flipDark Rye Bread and Chickpeas of the Pilgrim
Dark Rye Bread and Chickpeas of the Pilgrim
Why this dish? Eugene III was a traveling and exiled pope: forced to flee insurgent Rome, he wandered from Viterbo to Vézelay where he preached the Second Crusade, all the way to Tivoli and Anagni. On the roads, the monk's marching provisions were few: dark bread that keeps, roasted chickpeas, and a little oil — the sober and durable supplies of a Cistercian on the move.
A road snack: dark rye flatbread and chickpeas roasted with salt and sage, which keep well and are eaten by hand. Robust, salty, perfumed with dried herb.
I was driven from Rome more than once, and I knew the long roads — to Viterbo, to Vézelay where I sent Bernard to preach the crusade. On the way, the monk does not burden himself: a hunk of dark bread that does not mold, a handful of chickpeas roasted with salt, a little oil in a flask. Roast your chickpeas until they crack between the teeth, keep them in a cloth; they will sustain you from morning to vespers without weighing down the pack. Such is the pilgrim's table, and it is worth that of kings.
- •Rye flour (for dark bread) — as needed (travel flatbread)
- •Sourdough starter — a little (fermentation)
- •Dried chickpeas — two handfuls (protein snack)
- •Salt — to taste (seasoning and preservation)
- •Dried sage — a pinch (flavor)
- •Olive oil — a drizzle (flavor)
Dark Rye Bread and Chickpeas of the Pilgrim
A road snack: dark rye flatbread and chickpeas roasted with salt and sage, which keep well and are eaten by hand. Robust, salty, perfumed with dried herb.
Why this dish? Eugene III was a traveling and exiled pope: forced to flee insurgent Rome, he wandered from Viterbo to Vézelay where he preached the Second Crusade, all the way to Tivoli and Anagni. On the roads, the monk's marching provisions were few: dark bread that keeps, roasted chickpeas, and a little oil — the sober and durable supplies of a Cistercian on the move.
I was driven from Rome more than once, and I knew the long roads — to Viterbo, to Vézelay where I sent Bernard to preach the crusade. On the way, the monk does not burden himself: a hunk of dark bread that does not mold, a handful of chickpeas roasted with salt, a little oil in a flask. Roast your chickpeas until they crack between the teeth, keep them in a cloth; they will sustain you from morning to vespers without weighing down the pack. Such is the pilgrim's table, and it is worth that of kings.
Ingredients (period version)
- Rye flour (for dark bread) — as needed (travel flatbread)
- Sourdough starter — a little (fermentation)
- Dried chickpeas — two handfuls (protein snack)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning and preservation)
- Dried sage — a pinch (flavor)
- Olive oil — a drizzle (flavor)
Ingredients
- Rye flour — 300 g (travel flatbread)
- Wheat flour (for structure) — 100 g (structure)
- Sourdough starter (or 5 g active dry yeast) — 80 g (fermentation)
- Warm water — 260 ml (dough)
- Salt — 8 g (seasoning)
- Dried chickpeas, soaked (or canned, well drained) — 200 g (protein snack)
- Dried sage — 1 tsp (flavor)
- Olive oil — 2 tbsp (flavor)
- Fine salt for chickpeas — 1/2 tsp (seasoning)
Method
- For the bread: mix flours, starter, water, and salt; knead, let rise for 3 to 4 hours (rye dough remains dense).
- Shape into flat rounds, let rest for 30 minutes, then bake in a hot oven (230°C) for 25 to 30 minutes until dark crust forms.
- For the chickpeas: drain and dry them thoroughly in a cloth.
- Toss with olive oil, salt, and sage, then roast in the oven (200°C) for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and crunchy.
- Let the chickpeas cool completely (they become crisp as they cool) and store in a cloth or jar.
- For the road: a hunk of dark bread, a handful of roasted chickpeas, and the flask of oil.
How it was made : Dark bread (rye or maslin, not white) was the bread of the common people and monks, denser and longer-keeping than the white bread reserved for the powerful. Chickpeas, cultivated in the Mediterranean since antiquity, were roasted (cicer frictum of the Romans) to make a dry, durable snack, ideal for travel. Pilgrims, clerics, and armies on the march carried these sober provisions; oil in a flask and salt, a natural preservative, completed the pack.
The contemporary twist : Serve the roasted chickpeas as an aperitif in a paper cone, as a 'pilgrim's snack', alongside thin slices of toasted rye bread.
Sources : B. Laurioux, Eating in the Middle Ages · M. Montanari, The Famine and Abundance · Apicius / tradition of cicer frictum (roasted chickpeas)
Eugene III · Charactorium
