Baking Bread the Roman Way

Honor Ceres, the goddess of wheat, with this ancient recipe

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4 loaves of bread and some olives

Modern loaves made from different combinations of flour, with olives and figs. Types of flour and length of time the dough rested before baking affected height. Lower left: spelt baked immediately. Top right: whole wheat left to rise for 30 hours

By Shelby Brown

May 29, 2020 Updated Sep 27, 2022

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Although Ceres (Greek Demeter) was in charge of all agriculture, she is most famous as the goddess of wheat and other grains that made up 70 percent of the Roman diet.

Her name gives us the word “cereal,” and one of her most important symbols was an ear of wheat. In late May before spring planting, Romans celebrated the festival of Ambarvalia (“Walking around the Fields”) and asked the goddess to help the seeds grow.

A silver piece with the image of a woman.

Fragment of an Applique, 2nd century, Roman. Silver, 5 13/16 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 82.AM.90

This silver Ceres carrying a scepter and torch may once have decorated a wooden box. The curling vines and basket of fruit symbolize her power over all plant life.

Roman celebration of the spring planting was tied to Ceres’s daughter, Proserpina (Greek Persephone). As the story goes, the god Pluto (Greek Hades) took Proserpina to the Underworld, and in her grief and anger, Ceres stopped all plant growth and caused eternal winter. When her daughter was allowed to come back, Ceres agreed to let plants grow again, sending the mortal prince Triptolemus around the world to re-seed the earth. Thus, every year at planting time, Roman farmers remembered to thank the goddess for the seeds and ask for her blessing.

Greek vase with an image of a person sitting in a carriage holding stalks of wheat

Mixing Vessel with Triptolemos, about 470 B.C., attributed to the Syleus Painter. Terracotta, 14 1/2 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 89.AE.73

On this Greek vase, Demeter, her daughter, and Triptolemos all hold wheat sheaves to help re-seed the earth. ( The chariot with wings is for mythological air travel.)

Since bread was an essential daily food, emperors subsidized enormous amounts of wheat and, eventually, bread loaves to feed city-dwellers. To remind everyone of their generosity and associate themselves with the goddess, the rulers issued coins with their portraits on one side and Ceres holding wheat on the other.

the front and back of a silver coin are side by side. The left shows a head and the right shows a body and the name ceres

Silver denarius, 77–78 AD, Roman. Obverse T. CAESAR VESPASIANVS, reverse CERES AUGVST

Photo: Bill Welch

The emperor Vespasian, who built most of the Colosseum in Rome, shares this coin with Ceres, who holds wheat sheaves and a poppy (see her name CERES on the left).

Making Roman Bread

A pastel fresco, with brown round loaves of bread that sit on a shelf

Fresco depicting panis quadratus or panis siligineus from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples

Image: Ancient History Encyclopedia, Farrell Monaco

This fresco from the house of Julia Felix in Pompeii shows traditional round loaves with eight tear-off wedges. On the far left are two broken-off pieces.

In about 200 BC, the senator/farmer Cato the Elder recorded this simple recipe, requiring just flour and water. He even included some good advice about hygiene:

Wash your hands and a bowl thoroughly. Pour coarse flour into the bowl, add water gradually, and knead thoroughly. When you have kneaded well, form and bake under an earthenware cover.

Since humans have domesticated wheat and witnessed natural fermentation for about 9,500 years, this flour and water recipe goes farther back than Cato!

A child pokes holes in the top of the bread dough

Young baker impressing wedges and a personal baker’s mark on a child’s loaf

Easy bread: In Cato's time, homemade loaves like this were probably formed into plain rounds, but later some loaves were divided into eight wedges, like pizza. You can try either style.

For the professionals: In the first century AD, Roman bakery loaves (preserved by being carbonized) have a horizontal indentation around the body. Bakers may have tied twine horizontally around each loaf before marking the wedges on top, perhaps to keep the shape stable in a large, full oven. (The reason is hotly debated by scholars and bakers!) Trying this option for fun is only for those whose dough is not spreading at all. This option is for those whose dough is not spreading at all!

Find a printable PDF of the recipe here.

Ingredients

This recipe can be halved for a child’s loaf.

  • 4 cups whole wheat or spelt flour (switch in all-purpose flour for a lighter loaf)
  • 1 1/8-1½ cups water
  • Olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of a bowl
  • Optional: 1½ tsp salt; thyme, coriander, poppy or fennel seeds, pine nuts
  • Notice: no leaven/starter. That probably became popular after Cato.

The Simple Loaf

Stirring and mixing are great for the youngest family members.

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Put a tray with water on the bottom rack.
  • Measure flour, salt, spices into a bowl and stir.
  • Slowly mix in 1 cup water, then add tiny amounts until dough holds but is fairly dry.
  • Knead (flatten, fold, repeat) until the dough is stretchy.
  • Make a rough ball (about 5½ in. diam.) and place it in a lightly oiled bowl.
  • Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes, then knead for 2 minutes.
  • Place the dough ball on a floured baking tray and flatten the top to about 6 ½ in. diam. (If the dough is spreading, place it in an 8-inch circular pan). You are now done with a simple loaf! Continue with wedges if you like.
  • Wedges: Using a chopstick or rounded tool, quarter the top by impressing 4 deep lines, pressing center-outward. Add 4 more lines inside each quarter to make 8 wedges.
  • Make a hole in the center of the loaf with the handle of a wooden spoon.
  • Place dough in the middle rack of the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. (When the bread is done, the bottom will sound hollow when you knock on it.)
  • When the bread is done, let it cool for 30 minutes. Expect a dense loaf!

Join the Professionals

For the look of a professional bakery loaf, you will need twine or thick string.

  • Tie twine in a circle around the lower half of the dough before pressing wedges on top. But if the dough sags and spreads, it will cover the twine. Try again later!

Enjoy your bread Roman-style with cheese, olives, figs, honey…or any way you like. And remember, Ceres and Bacchus work together, so raise a glass of wine or grape juice to the ancient gods!

Tips and Suggestions

  • Spelt makes a denser loaf than whole wheat, so if you aren’t familiar with the taste, mix them or lighten with all-purpose flour. You can also simply start with all-purpose flour.
  • It can be hard to bake the middle as thoroughly as the edges. It helps to flatten the domed top and poke a hole through the center.
  • Cato did not recommend this, but for a higher rise, let the tightly-covered dough sit for up to 48 hours, kneading 2x a day.
  • To brand your loaf, invent a baker’s mark or press a tiny cookie-cutter deeply on top.
  • Store in a plastic bag and refresh by microwaving one wedge for 30 seconds!
A round baked loaf of bread in the oven

Loaf tied with string, holding its shape in the oven

Want to Learn More about Ancient Bread?

Round loaf of ancient carbonized bread

One of 81 carbonized bread loaves from the bakery of Modestus at Pompeii, showing eight wedges on top and a horizontal indentation around the body

Food archaeologist Farrell Monaco explores the ancient evidence for Roman bread and shares her own recipes on her blog, Tavola Mediterranea. Look for her classes and presentations online.

Here is Cato the Elder’s bread recipe (de Agricultura 74.1).

Naturalist Pliny the Elder explains roman starter (Natural History XXVI.11).

Ancient food writer Apicius in On Cooking provides recipes to go with your bread.

Go beyond baking with The Classical Cookbook, which includes 50 recipes from the ancient world.

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