Scientists Find Evidence Of Focaccia Bread Dating Back 9,000 Years!
Language
Reading Level
Listen to Article
Alignment
Focaccia bread is often credited to the ancient Romans, who baked it about 2,000 years ago. However, new research suggests Neolithic communities were making their own version of the delicious bread as far back as 9,000 years ago.
Spanish archeologist Sergio Taranto and his team came to this conclusion after studying baking trays dating back between 7000 and 5000 BCE. Known as "husking trays," they were found at 14 different sites stretching from modern-day Iraq to Egypt. The region is often called the "Cradle of Civilization." It was where the earliest human civilizations developed.
An analysis of the fossilized remains on the trays revealed that the ancient bakers mixed wheat or barley with water to make their bread. Some samples also contained traces of animal fat and plant-based spices. This indicated that flavor was important to the ancient people.
The researchers published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports in November 2024. Based on the condition of the trays, they believe the bread was baked for about two hours in a dome-shaped oven heated to over 788°F (420°C). The grooves inside the tray probably helped them remove the bread once it was done. The large loaves weighed about 6.6 pounds (3 kg) each. They were likely shared among groups of people.
“Our study offers a vivid picture of communities using the cereals they cultivated to prepare breads and ‘focaccias’ enriched with various ingredients and consumed in groups,” explains Taranto. “The use of the husking trays we identified leads us to consider that this Late Neolithic culinary tradition developed over approximately six centuries and was practiced in a wide area of the Near East."
Resources: Smithsonian.mag.com, Phys.org, eurekalert.org
Get the Workbook for this article!
Workbook contains: Article, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking Questions, Vocabulary in Context (+ answers), Multiple Choice Quiz (+ answers), Parts of Speech Quiz (+ answers), Vocabulary Game (+ answers)Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
23 Comments
tumblinggirlabout 3 hourswow
dream_beyond1 dayTo clarify, it's a tradition dating back 9,000 years, not the focaccia itself (not that anyone asked ). But hey, aged focaccia? It'd be a perfect crouton substitute!
zuneee3 daysIt look like pizza :D
lancerman556about 2 hoursTechnically, focaccia is the root of pizza. Many stories say a man in Italy made a focaccia bread for Queen Margarita, with basil, tomatoes, and cheese. This story is likely fake, but studies still show that pizza originates from it.
ninjanumber1649about 1 hourCool! I didn't know that!
- ninjanumber1649about 5 hoursYeah it does. Pizza is delicious!
techfashion03153 daysI love focaccia bread but 9,000 year-old focaccia....🤢- cliiiid3 daysI wonder if it is still good.
jupiter_stormy3 dayssooooo good! amazing that they found evidence of the bread.😋
owibear7473 dayswe are studying ancient civilizations in school
karkat88883 dayswho else has a mom who makes this- 12858603 daysAmazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
iam_72auishdfas3 daysomg no way!!!! that looks so deleicoiscous (ignore my grammer plase thank you)
