Naked Science Forum
On the Lighter Side => Famous Scientists, Doctors and Inventors => Topic started by: jolly on 07/07/2007 16:00:42
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I wish to know who it was that invented pita bread?
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The first known mention of Pita is in the Babylonian Talmud, which was written round about 200CE.
Etymologically, the word "pizza" may originate from "pita".
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Wow That is interesting.. I love pita bread! Doc What is the Babylonian Talmud..? It sounds like a religious book or something?
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Flat breads of various kinds almost certainly pre-date modern loafs - old corn did not have enough gluten to rise properly, so flat bread of one kind or another would be easier to make (although pita bread is not quite as flat as matzo).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pita_bread
Pita (also called pitta or pita bread) is brown bread and often round, wheat flatbread made with yeast.
Similar to other double-layered flat or pocket breads, pita is traditional in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. It is prevalent from North Africa through the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula to India and Afghanistan, coinciding with the spread of the Hellenistic world. The original pita is cooked flat without any rising. This type, known as the Greek pita, is the most well known and universal type; others include the souvlaki, kebabs, and Indian pitas.
Etymology
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first mention of the word in English was in 1951, with references to Balkan, Greek, and especially Arab cuisine in the next two decades. The American Heritage Dictionary traces the word's origin to modern Greek for "pie," "cake," or "bread"; Webster's Unabridged Dictionary attributes it to the Hebrew פת (pat), for "loaf" or "morsel". The word pita (as פיתא) exists in the Aramaic of the Babylonian Talmud, referring to bread in general. Another possible etymology is from a Romanian archaic word for bread, pită. An alternative etymology traces the word to a cognate for pine pitch, which forms flat layers that may resemble pita bread, which in turn may share an origin with pizza (Italian, "pie").
So the answer appears very likely to be the ancient Greeks invented what we now regard as pita bread.
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The name of the guy who actually invented this wondrous yeast related pocket of flat doughy Joy was Peter Bread !!.....His Brother Slyced Loafe then went on to create the popular bread we all know and luff today !!...LOL...*sorry...still tired !!*
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LOL!!