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Scientist bakes bread from 4,500-year-old yeast, says it's delicious - CNET
This yeast has been loafin' around since the time of the Pharoahs.
I'm not a chef. My pulse actually starts to race at the thought of cooking (and not in a good way). Baking bread the 21st century way looks daunting enough, but Seamus Blackley, a physicist, video game designer and serious bread nerd, has taken it one step further.
As he recounts on Twitter, Blackley gathered dormant yeast from ancient Egyptian pots, reactivated it and, using grains similar to those used thousands of years ago, he baked a delicious-looking loaf, complete with the hieroglyph for "loaf of bread." The project isn't without precedent. In May, scientists used 5,000-year-old yeast to brew beer.
The endeavor was a bit lengthy and required the help of Egyptologist Serena Love and microbiologist Richard Bowman. Blackley declined to comment, but you can read through his whole story in his Twitter feed. We've included some of the highlights below.
This yeast has been loafin' around since the time of the Pharoahs.
I'm not a chef. My pulse actually starts to race at the thought of cooking (and not in a good way). Baking bread the 21st century way looks daunting enough, but Seamus Blackley, a physicist, video game designer and serious bread nerd, has taken it one step further.
As he recounts on Twitter, Blackley gathered dormant yeast from ancient Egyptian pots, reactivated it and, using grains similar to those used thousands of years ago, he baked a delicious-looking loaf, complete with the hieroglyph for "loaf of bread." The project isn't without precedent. In May, scientists used 5,000-year-old yeast to brew beer.
The endeavor was a bit lengthy and required the help of Egyptologist Serena Love and microbiologist Richard Bowman. Blackley declined to comment, but you can read through his whole story in his Twitter feed. We've included some of the highlights below.