8,600-year-old world’s oldest bread found in Turkey

We all love eating bread. From breakfast to dinner, bread makes for a healthy and easy treat that can be consumed in many forms. For the unversed, this staple food of the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa, Europe, and many other countries has a rich culinary history. As per a latest discovery, archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered the oldest bread on Earth.

What is being claimed to be the oldest bread on Earth dates back to an impressive 6600 BC and was located at Catalhoyuk, an archaeological site in southern Turkey’s Konya province.

As per the report, the bread residue was found near a partially destroyed oven structure in an area called “Mekan 66,” surrounded by ancient mudbrick houses. Turkey’s Necmettin Erbakan University Science and Technology Research and Application Center (BITAM) recently released a press release which states that the bread appears to be a round, spongy remnant and was identified through analysis.

As per a CNN report, it was determined that the organic residue was 8,600-year-old, uncooked, fermented bread.

Archaeologist Ali Umut Turkcan, head of the Excavation Delegation and an associate professor at Anadolu University in Turkey, told Turkish state news outlet Anadolu Agency that we can say that this finds at Catalhoyuk is the oldest bread in the world.

He further added, “It is a smaller version of a loaf of bread. It has a finger pressed in the center, it has not been baked, but it has been fermented and has survived to the present day with the starches inside. There is no similar example of something like this to date.”

The release also states that the microscopic analysis confirmed the team’s suspicions and it has been confirmed that it is the world’s oldest fermented bread. The team used an electron microscope to study the particles and revealed air spaces and identifiable starch granules within the sample.

As per the team, the further analysis revealed the chemical structure of the sample, including both plant material and indicators of fermentation. The study also suggests that flour and water were combined to create the dough, which was then prepared near the oven and likely stored for some time. It has also been found that a thin layer of clay encasing the structure acted as a preservative for organic materials like wood and bread.

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