Panis cum Milo Fermento (Bread with Millet Leaven)

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Panis cum Milo Fermento (Bread with Millet Leaven)

Panis cum Milo Fermento (Bread with Millet Leaven) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic method of bread using millet and grapes as a leaven. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Liburnian Oil is Made Thus (Bread with Millet Leaven).

prep time

30 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

60 minutes

Serves:

6-8

Rating:

Tags : Bread Recipes Baking Recipes Ancient Roman Recipes

Original Recipe

Here is a recipe that uses millet as a leaven. The recipe is derived from Gaius Plinius Secundus, Naturalis Historia 18.102.1 (Pliny the Elder's Natural History) 18.102.1.

Mili praecipuus ad fermenta usus e musto

subacti in annuum tempus. simile fit e tritici ipsius furfuribus minutis et optimis e musto albo triduo macerat, subactis ac sole siccatis. inde pastillos in pane faciendo dilutos cum similagine seminis fervefaciunt atque ita farinae miscent, sic optimum panem fieri arbitrantes. Graeci in binos semodios farinae satis esse besem fermenti constituere.

Translation

Millet in particular is used to prepare yeast, knead with must, [it keeps well] throughout the year. It [yeast] can be prepared in a similar way with fine wheat bran soaked with white must three days old, knead, and dried in the sun. The pieces so obtained are diluted in fine spelt flour and let to ferment when one makes bread. It is considered an excellent way to make bread. Greeks reckon that eight ounces of yeast will suffice for one modium of flour.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:
For the Dry Yeast:
200g grapes
200g millet (or fine wheat) bran

For the Bread:
500 g white wheat flour
1 egg
nigella, white poppy, and celery seeds
sea salt

Method:
To prepare the dry yeast, de-stem and pound the grapes in a mortar, paying attention not to crush the seeds (this will give an unpleasant flavour to the yeast). Remove the skins and let the must ferment for a couple of days.

Knead coarsely-ground millet or wheat bran with the must to reach a consistency similar to bread dough. Shape it into little cakes and let them dry for at least one week. This yeast is meant to be preserved throughout the year.

To make the bread: Add a pinch of sea salt to the flour, crumbling the dry yeast and kneading with warm water. Let the dough rest overnight. Work again the dough for a few minutes, then sprinkle the cooking surface with nigella and celery seeds. Beat the egg, then brush it on the upper crust of the bread sprinkling with white poppy seeds.

Let the dough rest for at least half an hour.

Bake the bread in the oven and cook for about half an hour. Remember that the leavening and cooking time can change.
With this quantity of dough, we obtained two loaves.

We chose to let the must ferment just for two days, not three as Pliny writes. In this way, we used the must when it was more active. Remember that the fermentation depends on the temperature of the room: with a cold temperature, the process is slower.