The table of old times,
The Book of Recipes

Panis quadratus

Period: Roman Empire / Category: dish

Marco Porcio Catone, De agri culture

Ingredients

for 6 persons :

750 g spelled flour ( triticum spelta )

500 g of water

20 g of salt

The preparation

1- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2- Pour 280 g of water (taken from the total) into a bowl with the flour, knead quickly, then leave to rest for approximately 40 minutes.
After this time, gradually add the rest of the water and the salt, then knead until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough. Depending on the flour, less water is sufficient (do not add all the water if you see that the dough is too sticky, because you must be able to work it). 3- Give the dough a circular shape and make marks on the top with a knife, dividing it into 8 parts.
4- Bake for 45 minutes if possible in a ceramic bread dish or in a terracotta or cast iron casserole dish with a lid. Since yeast is not used, the bread will hardly rise at all.

Annotations

Several types of bread were made during the time of the Roman Empire. Here are some examples:

  • panis cibarius, secundarius and plebeius , made with flours sifted to different degrees, up to panis rusticus, completely whole
  • panis autopyrus , a black bread prepared with unsifted flour
  • panis parthicus , soft and spongy
  • panis furfureus , made from its
  • panis siligineus , prepared with type 0 flour (silega), was the most refined bread, intended for the rich
  • the p anis hostearus which accompanied the oysters.
  • Panis nauticus was a durable pancake for sailors, accompanying them on their voyages
  • panis militaris was a dense and heavy bread, designed for the troops, which kept for a long time
  • panis adipatus , bread prepared by adding bacon to the dough
  • the panis picenus was kneaded with raisin juice, after nine days of spelled maceration, and cooked in a broken pottery in front of the guests
  • panis ortolaganus was a festive bread, made with milk, wine, honey, oil, pepper and candied fruit.
  • the libum of small breads kneaded with sheep's milk ricotta and cooked on bay leaves
  • pinsa fougasse , made from modest grains like barley, oats and millet, with aromatic herbs and salt, cooked on a hot stone.