BREAD. 



diemical attraction, and probahly alfo by ftill furtlier changinyr 

 the natui'L" of the component parts, llread, however, in this 

 ilate, will not pofTcfs the rtquirue uniformity ; bccaiife fome 

 part", may be mouldy, while others arc not yet fiiiriciently 



K changed from the Itate of dough. In order to promote an 

 uniform fermentation, a fmall portion of leaven is intimately 

 blended with a quantity of other dough ; and this, by its 

 luiion with the mafs, and the aid of a gentle heat, accelerates 

 the fermentation, and diffufes it through the whole mafs at 

 the fame time ; and as foon as the dough has acquired a due 

 increale of bulk from the carbonic acid gas, which endea- 

 vours to efcapc, it is judged to be fufliciently fermented, and 

 fit for the oven ; the heat of which checks the fermentation 

 by exficcation, or the fubtradion of its water. It is obvious, 

 that by the fermentation of the dough united with leaven, 

 a quantity of carbonic ac'd gas is extricated from the flour, 

 but remains confined in it by the tenacity ot the mafs, where 

 it is expanded by the heat, and by thatexpanfion elTefts the 

 " rifing" of the dough. This is alfo the eliicient caufe of 

 the porofity and fpongincfs in baked bread. The fermenta- 

 tion by means of leaven is thought to be of th . acetous kind, 

 becaufe it is generally fo managed, tliat the bread has a four 

 flavour or taile. This bread, railed by leaven, is ufnally 

 made of a mixture of wheat and rye not thoroughly cleared 

 of the bran, and is diftinguiflied by the appellation of brown 

 bread ; and the praftice of making leavened bread appears, 

 from the hilloriesof the earlier nations, and particularly from 

 the fcriptures, to be very ancient. But yea'.t or barm, which 

 is the mucilaginous froth tliat rifes to the furtace of beer in 

 the firll llage of its fermentation, feems to be of modern date. 

 This vinous ferment is ufed tor the liner kinds of bread, com- 

 monly denominated white bread. When this is mixed with 

 the do\igh, it produces a much more fpecdy and effeftual 

 fermentation than that obtained by leaven, and the bread is 

 accordingly much lighter, and fcarcely ever lour. The fer- 

 mentation by ycall feems to be almoll certainly of the vinous 

 or fpirituous kind. 



Bread, if well prepared and properly baked, is materially 

 diderent from flour and otl\er farinaceous cakes ; it no longer 

 iforms a tenacious dough with water; nor can ftarch and 

 gl'iten be any more feparated from it ; and hence, moll 

 probably, its good qualities rtfult. 



The Greeks, in the firll ages, are faid to have fubfilled 

 upon acorns and berries, and were for a long time iinac- 

 qnainted with the art of ploughing the earth for corn ; al- 

 though, according to Hefiod's defcription of the golden 

 age (Oper. 1. i. v. Ii6.), the earth produced corn without 

 cultivation. When this age expired, the earth, as they 

 imagined, became unfruitful, and men lived in a Hate of ex- 

 treme ignorance and barbarity, till Ceres taught them the 

 art of agriculture. The invention of making and baking 

 bread was afcribed to Pan ; and, according to Pliny (Nat. 

 Hift. 1. xviii. c. 7.), barley was ufed, before any other fort 

 of corn, as the food of men ; but in more civilised ages, 

 barley-bread was only appropriated to the ufe of beails. 

 However, it afterwards was ufed only among the poor, who 

 could not obtain anv other provifion. Among the Greeks 

 their loaves were baked either under the afhes, or m the 

 oven ; and they had a kind of bread, called jux^k, which was 

 made with a coarfer flour, fait, and water ; to udiich they 

 fometimes added oil. The art of making bread was not 

 known at Rome until A. U. C. 'jSo. Tlic Roman ar- 

 inies, on their return from Macedonia, brought Grecian 

 bakers into Italy. Before this time the Romans (fee 

 Pliny, Hill. 1. xviii. c. 8. and 11.) prepared their flour into 

 a kind of pap, or foft pudding ; for which reafon Pliny calls 

 them eaters of pap. 



VOL.V. 



