Ancient Egypt civilization Essay

The civilization of the world, I chose is Ancient Egypt and how their society was among the first civilizations that discovered the modern breads. Over 4000 years ago the civilization of Egypts astounding prosperity was great and feared. As an Ancient Egyptian, and social standing was assigned for you at birth. The key to their society depended on their agriculture and the rivers surrounding them. Around the time Ancient Egyptians ascertained raised and leavened breads, the Egyptians accepted and had a good understanding of having it as a necessity to sustain life. Bread was then introduced as a part of every meal in their lives, being baked and consumed daily. This breakthrough helped lead to greater things such as simple breads, a great stepping stone for humankind for the Egyptians and for in the name of baking.

Egyptian bakers used both wheat and barley to bake bread and create soups and even porridge. The dough consisted of flour, water, milk and leaven mostly, but as they grew in experience as they continued to bake. It would usually be some dough left over from yesterday or some leaven from the last brewing of beer and was left to rise in warm moulds. As time went on seeds, dates, figs, butter, eggs, oil and herbs were often added to the dough to flavour the bread.

The first step in making this ancient recipe started with the grain being rubbed between two stones over it and mill the grain into flour. Sometimes the bread would be mixed with sand to have a smoother consistency or even to help grind the grain more. This was smart but very unfortunate, as the Egyptians consumed hundreds to thousands of pounds of bread every day. The sand or other debris acted as an abrasive on the teeth, the poorer the peasant was the more the contamination would be. The rich could buy better quality and healthier products but, this method was used in most of the production of common breads.

Ovens were made of a clay mixture, resembling a cone with a large open top were used. The main reason for this is because it could yield large quantity and mass produce. The dough was placed in heated moulds, covered, and stacked on a heated shelf. They also can be loaded on the bottom shelf of the oven to create a flatbread or they also could be fried in a large pan. Bread was baked in many shapes, including the shapes of animals or godlike figures and used at sacrifices.

The Ancient Egyptian civilization was based on religion. Burial was a ritual where loaves of bread, jars of beer and other miscellaneous items were buried with them in their coffin. The bread and beer could also be used as currency. In Egypt to this day there are preserved records of organic materials like bread loaves still around. Many have survived, mostly from funerary offerings that have their final resting place in the museums of the world.