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Learn about the production steps of brewing beer and bread making, and their importance in ancient Egyptians' lives.
While the Mesopotamians invented beer, including using a straw to avoid the sediments and herbs, Ancient Egyptians perfected the brewing method.
Egyptian beer's quality was determined by alcohol strength, color and flavor.
During the Pharaonic era, beer was the most commontly used and important alcoholic beverage. The state and temples used it, along with bread, as payment to workers and it was included on the Lists of food offerings to the gods and the deceased.Beer was the popular drink of ceremonies and festivals. The Festival of Drunkenness was even dedicated to it. Considered to be quite nutritional, beer was also significant in the day-to-day lives of ancient Egyptians. Egyptian adults and children consumed beer with all of their meals, and medical texts include hundreds of remedies that contain beer. It remained the most popular alcoholic beverage until the Roman era.
Recipes for beer varied over time, and depended on the quality of the materials. Bakers and brewers typically worked alongside one another at the same workshop or house. Many families often produced the quantity appropriate to their own consumption, with better quality beers produced for festivals and other special occasions. The most basic recipe used malted cereal as the main ingredient. Fruit such as dates were added along with honey and spices.
Once baked, bread would be crumbled into the brew to start the fermentation process. Adding grain enzymes would break down the starches, turning them into sugar and creating a thick mash.
Once ready, the bread and grain mixture was compressed, and then strained through a sieve with water into the mix of malt beer. Once fermented, the beer mash was transferred to large containers and again compressed, by foot or with pestles.
Once smooth, the beer was stored in pottery jars and sealed with a clay stopper. It probably couldn't be kept for long and likely had a thick, pasty appearance and texture. Very little was wasted. Leftover grains were reused to make sourdough bread, or combined with the next batch of beer.
While there are many ancient accounts for making bread, most of the knowledge known about ancient Egyptian brewing comes from an account by the alchemist Zosimos, over 300 years after Cleopatra's reign. More recently, Dr. Delwen Samuel, an archaeobotanist, has proposed alternate antique techniques to brew beer. However, experts are unable to replicate an authentic beer since not all of the techniques and ingredients used by ancient Egyptians are known yet.
Food was prepared on the floor until the Middle Kingdom, when cooking benches were introduced.
The introduction of durum wheat improved bread quality, meaning that the upper and middle classes ate better.
The poor, however, still made do with a diet consisting of a gruel made of vegetables, softened bread or barley.Dough was kneaded by hand or foot and when sufficiently blended, additional items were added such as fruits, nuts, honey and spices. To leaven the bread they added sourdough or leaven from beer brewing. Ovens were circular or beehive shaped and made with clay or brick. If there was no oven at all, a bread maker used the hot sand to bake flat bread, a technique stillin use by some Berbers today.
(Behind the Scenes)
Ancient Egyptians always had to fight off the omnipresent sand particles that were blown towards them.
Despite their best efforts, sand regularly made its way into their food. Additionally, particles from the grain-grinding stone tools and ovens they used also contributed to attrition and prematurely worn teeth.
The team tried to portray this through toothache animations and commoners sweeping sand off.