For thousands of years, grains and pulses have been harvested for food. Grains like wheat and rice, and pulses like lentils, chickpeas or corn, can all be dried, and then ground into the fine powder we call flour. When flour is mixed with water, it makes dough, and this can be shaped and cooked in hundreds of different ways.

in Italy, wheat flour is mixed with eggs and water then rolled into different pasta shapes (see Perfect pasta); in North Africa, semolina dough is turned into tiny grains of couscous and then steamed and served with stews called ‘tagines’; Native Americans make dough from corn flour, then roll it flat for their cornbreads; and in China, wheat or rice dough is stretched into long thin noodles, or rolled flat for the thin pancakes you often get with crispy duck.

But perhaps the most common use for flour across the world is as a main ingredient in bread.

WHAT IS BREAD MADE OF? In its simplest form, most bread is simply a mixture of flour and water, with a little seasoning. Once again, different parts of the world all have their own takes on this food staple:

• Italy: dough is made from wheat then rolled out and turned into all sorts of breads including ciabatta and foccacia.

• Scandinavia: rye flour is used to make thin, dry crisp breads that can then be kept and eaten over a long period of time.

• Middle East: wheat flour is used to make soft round pita breads.

• India: wholewheat flour is rolled out for chappatis and rotis then served with curries.

WHY ARE LOAVES OF BREAD SO DIFFERENT TO FLATBREADS? Flatbreads are the most straightforward type of bread. Flour is mixed with water, seasoning, and any flavours the baker wants to add then rolled into flat rounds and grilled over a fire, baked in an oven or pan-fried.

Breads that rise when baked are slightly more involved because there have to be bubbles in the water that gets added to the flour. As the bread bakes, these bubbles expand,

© Jamie Oliver. Illustrations by Peter Hamilton.

JAMIESHOMECOOKINGSKILLS.COM

making the bread puffy, springy and soft. Those crucial bubbles come from yeast, which is a natural micro-organism. When yeast comes into contact with the starch from flour, it creates lots of tiny gas bubbles of carbon dioxide.

In the past, people mixed a small amount of water with flour then left that to ferment in the sun. This allowed any natural yeasts floating around in the atmosphere to land in the liquid and start producing bubbles of carbon dioxide. As the yeast multiplied, the liquid would become bubblier until eventually, that bubbly sludgy liquid could be added to flour to make dough. Bread made in this old-fashioned way is called ‘sourdough’ bread. The baker adds a little water and flour to the rest of the liquid and keeps it cool until the next day when he can use this ‘starter’ to make another batch of bread.

HOW IS BREAD MADE TODAY? You’ll still see sourdough in some supermarkets and bakeries, but for the most part, bread makers don’t bother making a starter as they can add packets of dried yeast to make their bubbles. People all around the world use dried yeast to make bread that rises.

CAN YOU BAKE BREAD AT HOME? Yes! All you need to make bread is flour, water, a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, yeast and an oven. Scales will help you get the quantities spot on, and baking the bread in a baking tray or tin will give the finished loaf a nice shape. Once you’ve mastered a basic bread dough recipe (see Basic bread) you’ll be able to add your own personality to the bread by adding all sorts of different flavours.

© Jamie Oliver. Illustrations by Peter Hamilton.

JAMIESHOMECOOKINGSKILLS.COM