What was the best thing before sliced bread?
The answer appears to be Egyptian sourdough.
Scientists have revived yeast microbes from 4,500 years ago to make a loaf of bread unlike anything on the grocery store shelves today, as part of an experiment to better understand the gut bacteria of ancient humans.
Tech developer Seamus Blackley documented the entire bread-baking process in a series of photos and mouthwatering descriptions on Twitter Monday. Blackley made an ancient Egyptian recipe with yeast recovered from ancient clay pots used 4,500 to 5,000 years ago.
“The aroma is AMAZING and NEW,” he wrote in one tweet. “It’s much sweeter and more rich than the sourdough we are used to.”
Story continues below advertisem*nt
Blackley also offered a toast to his scientist collaborators, archeologist Serena Love at the University of Queensland, and microbiologist Richard Bowman at the University of Iowa, for helping him harvest the yeast and bring it back to life.
He said he was amazed that the process worked.
“I’m emotional,” Blackley tweeted after his first taste test. “It’s really different, and you can easily tell even if you’re not a bread nerd.”
Get the latest National news.Sent to your email, every day.
Blackley apparently is a bread nerd, judging by the way he describes the loaf. He’s also a physicist, co-creator of the original Xbox video game console and — according to his Twitter account — an “amateur gastroegyptologist.”
Story continues below advertisem*nt
Blackley and his team harvested their yeast from several clay pots once used to hold bread and beer in the days of ancient Egypt.
Using a nondestructive process and careful sterile technique, we believe we can actually capture dormant yeasts and bacteria from inside the ceramic pores of ancient pots. We sampled beer- and bread-making objects which had actually been in regular use in the Old Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/9FahMRjJBU
— Seamus Blackley (@SeamusBlackley) August 5, 2019
Blackley says he used one of the reconstituted yeast samples to create a sourdough starter — a fermented lump of yeast and flour used to make sourdough rise and give it its taste. Breadmakers typically keep a sourdough starter “alive” by feeding it flour and water so the yeast remains active.
Over the course of a week, Blackley says he fed his sourdough starter a steady diet of the ancient grains Egyptians would have used in their baking. “Modern wheat was invented long after these organisms went to sleep,” he tweeted.
Blackley eventually combined the starter with unfiltered olive oil and more ancient grains to create a lump of dough for the oven.
Story continues below advertisem*nt
“The aroma of this yeast is unlike anything I’ve experienced,” Blackley wrote while he was waiting for the dough to rise.
Trending Now
He baked the dough in a modern oven and shared the results of his taste test.
“The crumb is light and airy, especially for a 100% ancient grain loaf,” Blackley wrote. “This is incredibly exciting, and I’m so amazed that it worked.”
(For non-bread nerds, the “crumb” is the pattern of holes inside the bread loaf.)
He added that his baking project was “just for practice,” and that more study is necessary before his collaborators can confirm the exact origins of their reconstituted yeast.
“But it’s not a bad start,” he wrote.
Blackley and his collaborators are not the first ones to resurrect ancient yeast for modern-day consumption.
Story continues below advertisem*nt
In 2016, a team of scientists recovered several old beer bottles from a 220-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Australia, then reconstituted the yeast to brew new batches of beer. They started selling their “shipwreck” beer to the public two years later.
It’s unclear if Blackley intends to start selling his ancient sourdough to the public — but he’s done an incredible job of buttering up his potential customers.
Now, who’s hungry?
© 2019 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Greetings, fellow enthusiasts of culinary archaeology and the fascinating world of ancient gastronomy. I am thrilled to share my expertise on this captivating topic, bringing you a wealth of knowledge that extends beyond the ordinary boundaries of historical and scientific exploration. My passion for delving into the secrets of the past has led me to uncover remarkable tales of culinary heritage, and I am here to illuminate the intricacies of the recent revelation involving the resurrection of yeast microbes from 4,500 years ago to craft an extraordinary loaf of bread.
The individual at the forefront of this culinary time-travel expedition is Seamus Blackley, a renowned tech developer, physicist, co-creator of the original Xbox video game console, and self-proclaimed "amateur gastroegyptologist." This multidisciplinary expert has not only demonstrated his prowess in technology and physics but has also showcased a deep understanding of the historical and gastronomic realms.
In a collaborative effort with archeologist Serena Love from the University of Queensland and microbiologist Richard Bowman from the University of Iowa, Blackley embarked on a groundbreaking experiment. The team successfully revived yeast microbes from ancient Egyptian clay pots, which once housed bread and beer during the Old Kingdom. Employing a nondestructive process and meticulous sterile techniques, they captured dormant yeasts and bacteria from the ceramic pores of these ancient artifacts, preserving a piece of culinary history.
The process involved creating a sourdough starter from one of the reconstituted yeast samples, a fermented mixture of yeast and flour crucial for giving sourdough its distinctive taste and rise. Blackley, being the true bread aficionado, fed the starter with a diet of ancient grains used by the Egyptians, emphasizing that modern wheat was invented long after the organisms in question went dormant.
After a week of careful cultivation, the ancient grains, unfiltered olive oil, and the sourdough starter were combined to form a dough. Blackley's meticulous documentation, shared through a series of photos and tantalizing descriptions on Twitter, captured the anticipation and excitement of waiting for the dough to rise. The end result, baked in a modern oven, yielded a loaf with a light and airy crumb, showcasing the success of this remarkable experiment.
While Blackley humbly refers to his baking project as "just for practice," the implications of this achievement are substantial. It opens a window into the culinary practices of ancient civilizations and provides invaluable insights into the flavors and aromas that once graced their tables. As Blackley rightfully acknowledges, further study is required to confirm the exact origins of the reconstituted yeast, but this initial success marks a significant step in unraveling the mysteries of ancient gastronomy.
It's worth noting that Blackley and his collaborators are not the pioneers in resurrecting ancient yeast for modern consumption. In 2016, a team of scientists recovered yeast from 220-year-old beer bottles found in a shipwreck off the coast of Australia, successfully brewing new batches of beer for public consumption.
In conclusion, the resurrection of ancient Egyptian sourdough stands as a testament to the intersection of technology, history, and gastronomy. Seamus Blackley and his collaborators have not only brought a piece of culinary history back to life but have also ignited a spark of curiosity and excitement for those hungry to explore the flavors of the past.
