Seamus Blackley Profile picture
Aug 5, 2019 12 tweets 9 min read Read on X
Two weeks ago, with the help of Egyptologist @drserenalove and Microbiologist @rbowman1234, I went to Boston’s MFA and @Harvard’s @peabodymuseum to attempt collecting 4,500 year old yeast from Ancient Egyptian pottery. Today, I baked with some of it...
Using a nondestructive process and careful sterile technique, we believe we can actually capture dormant yeasts and bacteria from inside the ceramic pores of ancient pots. We sampled beer- and bread-making objects which had actually been in regular use in the Old Kingdom.
We took many samples and will continue to build our sample library over the next year or so. This is important as we need to learn which microorganisms are old and which are modern contaminants. Samples go to @rbowman1234 for rigorous analysis EXCEPT I was naughty and kept one...
Using careful technique, UV sterilizers, autoclaved tools and containers, and sterilized, freshly milled Barley and Einkorn flour, I awoke and fed the sample organisms. Although this sample surely contains contaminants, it also likely contains actual ancient yeast strains.
Today, after a week of feeding and careful culling, the sample was bubbly and ready to try baking with. All the grains used here are ancient, organic and milled fresh: barley and Einkorn and Kamut. Modern wheat was invented long after these organisms went to sleep.
Here is a large batch of starter, carefully made from the Old Kingdom sample, added to water and some unfiltered olive oil. The idea is to make a dough with identical ingredients to what the yeast ate 4,500 years ago. The aroma of this yeast is unlike anything I’ve experienced.
This crazy ancient dough fermented and rose beautifully. Here it is in the basket, just before being turned out to bake. The ancient Egyptians didn’t bake like this- you’ll see- but I need to get a feel for all this so I’m going conventional for now.
And here is the result. The scoring is the Hieroglyph representing the “T” sound (Gardiner X1) which is a loaf of bread. The aroma is AMAZING and NEW. It’s much sweeter and more rich than the sourdough we are used to. It’s a big difference. After this cools we will taste!
The crumb is light and airy, especially for a 100% ancient grain loaf. The aroma and flavor are incredible. I’m emotional. It’s really different, and you can easily tell even if you’re not a bread nerd. This is incredibly exciting, and I’m so amazed that it worked.
Finally, I need to say again, this was just for practice. @rbowman1234 needs to isolate and characterize the samples before we know for sure this is real. @drserenalove and I need to teach ourselves to actually bake like Egyptians. BUT ITS NOT A BAD START! Good Night!
Update: My wife is decimating the Egyptian bread. I believe she is actually Sekhmet.
Today I kept practicing with the grain and microbe combination. This will be the last test we show before we head back to the bio lab, and before we start using proper Ancient Egyptian baking techniques. The Hieroglyphs are “Di” and “Ankh” meaning “Given Life.”

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More from @SeamusBlackley

Aug 25, 2023
For those of you with little enough meaningful entertainment in your lives who have as a result followed our nerd efforts to make chocolate from dirt air and water, big update: we harvested the first cacao pod from Tree #1 and…


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…we will ferment, dry and roast the cacao nibs. Then, we will make chocolate!

Here, because we had only one mature pod, and because practice makes perfect, I’m adding the seeds from our homegrown pod to a bunch of others so we have good fermentation mass.


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Background on this (for those so in need of distraction that fermenting beans is a thrill):
Read 18 tweets
Aug 13, 2023
We have been raising Cacao Theobroma (chocolate) trees in our lab (next to the water jet-it’s humid) for a few years. We learned to pollinate them, and they made pods! Now we need to learn how to ferment, dry, roast, shell, mill, and temper chocolate. If that sounds fun, read on!


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First, I know a lot of people know a lot about all this, so I want to say: this project isn’t about pretentious choco-bullshit.

I’m not trying to be snotty. I wanted to see if I could start with a seed in dirt and end up with chocolate! That’s it! And learning has been fun! Image
We had to learn a LOT. It’s nontrivial to grow Cacao indoors, and we ended up basically simulating equatorial conditions. Soil, nutrition, light.

Also, the (biting) insect that pollenates Cacao in nature is NOT PRESENT in our lab. So we learned to do it with q-tips and tweezers. Image
Read 39 tweets
Dec 25, 2022
Mushy peas for Christmas Eve: Image
Ready for chips. Recipe is on top left, in F because America. Image
Read 4 tweets
Dec 18, 2022
Chimayó Chile, water, salt, garlic, fat.
After one hour.
Chicken (dark) in fat, rubbed with cumin, adobo, and more Chimayó red.
Read 7 tweets
Dec 4, 2022
Starving for a decent bit of cod, and frustrated by the poor quality of Los Angeles area chip shops, area man just fucking gets it done.
Atlantic cod is available in LA, as is English beer so the filet was sorted and essentially proper. American potatoes however are… lesser. For this application at least. Food nerds know this but I couldn’t help myself. These chips are therefore only about 40% proper.
Nota Bene: if you’re someone who hasn’t had proper fish and chips from a grimy shop in a cheesy seaside town in England, please don’t tell me how a restaurant in California has “the best fish and chips.” Thank you.

Also, you’re missing out MASSIVELY!
Read 4 tweets
Oct 2, 2022
WILD YEAST COLLECTION 日本 EDITION
It is a GLORIOUS autumn day here in Shinjuku, in the center of Tokyo. The Tokyo government buildings are here, aside the stunningly beautiful Shinjuku Chuo park.

The fragrance of late summer hangs in the air- perfect time and place for nerds like me to collect some wild yeasts!
First step is to gather the appropriate supplies- including some nice local whole wheat flour. Next we need to pasteurize the flour so that we collect a clean sample. Here I use the kettle as an autoclave, and it works nicely. You need 160F maximum; I used a COVID IR thermometer.
Read 20 tweets

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