Bread during ancient Roman

In the early days of Roman Republic, most people made their own bread from the grain they produce. Grains were significant part of the Roman diet, depending on where they lived, Romans might eat emmer, bread wheat, spelt, barley, oats, rye and millet, although emmer and bread wheat were preferred.

The woman of the household had to grind out flour. They did it very simply, by spreading wheat grains on a large flat or slightly concave stone and rubbing them over with a smaller stone which might either be round, or long and narrow like a roller.

The ancient Roman bread was a flat, hard cake called ‘libum’ which was baked in hot embers and ashes and which continued in favor even when wheat bread and leaven was introduced.

Roman’s people breakfast is usually simple bread dipped in watered-down wine. Sometimes a little honey is used, and perhaps a few dates or olives might be added. For lunch is a similar meal of bread, or leftover form the previous day’s main meal.

The professional baker appears around 174 BC. Barley bread was then only eaten by slave and gladiators, the coarse flans were soaped in milk before eating. Before the arrivals of professional bakers, Romans either ate porridge or made their own bread.

During the later Republic and throughout the Empire most middle and lower class Romans relied upon commercial bakeries for their bread.

Also Rome began to import grain from territories in its empire because Rome could not produce enough grain for its growing population.

The public bakeries were numerous, the majority of them being conducted in the reign of Augustus. In the 4th century, the regionary catalogues record around two hundred and fifty bakeries in Rome with an average of fifteen to twenty in each region.
Bread during ancient Roman