7 main Russian loaves

Bread in Russia has always been regarded as a sacred food. It invariably occupies a central place on the table, which is not surprising, because bread is the head of everything.

It has been baked since the XII century. For many centuries, white bread has been regarded as a special privilege available only to wealthy people. The best of all its varieties was considered "coarse" white, it was served only in rich houses. If we are talking about the ordinary classes of the population, then in those days they could only afford rye bread every day, which was cut exclusively by the head of the family at dinner. White bread was available to them only on holidays.

Black bread, nicknamed "sour", began to be baked much later than white bread. There is a significant moment in history of the attitude of the Russian person towards him. During the Russian-Turkish war, the army of our ancestors found themselves on enemy territory, where there were no conditions (namely rye flour) for the production of their favorite sour bread. Therefore, they were forced to bake bread from wheat flour. And immediately the army began to suffer from diseases: so the Russian warrior was used to eating black bread.

This is one of the varieties of black bread. Initially, it was baked mainly in monasteries. The main difference of such bread, which, in fact, can be traced in the name, can be called its characteristic color of the crust, which in the process of baking became predominantly red. Well, it became rural, probably because the first, after the monks, the villagers could eat it, gathering on holidays in temples located on the territories of monasteries. The bread itself, baked by monks, always came out unusually soft, with the thinnest crust and an indescribable aroma, beckoning a mile away. In addition, it is quite satisfying, healthy, and stored for a long time.

This bread was also first prepared in monasteries. Its main difference is called the presence of sweet and sour taste, as well as the feature of not getting stale for a long time. It was called custard only because it is made from a brew consisting of flour and malt. This method of cooking allowed the bread to retain its freshness much longer, and the addition of spices only formed an incomparable taste and delicate aroma. In past years, it was customary to make it in two ways: non-stick and sourdough. It was thanks to the latter that it was possible to fully reveal the amazing taste of custard bread.

There are at least three stories of the appearance of this bread. According to the first, at first the monks of the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery began to bake such bread. The second version says that the bread recipe was invented when a shell hit the food train, resulting in flour, cumin and coriander mixed. And the third says that this is an old memorial bread, the recipe of which was known back in the XV century.

This kind of bread has always been considered special. Therefore, it was customary to serve it to the table exclusively on special, major occasions. For example, to the wedding table. Such bread was baked exclusively by special order. It consisted of flour only of special grinding, the freshest oil, never without spices. It goes without saying that bread was not cheap, so the boyars and the upper classes could really afford it.

Such bread is even served with tea. Immediately before baking, these loaves are given an oblong shape, and they are smeared with beer on top. This bread has played a decisive role in history. It is known that Kutuzov's army, preparing for the offensive, stopped at the Tarutinsky camp. To support the army, Starodub bread was sent there first of all, since it was in Starodub that a significant part of the food was saved at that time, from which, in fact, such bread was baked.