Most Americans are familiar with pita, pizza and focaccia. These are just a small sample of flat breads, an ancient form dating back to the first bread baked by man.
Flat breads are eaten daily by a large percentage of the world’s population, and people have been making flat breads for well over 6,000 years. The oldest baker’s oven in the world was known in Babylon in 4000 B.C. Flat bread was baked in hot ashes or on heated stone slabs in the old kingdom of Egypt as long ago as 2500 B.C.
Bread-making skills, including fermentation, passed from the Egyptians to the Greeks and Romans. Bread was important in Roman culture and religion, therefore, large commercial bakeries were developed in the second century B.C. to meet the demands of increasing bread consumption.
Some common flatbreads are Chapatti, Ciabatta, Fry Bread, Gyro Bread, Lavash, Matzoh, Naan, Tortillas, Pizza, Focaccia, Pocket Pita.
Wheat Foods Council www.wheatfoods.org