Emmer flatbread with onion, night watch ration
Dense emmer flatbread, baked on hot stone, split and filled with raw onion and salt. Robust, slightly bitter under the bite of onion, it was the everyday bread that kept body and soul together through the long night.
Dense emmer flatbread, baked on hot stone, split and filled with raw onion and salt. Robust, slightly bitter under the bite of onion, it was the everyday bread that kept body and soul together through the long night.
Your watchers think to hold me at bay with their formulas and their hard bread… I watch them chew their flatbread and acrid onion, eyes watering, to stay awake until morning. Bake it on the hot stone, split it, slip in the raw onion — it is the bread of those who fear me. May the bitter taste of their fear linger on their tongues.
- •Emmer flour — two handfuls (flatbread base)
- •Water and salt — as needed (dough)
- •Raw onion — one (pungent filling)
- •Oil (sesame or ben) — a drizzle (binding and flavor)
Emmer flatbread with onion, night watch ration
Dense emmer flatbread, baked on hot stone, split and filled with raw onion and salt. Robust, slightly bitter under the bite of onion, it was the everyday bread that kept body and soul together through the long night.
Why this dish? To ward off Apophis each night, priests kept vigil in the temples, reciting protective formulas until dawn. Their watch ration was the simplest: emmer flatbread and pungent onion, food of the common people as well as the watchers.
Your watchers think to hold me at bay with their formulas and their hard bread… I watch them chew their flatbread and acrid onion, eyes watering, to stay awake until morning. Bake it on the hot stone, split it, slip in the raw onion — it is the bread of those who fear me. May the bitter taste of their fear linger on their tongues.
Ingredients (period version)
- Emmer flour — two handfuls (flatbread base)
- Water and salt — as needed (dough)
- Raw onion — one (pungent filling)
- Oil (sesame or ben) — a drizzle (binding and flavor)
Ingredients
- Spelt flour — 250 g (base)
- Warm water — 150 ml (dough)
- Salt — 1 tsp (seasoning)
- Sweet onion — 1 medium, thinly sliced (filling)
- Sesame oil (untoasted) or olive oil — 1 tbsp (finishing)
Method
- Mix flour, salt and water into a supple dough; knead 5 minutes and let rest 30 minutes.
- Divide into balls and roll out into thin flatbreads.
- Cook each flatbread for 2-3 minutes per side on a very hot stone or cast-iron pan, without fat.
- Slice the onion very thinly, toss with a little salt and oil.
- Split the still-hot flatbreads and fill with onion; eat immediately.
How it was made : Emmer flatbread was the staple of the Egyptian diet, baked on slabs or against the walls of clay ovens. Onion, garlic and leek commonly accompanied the bread and beer of workers and priests on duty; medical texts even attributed virtues to them.
The contemporary twist : Rolled like a wrap around marinated red onions and sprouts, it makes a perfect "watcher" snack for a late study break.
Sources : Delwen Samuel, on the making of emmer bread · Medical papyri (Ebers) mentioning onion, garlic and leek
Apophis · Charactorium