Sitting round the dinner table, carving thick slices off a hearty wholemeal loaf from the local artisan bakery or our own oven, we take pride in our part in a bread tradition that stretches back millennia. After all, the Greeks and Romans marched on their bread, and the word 'companion' is said to originate from the Latin for someone with whom you share your bread (panis).
But how much does our springy bran-flecked wholesome-looking loaf really have in common with the bread our British ancestors were eating some five hundred years ago?
Fields of gold
Let's start with your typical feudal peasant. If you were lucky enough to live in the southern half of England, you might have a crop of wheat – our favourite bread grain, even back then. Elsewhere, your crop would more likely a mixed field of wheat and rye called maslin (which also lends its name to the wholemeal bread made from it).
To read the rest of the story, please go to: LoveFood
