Bappir

Bappir was a Sumerian twice-baked barley bread that was primarily used in ancient Mesopotamian beer brewing. Historical research done at Anchor Brewing Co. in 1989 (documented in Charlie Papazian's Home Brewer's Companion (ISBN 0-380-77287-6)) reconstructed a bread made from malted barley and barley flour with honey, spices and water and baked until hard enough to store for long periods of time; the finished product was probably crumbled and mixed with water, malt and either dates or honey and allowed to ferment for a few days, producing a somewhat sweet brew. It seems to have been drunk flat without bottling or conditioning with a straw in the manner that yerba mate is drunk now.

Bappir

Type	Bread
Place of origin	Ancient Mesopotamia
Main ingredients	Malted barley, barley flour, honey, water
Other information	Used for brewing beer

It is thought that bappir was seldom baked with the intent of being eaten; its storage qualities made it a good candidate for an emergency ration in times of scarcity, but its primary use seems to have been beer-making.

A modern interpretation of Sumerian bappir bread was brewed and bottled in 2016 by Anchorbrew.

See also

• Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of beer
• Biscotti, a similarly twice-baked modern bread that is often eaten as a sweet course with wine or coffee