Problem description:

When did people know to steam steamed bread with fermented flour?

Analysis:

Old China is undoubtedly the birthplace of pasta culture. Wheat is the main raw material of pasta, and China is the largest and earliest crop origin center in the world. As early as 5,000 years ago, China people living in the Yellow River valley learned to grow wheat. With wheat, people gradually processed it into various kinds of pasta. However, in ancient times, because there was no grinding, it was more difficult for people to eat pasta with tools such as Chu Jiu. Since the beginning of grinding in the Han Dynasty, it is much more convenient for people to eat pasta, which gradually spread in the north and then spread to the south. The varieties of pasta in ancient China are commonly known as "cakes". According to the textual research of nominal names, all those who ate wheat flour in ancient times were called "cakes". Use a kang, which is called "pancake", which is today's "sesame cake", and use water, which is called "soup cake" (or boiled cake), that is, today's Daoxiao Noodles and noodles are eaten by steaming, which is called "steamed cake" (or cage cake), that is, today's steamed bread and steamed buns are eaten with ropes, which is called "doughnut cake" (in old China, wheat was the main raw material of pasta. As early as 5,000 years ago, China people living in the Yellow River valley learned to grow wheat. With wheat, people gradually processed it into various kinds of pasta. However, in ancient times, because there was no grinding, it was more difficult for people to eat pasta with tools such as Chu Jiu. Since the beginning of grinding in the Han Dynasty, it is much more convenient for people to eat pasta, which gradually spread in the north and then spread to the south. The varieties of pasta in ancient China are commonly known as "cakes". According to the textual research of the nominal name, all those who ate wheat flour in ancient times were called "cakes". Take kang as "basket cake", that is, today's "sesame cake", and water as "soup cake" (or boiled cake), that is, today's Daoxiao Noodles and noodles are eaten by steaming, which is called "steamed cake" (or cage cake), that is, today's steamed bread and steamed stuffed bun are eaten with rope, which is called "circle cake" (or cooler).

Among these ancient wheaten foods, sesame seed cakes, soup cakes and other wheaten foods have not been fermented, and steamed bread is the most famous fermented wheaten food in China, which is regarded as a symbol of ancient pasta culture in China. Modern people often compare it with western bread.

According to Things Are Beads, "Qin made steamed cakes". In Shu Qi, Xiao Zixian said that the imperial court stipulated that "bread" should be used when offering sacrifices to ancestral temples, that is, "yeast will make you relaxed". The "bread" mentioned here is the earliest steamed bread. It can be seen that the history of China people eating steamed bread can be traced back at least to the Warring States Period. In the Three Kingdoms period, steamed bread had its own official name. According to the origin of the matter, Zhuge Liang conquered Meng Huo in the south, and when crossing the Lushui River, evil spirits worshipped him. According to the southern custom, he wanted to sacrifice the gods with the head of a savage (that is, the head of a southerner), so he ordered that cattle, sheep and pork be wrapped in wheat flour as sacrifices like human heads, and then called it "steamed bread". This provides us with a clue to the origin of steamed bread, that is, steamed bread originated from the head sacrifice in barbaric times, and then gradually evolved into the stuffing of poultry with the development of history. In the Southern Song Dynasty, pork steamed bread was very popular. It is recorded in the Record of Swallows' Wings that Emperor Injong was very happy the day he was born. Zaichen told him to make a "steamed stuffed bun" and gave it to ministers, which was full of precious stones. "Fried flower steamed bread" similar to the later flowering steamed bread appeared in the Yuan Dynasty. Hu Sihui's "Eating Records" records: "Stir-fried flower steamed bread: mutton, sheep fat, sheep tail, onion and dried tangerine peel are finely cut", "Add salt sauce in turn, mix steamed bread and rouge to dye flowers". It can be seen that steamed bread was originally stuffed, and later it experienced the evolution from stuffed to solid. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that there was a record of "solid steamed bread". Later, northerners called it "steamed bread" without stuffing, and "steamed bread" with stuffing. Since then, people in northern China who mainly grow wheat have gradually learned to make steamed bread, which is their staple food. After the appearance of steamed bread, the quality of people's staple food has improved, and from this, foods such as flower rolls and steamed bread have been derived.

Steamed bread, the staple food in China, is basically made of flour, yeast (pure yeast, fermented wine or flour seeds) and water, and the dough is steamed after a period of fermentation. In recent years, with the improvement of living standards, people's eating habits have changed greatly, but steamed bread is still the main food for people in the northern wheat producing areas of China, and it is also very popular in the south. It is reported that 70% of the flour in the north is used to make steamed bread.