My “Sumerian” Ale

[Widukind]

I just managed to turn out a batch of ale, somewhat based on the hymn of Ninkasi (and from doing research elsewhere). It’s a very old piece of literature dedicated to the Sumerian goddess of ale/beer, Ninkasi.

I kept the bappir (twice baked bread, the basis of the drink) simple, using just smoked malted barley, eggs, spelt flour, chopped dates, honey, and water. The second baking was done until it was nearly slightly burnt. I crumbled the bread and mixed it with some extra malted barley. After a series of pourings with boiling water, I let the mixture cool overnight. Next, I added a heated gruit of manuka honey and a juice I made of crushed Deglet Noor dates the day before.

This sat for another day before I drank it. Just as people have described, it tasty like “fruity bacon”. Here’s to you, dmtaylor. Unsatisfied, I stirred in some ground cinnamon. It turned out to be a decent drink, actually.

I did not use any yeast, seeing as I did not care if there was any alcohol content. Next time I’m on the pottery wheel, I’m going to try and make a clay brewing vessel based on archaeological finds. Hopefully I can get a regular yeast culture going in there and on the wooden stirring ladle.


I forgot to take photos, but I’ll be sure to for tomorrow’s batch.

 

[Miraculix]

I believe you would be able to speed things up regarding the yeast by using a branch of a tree with sweet sap like maple or birch for stirring. They should have enough wild yeasties covering their bark.

 

[Widukind]

I believe you would be able to speed things up regarding the yeast by using a branch of a tree with sweet sap like maple or birch for stirring. They should have enough wild yeasties covering their bark.

Thanks for the tip, Miraculix. I never thought to try something like that, but now I think I will.

 

[Setsumi]

Curious, why eggs in the bread?

 

[Widukind]

Curious, why eggs in the bread?

I’m not sure. I think instinct or something kicked in, having made bread before.

 

[Setsumi]

I’m not sure. I think instinct or something kicked in, having made bread before.

Real bread is not made with eggs. Eggs does help quick breads but it make it more like cake. Bread should be made with yeast or in Sumatran contex with a sour dough starter.

so I am told

 

[Widukind]

Sourdough is only one type of bread. All leavened breads used to be sourdough, but most of the rest were not, including ones based on plants besides grains. With respect, it’s not fair to ignore all types and say that only one is the true bread.

For example, I’ve made gluten-free bread on several occasions. Eggs help the structure due to their not being any gluten involved. Some people use eggs in their leavened bread because it affects the gluten structure.

 

[bonsai4tim]

Brioche is a french bread made with eggs.

"sourdough" is a yeast+bacteria culture, same bugs that make beer sour make "sour dough". The yeast in sourdough will be killed by cooking, but there would have been enough yeast around from flour dust and prior batches to start fermentation back then. And enough of the other bugs to cause it to go sour fairly quickly.

 

[Widukind]

Brioche is a french bread made with eggs.

"sourdough" is a yeast+bacteria culture, same bugs that make beer sour make "sour dough". The yeast in sourdough will be killed by cooking, but there would have been enough yeast around from flour dust and prior batches to start fermentation back then. And enough of the other bugs to cause it to go sour fairly quickly.

That’s a better explanation of sourdough. In hindsight, I should have mentioned that it is more of a “method”, in a way.

 

[Widukind]

I've made a thread over in the "historical" section (seemed more appropriate), with details on my second batch.