece around a mouthful from a dish, or split it down the middle and fill it like a sandwich.

In the Maltese archipelago, ftira is such a key part of the lifestyle and historical traditions that is has been named as the first local product on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List. A flattened sourdough bread, with a thick crust and light internal texture, at Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz, halved ftira loaves are filled with seasonal Mediterranean ingredients. Sheer delight.

And what of all the yeast-leavened breads? Big round loaves, crisp outside and tender in the middle? They seem to speak of the West. Born in the Middle East, bread has travelled far from the small flat bread of the Natufians.

The introduction of a leavening agent is generally attributed to the Egyptians. When the Romans were eating a simple plain flour and water mixture, and the Greeks a sheet of plain dough baked in a wood-fired oven, the Egyptians produced appetising, well risen loaves. They were made by adding dough left over from the day before to a mixture of ground grains and water. These ‘mother doughs’ were considered sacred, almost supernatural objects. Leavened and unleavened breads coexisted: leavened bread was an everyday food, while unleavened breads were used in the region’s religious rites.

Today, feteer meshaltet is one of the staple meals to welcome guests in Egypt. It is said that meshaltet pie was first made by the ancient Egyptians. They served it in the temples as a dessert for the gods, and the pharaohs placed it with the deceased in their tombs. Today, the talented chefs at Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay prepare it with care, and it is available every day, accompanied by sugarcane honey and tahini.

While the Egyptians invented leavened bread, it was the Greeks who perfected dough and baking techniques, using wine yeast as a leavening agent. They later shared their taste for leavened bread with the Romans, along with their techniques.

In 168 BC, many Greek millers and bakers settled in Rome. The Romans, who were still eating unleavened flatbread, gradually adopted the Greek alternative. In Pompeii's street of bakers, some of the forty plus workshops had grindstones and ovens. In fact, the focaccia of modern Italy looks a lot like the bread in Pompeii's frescoes. Could it be a direct descendent?

This iconic Italian bread is on the menu at the luxurious San Clemente Palace Kempinski Venice. It is crafted by skilful Italian chefs with recipes passed down through generations of illustrious families. The chefs expertly incorporate a range of aromatic herbs and spices, many of which are grown on the private island of San Clemente itself, adding depth and complexity to the flavours of the focaccia.

In Western Europe it was the conquests of Julius Caesar that introduced the Celts and Gauls to the yeast bread that all Europeans adopted sooner or later. In the Middle Ages, bread was the staple food. Anything else was an addition – a ‘companion’ dish or companicum, literally meaning ‘with bread’.

Once eaten for subsistence, today bread is eaten for pleasure. Chefs and bakers create ever more flavours, textures and presentations. The Berthold Delikatessen outlets in some of our hotels modernise flavoursome German breads and pretzels. And at Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest, bread is baked in flowerpots, giving it a unique texture and aroma while reminding us that just as the earth nourishes the flower, so the bread nourishes our soul.