Usually, ancient Romans leavened bread in three ways, Pliny writes in his monumental work Naturalis Historia: preparing a sourdough, kneading fresh must with millet or bran (or, according to Palladius, a few centuries after, wheat flour) and letting it dry, or keeping aside a bit of previous-day dough to use it as a starter for the new bread. This last method was the most common at Pliny’s time. There was also unleavened bread, the author says. A few months ago we prepared a flatbread, taking the recipe from a beautiful poem attributed to Virgil, Moretum. This time, we made the mustacei, bit-sized bread leavened with fresh grape must, from the agronomy book of Marcus Porcio Cato, De Agri Cultura, written around the 2nd century BCE. Alongside with advice about the management of the farm and the daily life in the countryside, Cato writes many recipes of bread, sweets, preserves (particularly interesting, his olive recipes), wine, and oil. We chose this bread recipe, a little long but easy to prepare, not only because the outcome is delicious, fragrant with bay laurel leaves and slightly sweet, but also because it represents a fascinating example of seasonal recipe ancient Roman farmers prepared during the days of the grape harvest. Below, you will find a short note about the ingredients and the original text with the translation into English. Enjoy!
Ingredients 500 gr white wheat flour 50 gr lard 25 gr cheese a dozen bay laurel leaves 2- or 3-day-old grape must cumin anise
Method Prepare the must destemming and pounding the grapes, paying attention not to crush too many seeds to prevent the must from turning bitter. Remove the grapes’ skins and let the must rest for two or three days. Pound in the mortar anise and cumin, then the cheese. Knead the dough with the white wheat flour, spices, cheese, and lard, adding the grape must a little at a time. If the cheese is not salty enough, add a pinch of salt. Let the dough rest overnight. Now, shape the bread the same size of the bay laurel leaves and let it rest for at least half an hour. Put the bread in the oven for 20-30 minutes depending on the size. Serve it still hot with beef or pork stew, guinea fowl, or a plate of fava beans. This bread keeps well for a couple of days. We suggest storing it well covered without removing the bay laurel leaves to maintain its fragrance.
Note about the ingredients Cato writes nothing about the kind of cheese to use. We chose a cow-milk caciotta, but you can use cow, sheep or goat cheese, all common in ancient Roman times, according to your taste. The original text suggests using superfine wheat flour. The use of lard is quite frequent in common-people meals (as remembered also by Ovid and Martial, rarer in high-end cuisine). We suggest not substituting it with butter, uncommon in ancient Rome. To bake this bread, you can use a regular oven or the testum, as we did with Virgil’s flatbread and Cato’s libum. We adjusted the doses of the ingredients, keeping the ratio suggested by the recipe. An ancient Roman modium is about 9 liters.
Original text Mustaceos sic facito. Farinae siligineae modium unum musto conspargito. Anesum, cuminum, adipis P. II, casei libram, et de virga lauri deradito, eodem addito, et ubi definxeris, lauri folia subtus addito, cum coques.
Translation Prepare the mustacei this way. Pour must on a modium of white wheat flour. Add anise, cumin, two pounds lard, one pound cheese. Pick bay laurel leaves and shape the bread the size of the leaves. Bake the bread on the bay laurel leaves.
Buy me a coffee Patreon Ancient Roman Recipes Playlist Ancient Greek Recipes Playlist Medieval Recipes Playlist YouTube Channel Merchandise Books Early Italian Recipes. Cereals, bread, pasta, and pies Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano. Medieval Tuscan Recipes Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus. Early-medieval recipes at the court of the Franks. Registrum Coquine by Johannes Bockenheim. A medieval cookbook Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Sources, Recipes Translations of Historical Sources De Agri Cultura by Cato – first part (2nd century BCE) De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (Ancient Rome) Apicii Excerpta by Vinidarius (5th or 6th century) De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus (6th century) Appendicula de Condituris Variis by Johannes Damascenus (8th or 9th century) De Flore Dietarum (11th century) Tractatus de Modo Preparandi et Condiendi Omnia Cibaria (13th or 14th century) Liber de Coquina – first part (14th century) Enseignemenz (14th century) Opusculum de Saporibus by Mainus de Maineris (14th century) Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano (14th century) Anonimo Veneziano (14th century) Registrum Coquine by Johannes von Bockenheim (15th century) Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Maestro Martino – parts 1-4 (15th century) Recipes Plebeian Mushrooms Beef Skewers Stuffed Chard Shrimp Frittata with Peas – Conchicla Commodiana Tuna Pork Stew with Red Wine Chicken with Green Sauce Pork Chops – Ofellae Chicken with Dill – Pullus Anethatus Religious Offering to Mars Silvanus Rabbit Gourds – Gustum de Cucurbitis Roast Pheasant Tyropatina – Honey Pudding Pork Shank with Apician Sauce The Diet of the Legionaries – Soup with Mutton and Beans Chicken with Dill Beef Roast with Quinces Chard with Mustard Religious Offering to Carna – Puls Fabacia Pork Stuffed with Pasta – Porcellus Tractomelinus Gilt-Head Sea Bream Moretum – A Religious Offering to Cybele Patina Versatilis Aristophanes’ Roasted Birds Pork Roast with Myrtle Berries Cabbage Rolls Pork Collar Chicken with Taro Honey and Millet Libum Ham in Crust Encytum The diet of the ancient Germans The diet of the Franks Kandaulos Wild Boar Hypotrimma Oysters and Clams Peas Ancient Sicilian Sea Bass Pork Roast and Lentils with Sumac Scampi Cuttlefish and Eggs Gustum de Praecoquis – Appetizer with Apricots Octopus and Cucumber Salad Copadia Agnina – Lamb Stew Apothermum – Spelt Cakes Pullus Parthicus – Roast Chicken Tisana Barrica – Barley Soup Beef Roast and Shallots Staitites – Ancient Greek Sweet Chicken Meatballs and Mashed Peas Sweet Fritters – Dulcia Domestica Columella’s Moretum and Hapalos Artos Ancient Roman Frittata A Saturnalia Recipe – Roast with Saffron Sauce Muria – Ancestor of Colatura di Alici Globi – Ancient Roman Sweet The Diet of the Roman Legionaries – Buccellatum, Lardum, and Posca How to make garum Fig Sweet Ancient Roman Gourd and Eggs Ofella – Ancient Roman Steak Fruit salads – Melon and Peaches Isicia Marina – Shrimp Cakes and Cucumber Salad Sala Cattabia – Snow and Posca Copadia – Beef Stew Puls Punica – Phoenician Dessert Farcimina – Spelt and Meat Sausages Ova Spongia ex Lacte – Sweet Omelettes Flatbread and Chickpea Soup Chicken stew Salted Fish with Arugula Sauce Savillum – Cheesecake Pasta and Meatballs – Minutal Terentinum Venison Stew with Spelt Puls Veal with Allec Sauce – Ius in Elixam Allecatum Isicia Omentata – Meatballs Wrapped in Caul Fat Placenta – Honey Cheesecake Pork Laureate – Porcellum Laureatum Mashed Chestnuts Poppy Seed Bread with Ancient Dry Yeast Cured Olives and Epityrum
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