Bread is a fundamental part of Greek life – it appears in some form at very meal and special festive breads are of great significant in religious festivals and family celebrations.
The first description of bread is found in Athenaeus’ (170 – 230 AD) food related text Deipnosophistae. The book is built out of a series of dialogues between diners.
Greek bakeries, piled high with breads of every conceivable size and shape, have a special magic. It is the companion to every food. Greeks often eat bread for breakfast with some cheese.
Different varieties of bread are used, such xoriatiko, lefko, polisporo, mavro and so on.
Poor people supplemented bread loaf with little more than fruit, mushrooms and vegetables gathered from the wild. On the tables of the wealthy the variety of fish and meat dishes and the many savory and sweet confections were still typically preceded by wheat and barley loaves.
In rural communities bread is still baked in fournos and the village baker supplies a range of breads, from the basic everyday loaf to wonderful crusty wholemeal, barley or stone ground breads.
The ancient Greeks did not use knifes or forks, eating primarily with their finger. They did occasionally use a spoon or piece of hollowed-out bread for eating soups and other liquids.
They also used pieces of bread to wipe their hands after eating and the bread was then given to dogs.
Bread in ancient Greek