Among the ancients, we find various denominations of 

 bread ; fueh as I. Pamsfilipnruu called alf:) „wn<l«s, athlrti- 

 cus, ffunpa, coliphius, and rohys, correfponding to our white 

 bread; being made of the purell flour of the bell wheat, and 

 only ufed by the richer clafs of ptrfons. 2. Paiiii fiaimliis, 

 or Jecundar'ttn, called alfo J'inilaceiis, or fmU.igmei:!, the next 

 in purity ; being made of tine flour, from whicli all the bran 

 was not fifted. ;. ytul'jfyrus, called alfo fyncomqfltu, and 

 conju/aneus, made of the whole fubflance of the wheat. 

 Without retrenching either the fnur flour or coarfer bran; 

 correfponding to o\ir houHiold bread. ^. CacabiiCfUt, frem- 

 iiig to be the fame with that othcrwife denominated y;.r./;,/(//, 

 as being given to dogs ; fmf,irtin,u, fuifunns, or jurfura- 

 tiTus, becaufe it conlllled mollly of bran ; and, in the 

 middle age, h}fus, on account of its brownnefs ; and fome- 

 times alfo Ifibo. 



There were other kinds of bread, denominated cither from 

 the ufes to which tliey were applied, or the msnner in whicli 

 they were made; fuch as, i, i\k mililaris, which was pre- 

 pared in camp by the ofRcers and loldiers with tiieir own 

 hands ; for which purpofe fome had hand-mills, and others 

 pounded the corn in a mortar, and baked it on the coals. 2. 

 Clibanila, that baked in an oven, by way of contradillindlion 

 from that baked on the hearth, or under the embers. 5, 

 That called fiibditenlius, orfub ciiiere codus ; fometimes alfo 

 revcrfiitiis, becaufe it was to be turned in the bakiiij'. 4. 

 A^aH/zV/w, anfwering to our fea-bifcuit, and denominated Ih 

 codiu. See BisKET. 



Other kinds of bread were denominated from certain qua- 

 lities belonging to them ; fuch as, I. Pants ficcus, that which 

 had been long baked ; fuch was the bis coiUis, naval and 

 buccellated bread. 2. Mai/iJus, a fort made of rye or bear, 

 fometimes alfo of fine flour, with which they fmeared their 

 faces, by way of a cofmctic, to make them fmooth. 3. 

 j4citliis, or four bread, which was acidulated with vinegar. 

 4. ylzymus, unleavened, or unferinented bread. 



The French have alfo many varieties of bread ; as queen's 

 bread, alamode bread, bread de Segovie, de Gentillay, qua- 

 lity bread, Sec. all prepared in peculiar ways by the bakers at 

 Paris. The bread de GonefTe excels all others, on account 

 of the waters at Gonefle, about 3 leagues from Paris ; it is 

 light, and full of eyes, which arc marks of its goodnofs. 

 Piiiii (h mmaxe is that which each fair.ily bakes for itfclf. 

 Spice-bread, /a/H H'cplcc, denotes bread baked and iced over 

 with the fcum taken off fugar in refining hoiifcs ; it is alfu 

 fometimes made with honey, and other forts of feafoning, 

 and anfwcrs to what the ancients CdiW paws m:!hlus. 



Among us, bread is chiefly divided into w/'/'/c, lulvateti, 

 and houjhohl ; differing only in degrees of purity. In the 

 firft, all the bran is feparated ; in tlie fecond, only the 

 coarfer : in tlie third, none at all ; fo that_/w bread is made 

 only of flour; ruhuten bread, of flour, with a mixture of the 

 finer bran ; and houjlold, of the whole fidillance of the grain, 

 without taking out either the coarfc bran or fine flcur. 

 Stat. 8 Ann. cap. iS. We alfo meet with iymnel bread, 

 nianchct or roll bread, and F/ench bread ; which are only 

 fo many denominations of the fiiicil or whitift bread, made 

 of the purell flour ; except that in roll bread there is an 

 addition of milk, and, in French bread, of eggs and butter 

 alfo. To which may be added, ghigcr-brcad, made of whitt 

 bread, with almonds, liquorice, anifeed, rofe-watcr, and 

 lugar or treacle; and itiaJltfi-Lrea:!, paitis mtxltis, made of wheat 

 and rye, or fometimes of wheat and barley. 



The procefs of making houniold bread among us, is thus : 

 to a peck of meal they add a handful of fait, a pint of ycafl., 

 and three quarts of water, cold in fummer, hot in winter, 

 and temperate between the two ; the whole being kneaded 



