flipBarley and Emmer Flatbread with Dates
Barley and Emmer Flatbread with Dates
Why this dish? Bread was the staple food of every Egyptian meal, and offerings to Anuket included "breads of many shapes." Kneaded with dates that the palm groves of the Nile islands gave in abundance, this bread embodies the land fertilized by her floods.
A rustic flatbread made from barley and emmer flour (the wheat of the pharaohs), studded with chopped dates that caramelize during baking. Dense, sweet, nourishing.
Know that without my waters, there is no grain: it is my flood that deposits the black silt where your barley and emmer sprout. Grind them between your stones, mix the flour with river water and the dates from your palms, and bake the flatbread against the hot wall of the earthen oven. Eat it every morning, worker of my temple, for the bread you break is my river reaching out to you.
- •Barley flour — two measures (cereal base)
- •Emmer flour (farro) — one measure (binder and flavor)
- •Pitted dates — a handful (sweetness)
- •Water — as needed (hydration)
- •Salt — a pinch (seasoning)
Barley and Emmer Flatbread with Dates
A rustic flatbread made from barley and emmer flour (the wheat of the pharaohs), studded with chopped dates that caramelize during baking. Dense, sweet, nourishing.
Why this dish? Bread was the staple food of every Egyptian meal, and offerings to Anuket included "breads of many shapes." Kneaded with dates that the palm groves of the Nile islands gave in abundance, this bread embodies the land fertilized by her floods.
Know that without my waters, there is no grain: it is my flood that deposits the black silt where your barley and emmer sprout. Grind them between your stones, mix the flour with river water and the dates from your palms, and bake the flatbread against the hot wall of the earthen oven. Eat it every morning, worker of my temple, for the bread you break is my river reaching out to you.
Ingredients (period version)
- Barley flour — two measures (cereal base)
- Emmer flour (farro) — one measure (binder and flavor)
- Pitted dates — a handful (sweetness)
- Water — as needed (hydration)
- Salt — a pinch (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Barley flour — 200 g (cereal base)
- Spelt flour (instead of emmer) — 100 g (binder and flavor)
- Medjool dates, pitted and chopped — 80 g (sweetness)
- Warm water — approx. 180 ml (hydration)
- Salt — 1/2 tsp (seasoning)
- Sesame oil — 1 tbsp (dough softness)
Method
- Mix the flours and salt in a bowl.
- Gradually add warm water and oil, kneading until a soft, non-sticky dough forms.
- Briefly knead in the chopped dates.
- Divide into balls and flatten into 1 cm thick discs.
- Cook on a very hot baking sheet or cast-iron skillet, 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden spots appear.
- Serve warm.
How it was made : The Egyptians mainly cultivated barley and emmer (Triticum dicoccum), not modern bread wheat. Grain was ground on stone querns, which left sand in the flour and wore down teeth — a fact visible on mummies. Bread took dozens of shapes, flat, conical, or molded, and also served as the base for beer.
The contemporary twist : Served warm with a drizzle of honey and a few toasted sesame seeds, as an unabashed sweet bread-dessert.
Anuket · Charactorium
